SPECULATION in metropolitan and national media that timber giant Gunns Timber was reconsidering its involvement in its Heyfield timber mill has been laid to rest.
Wellington Shire Council chief executive Tim Johnson and Cr Malcolm Hole recently met the management team of the Heyfield facility to discuss and review local operations and the future of Gunns Timber Products Heyfield.
Mr Johnson told council on Tuesday he was pleased to report Gunns Timber Products Heyfield remained fully committed to their Heyfield operations.
"Wellington Shire Council recognises that the Gunns Timber Products Heyfield facility is a tremendous contributor to the economic and social wellbeing of the Heyfield and district communities,'' he said.
"The Gunns Timber Products Heyfield facility employs a large local workforce and has embraced a range of technological innovations designed to not only enhance the production efficiency of the facility but also its environmental credentials.
"Their willingness to implement a range of new environmental benchmarks and standards should be commended.
"There is no doubt that the future health and vitality of the Heyfield community is inextricably linked to that of the Gunns Timber Products Heyfield facility.
"It plays a significant role in securing liveability outcomes not only for the local community but more widely the Wellington Shire. Wellington Shire Council is committed to reaffirming the significance of this facility,'' Mr Johnson said.
Cr Hole endorsed Mr Johnson's comments stating he was confident of the mill's future.
He emphasised the importance of the mill pointing out it directly employed about 200 people with another 300 employed within the timber supply chain.
The speculation Gunns would pull out of Heyfield was sparked by the company's decision to phase out state forest logging in Tasmania.
However Gunns Timber Products Heyfield general manager, Vince Hurley, assured the Gippsland Times the decision would have little to no impact on operations in Heyfield.
"It means pretty much nothing as far as we're concerned here in Heyfield,'' he said.
"We are, by far one of the largest hardwood sawmills in Victoria, and if Gunns doesn't want us, then somebody else certainly will.
"Most of the hardwood plantations established in the area are for pulpwood, so in order for our operations to move to sourcing from plantations, we'd need to be looking at buying the land for sawlog plantations and then it would take at least 20 years for the trees to be ready.''
Victoria's peak representative body for the timber industry, the Victorian Association of Forest Industries, has stated it supports the continued sustainable harvesting of native forest in Victoria as part of a mixed supply of timber, along with plantation estate.
VAFI president and Hallmark Oakes managing director Bob Humphreys said without harvesting native forests, timber industries would not be able to meet community demands for wood products.
"People want to buy timber floorboards, wooden dining tables and other forest products, and without access to native Australian forests, timber from less sustainable industries in other countries will be imported to meet this demand,'' he said.
