Gunns is shutting its Alexandra sawmill with the loss of 44 jobs.
The company said it had to close the plant because of the high cost of sawlogs under the state of Victoria’s blind auction system, and the strength of the Australian dollar, which is affecting the competitiveness of its exports and resulting in its products being undercut by cheap imports on the domestic market.
Head of timber products Chris Peterson said that if these factors did not change, other Australian mills would close. However, he said Gunns was committed to continuing native timber processing at its larger, more modern mill in Heyfield.
“We’re not rushing to exit the native timber business,” he said.
In response to Gunns’ criticism, Australian agriculture minister Peter Walsh said there were no plans to change the native log auction system.
