A north coast timber mill owner has accused Labor of hypocrisy and the Greens of trying to shut down the native hardwood industry. Source: ABC Mid North Coast
Kempsey’s Australian Solar Timbers and has just laid off over 30 percent of its workforce and cut mill operations to four days a week.
Owner Douglas Head said the decision not to let wood waste be burned as bio-fuel has hurt the industry and its secondary markets.
He said it is not true it would have led to excessive logging.
“What we are talking about is sawdust, shavings can be converted to renewable energy using Australian technology,” he said. “We produce gas from that and that in turn turns into electricity.
“We also produce bio char which is consolidated carbon which can be used in agriculture, retained in the soil for up to 100 years and as a soil improver.”
Mr Head said the Greens seem determined to shut down the native forest industry by attacking the by-product market.
“The main market we wanted to go to, which we’ve been positioning ourselves for some time is to move into, the renewable space,” he said. “In the case of Australian Solar Timbers, the figures I’ve got, is that it would have reduced carbon emissions by 27,000m tonnes per annum.”
