Have the Auspine dramas got anything to do with this …
But Rayonier has refused, with its position supported by former forestry minister Bryan Green and Premier Paul Lennon, who said the parties should sort it out themselves.
This has infuriated Auspine boss Andrew Jakab.
“We’ve got 300 jobs on the line, real people with real lives, and they won’t appoint a mediator,” Mr Jakab said.
Last week Rayonier announced a new player bidding for Auspine’s supply, Forest Enterprises Australia (FEA).
The addition of FEA to the mix appears to negate the use of a mediator.
Auspine’s battles with Forestry Tasmania go back to the 1990s. However, the flashpoint came in the lead-up to the 2004 federal election when Auspine announced a $450 million plan to expand Tasmania’s forest industry, with the promise of 900 new jobs.
It was the sort of plan which, during an election campaign, would usually attract politicians like flies to a barbecue.
But there was little political support from Tasmania.
Auspine’s plan did not require new pine plantations or any old-growth clearfell. Auspine’s Mr Jakab said the days of old growth were numbered.
His comment drew fierce criticism from Gunns, which depends on the old-growth resource.
“Their comments have been extremely damaging to themselves and to their future in Tasmania,” Gunns boss John Gay said at the time.
Forestry unions fell in behind Mr Gay and slammed the plan.
After the election, Gunns changed its supplier and bought pine from Auspine’s competitor, Frenchpine. That loss of sales cost Auspine more than $2.5 million.
In an intriguing twist, Auspine bought Frenchpine last year for $35 million.
In the lead-up to the March 2006 state election, about 1000 locals marched in Scottsdale, supporting Auspine. Rayonier responded by suspending negotiations until after the election.
Auspine countered, taking full-page advertisements in the state’s newspapers explaining its position.
Last month 120 Auspine workers demonstrated at Burnie wharf against the export of pine logs by Rayonier.
“They’re exporting Tasmanian logs and Tasmanian jobs,” Mr Jakab said.
On Tasmanian Times:
The toxic Public Sphere
