Mill operator Noel Holdsworth said he was blindsided after learning of the decision from a friend who read it on Facebook. Source: ABC News
“We are not very impressed because there was no notification … it all came out on Facebook, but we didn’t know anything, somebody else told me about it.
“The 60-year veteran of the WA timber industry said it would have a devastating effect on small regional towns where the local mill had been the main source of employment for generations.
“Well, once the mill goes … it’s just about the end of town,” Mr Holdsworth said.
“You can rely a bit on the tourism in some of the bigger places, but a place like this, it’s just gone, you’ve just got farmers and that’s all.”
He said he was also concerned about his employees, many of whom were older.
“They’re not going to walk into just picking apples or picking avocados.”
“I don’t think (the government) worry too much about us ordinary people down here.”
Manjimup Shire president, and former leader of the WA Liberal Party Paul Omodei said it was a purely political decision.
“It’s a decision to placate the Greens and people in the metropolitan area who think the forests are being mismanaged, which is not true.”
Mr Omodei said the government’s commitment to invest $350 million towards the expansion of WA’s softwood timber plantations fell short.”[It] is over 10 years, so $35 million a year will not compensate anywhere near what’s needed,” he said.
“The softwood timber expansion which most of the funding will go towards will be mainly outside of the Manjimup district.
