Premier makes ‘loathed’ decision to lock in $15m Mossman crush

The state has again come to the rescue of the Mossman cane industry but the Premier has made assurances to Qld taxpayers that the government will not continue to prop up unviable private enterprise.

The final bin to be crushed at the at Mossman Mill in 2023. Picture: Far North Milling

The state has again come to the rescue of the Mossman cane industry but the Premier has made assurances to Queensland taxpayers that the government will not continue to prop up unviable private enterprise.

Premier Steven Miles revealed on Tuesday $6m would be made available to cover the cost of cane cartage from Mossman to MSF’s Gordonvale Mill.

The decision to redirect half of a mill worker retraining pool has been applauded by the Australian Sugar Milling Council and industry lobby group Canegrowers.

The Mossman Mill before the final shutdown at the end of the season last year. Picture: GIZELLE GHIDELLA

Despite a combined state and federal investment of almost $60m, there was hope among Mossman townspeople and growers the mill would be saved from ruin after Far Northern Milling entered voluntary administration in November last year.

But major machinery failures, critical labour shortages and limited cane supply all contributed to Mossman Mill posting an operating loss of $5m last year before government handouts.

Canegrowers chief executive Dan Galligan said after months of limbo the 2024 crush can now at last go ahead and growers can recoup some of the $15m invested in the crop.

But the ongoing impact of the mill’s closure on Queensland’s most northern sugar town remains unclear.

“Growers will still need to pay up to $12 per tonne for transport costs, so for some the finances of this arrangement are tight, but they are determined that this crop should be turned into an economic outcome,” he said.

The MSF owned sugar mill at Gordonvale. Picture: Peter Carruthers

Without the $6m commitment, Mr Galligan said the milling company and growers sharing transport costs would have made the 100km journey to Gordonvale unviable.

Australian Sugar Milling Council’s chief executive Ash Salardini while “delighted” cane would be crushed also stated the Mossman mill closure was symbolic of broader challenges facing the sugar sector.

“The reality is that without the sugar milling sector, we don’t have a sugar industry, and Queensland loses its second largest agricultural export (and) sugar mills are a significant contributor to the employment and economic wellbeing of regional communities,” he said.

Mossman Canegrowers chairman Matt Watson said it had been an anxious time for growers. “But now that we know the harvest is going ahead, it’s all hands on deck to make this happen,” he said.

In a sign new cash could be the final lifeline for the beleaguered mill Premier Miles said if the venture wasn’t sustainable, the Mossman community needed to be supported into a viable future.

“Queensland and Australian taxpayers have already invested tens of millions of dollars to keep the mill operating, and that’s one of the reasons we’ve been loathe to throw more good money after bad,” he said.

“This is a private business and we can’t be in the business of forever propping up private enterprises, we need to find sustainable ways of delivering economic development.”

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Originally published as Premier makes ‘loathed’ decision to lock in $15m Mossman crush