Hundreds of jobs on the line at Maryvale Mill, Latrobe Valley’s biggest employer

Regional communities in Gippsland are bracing for more pain in what’s been described as a “botched plan that will leave a legacy of job losses”.

There are fears of imminent job losses at the Maryvale Mill.

Fears are mounting for hundreds more job losses in the timber industry are imminent as mills continue to limit their operations, with the state government accused of not yet delivering a single plantation needed to save the sector.

It comes as the Maryvale Mill, the Latrobe Valley’s biggest employer, is preparing to switch off a second machine just weeks after it ended white paper production.

Advocates in regional Victoria have accused the government for failing its 2019 pledge to help maintain the timber industry when native logging ends at the end of this decade.

At the time, they pledged $110m to invest in setting up new plantations to replace these operations.

Maryvale Mill is preparing to switch off a second machine just weeks after it ended white paper production.

However Timber Towns Victoria spokeswoman Councillor Karen Stephens said this “glossy statement” was far from reality.

New plantations that were committed funding between 2019 and 2022 have been cancelled while a pre-election pledge to plan 16 million trees was unlikely to be ready in time.

“We have not seen any plantations established since this announcement more than three years ago, and workers in the industry are facing more uncertainty than ever before, with many long term workers being stood down from the industry,’ she said.

“Mills are closing. Jobs have been lost. That is the hard cold truth,” she said.

Australia no longer produces white paper, used for printing and documents, at home after the Maryvale Mill shut down production in February.

The decision was made after legal restrictions have prevented government-owned VicForests from being able to harvest since last year, leading to the mill and its other suppliers to run out of supply.

About 200 jobs were lost and shortages have become so dire VicForests this week admitted it has had to pay out $38m in taxpayer funds to cover the cost of not meeting contracts.

It is now feared more mills will shut down production this year, with the Maryvale site planning to shut down work on its M2 machine within weeks.

This machine does not produce white copy paper, but instead makes brown bag materials and has the rare ability to add a machine glaze.

A spokeswoman for Opal Australian Paper, who run the mill, said the company was still consulting about how it would change its business model after ending white paper production.

This included turning the site around to its "core strategy” of meeting demand for fibre packaging.

“It is now important to re-set the Maryvale Mill over the long-term as a sustainable,

profitable and focused packaging manufacturing site within the integrated Opal

business,” she said.

Opposition agriculture spokeswoman Emma Kealy said it took 20 years for plantation timber to mature, meaning regional communities could expect more pain.

“Labor’s botched plan will leave a legacy of job losses, mill closures, the loss of a sustainable industry which will impact the viability of many regional towns.

Agriculture Minister Hayle Tierney said timber supply was a challenge and the state would support workers and businesses.

“We have activated the Worker Support Program so impacted workers can find new opportunities,” she said

“We’re investing in 11 priority timber communities through targeted grants. And we are financially supporting sawmills to stay in the industry and innovate – or exit if they choose.

“Victoria is already a nation leader in plantations. Our $120 million investment in a new plantation estate in Gippsland is about prioritising future supply to local industry.”

Originally published as Hundreds of jobs on the line at Maryvale Mill, Latrobe Valley’s biggest employer