Kyogle timber mill closed its doors last week. This facility employed over 60 people at its peak. Only a skeleton crew has been left to decommission the Summerland Way site.
“We are importing more timber from France and other countries while our local timber mills are being locked down,” Nationals Member for Page, Kevin Hogan, said.
Nationals Candidate for Lismore Dylan Butcher said the closure was a gut punch to Kyogle and has questioned how the local state Labor MP, who is also the Minister for the North Coast, could stand by while local jobs disappeared.
“When it was running at full steam, this mill would have been one of the biggest private employers in Kyogle. Those are local jobs, local wages and local families,” Mr Butcher said.
“When a mill closes in a town this size, it’s not just the workers who lose out. It’s the cafe they buy lunch from, the mechanic who services their ute, the footy club their kids play for and the school their kids go to.
“These are skilled, specialised jobs. Labor’s answer is money to retrain, but people who’ve spent years in timber aren’t going to retrain and become baristas. Most will likely have to leave Kyogle to keep working in their trade, and they’ll take their families with them.”
Mr Hogan said the closure also raised serious concerns about the long-term future of the local timber industry.
“Once these mills close, they are very difficult to bring back. We risk losing local jobs, infrastructure and specialised skills that have been built up over generations,” Kevin Hogan said.
“The timber industry has been an important part of the Kyogle community for more than a century. These are highly specialised skills that we cannot afford to lose.”
