The Mayor of the Grant District Council in South Australia says both the state and federal governments need to offer more support to the timber industry. Source: ABC News
About 20 Gunns employees from Tarpeena and Casterton were told recently they would not be employed after September.
The council supports moves by the forestry union, in its calls for an immediate anti-dumping agency.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union wants governments to take strong action against the dumping of timber products on the Australian market.
It says the lack of an agency will have a huge impact on jobs, with the industry already suffering.
Mayor Richard Sage says the Federal Government needs to introduce measures, including import duties to protect the industry.
“The whole sector’s had a fairly tough time the past 18 months to two years and it seems to be continuing on,” he said.
“Importing of timber from overseas is starting to hit fairly hard when you’ve got a declining market as it is.
“I think it’s time that both state and federal governments looked at ways of stemming the flow and making it so there is a tariff on imports and make it so that our local industries are viable going forward.
“Our structural timber has gone from around eight per cent to 18 to 20 per cent, it’s just too much.”
