Jason Lovell
THE proponents of the Tamar Valley pulp mill have used job creation as a major plank of their PR campaign for the mill, claiming more than 1000 jobs would be created during construction, with more than 300 permanent jobs once the mill is up and running.
This argument is the same argument relied upon by forest sector proponents generally — that forest logging and forestry development creates jobs in areas where specialised work is hard to come by and therefore benefits Tasmania by injecting funds into smaller communities.
But during the last week the media have revealed that a group of five skilled workers were awaiting payment for the welding they had done on the Ta Ann’s Southwood Veneer Peeler Mill, and that all five men were New Zealanders who had come to Tasmania on short-term contracts. Having finished the job they came to Tasmania to carry out, all five of the men have now returned home to New Zealand.
The non-payment of their wages has since been resolved, but there is still the lingering issue of forestry companies claiming to boost local employment in return for public subsidies, then flying in foreigners to fill their skilled labour positions.
Just how many of 300+ permanent and 1000+ construction workers claimed for the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill will actually be Tasmanians? Just how many of the construction and permanent workers at Ta Ann’s southern mill are Tasmanians? And how many of these workers are foreigners, coming in on short-term contracts before flying out again with their wages in their pockets?
