Anthony Albanese pledges $24m to Boyer Paper Mill in Tasmania

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is backing Australians continuing to buy newspapers into the future, pledging $24 million to support hundreds of Tassie jobs in the process.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tours the Boyer Paper Mill near Hobart with Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Education Minister Julie Collins, and Labors Candidate for Lyons Rebecca White. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is backing Australians continuing to buy newspapers into the future, pledging $24 million to support hundreds of Tassie jobs in the process.

Mr Albanese visited the Boyer Paper Mill outside Hobart on Monday to announce the cash boost to help “prepare for a low-emissions future and secure the future of the mill”.

This includes $9m in upfront support over the next two years to assist Boyer in stabilising its operations and prepare major investments to decarbonise and diversify its production.

The Boyer Paper Mill was Australia’s first – and now last – producer of newsprint.

It was owned by Norwegian company Norske Skog from 2000 until today, when ownership was officially transferred over to Australian businessman David Marriner.

The site employs 310 people, and Mr Marriner has guaranteed no job losses as part of the takeover.

Labor holds two out of five lower house seats in Tasmania – Lyons (0.92 per cent) and Franklin (13.7 per cent).

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tours the Boyer Paper Mill near Hobart. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

Mr Albanese said his funding commitment to the paper mill in Tasmania’s south was an example of his desire to have a “future made in Australia”.

“We need to be more resilient as an economy,” he said.

“We need to produce essential items, and one of those is, of course, newsprint, which is why not just the survival of this plant, but the thriving of this plant as it transitions … is so important.”

Mr Albanese said the plant supported 310 direct local jobs and my more indirectly the media sector using newsprint.

The PM was also asked about native forest logging, saying there was “no changes” planned.

Mr Albanese was also asked about the salmon industry — dodging the question — before being asked whether it was “risky” to pump $24 million into a mill tied to the “sunset industry” of newspaper distribution.

“I love picking up a paper. I love holding it. I love reading it. So do many Australians. And you know what? I think it’s important that it continues to exist.”

Boyer Paper Mill general manager Patrick Dooley said the PM’s pledge would future-proof their operations.

“The funding commitment, together with the Prime Minister’s encouragement for us to apply for support via the Powering the Regions Fund, is most welcome as we start the next chapter of our long history as one of Tasmania’s cornerstone industries and major employers,” Mr Dooley said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tours the Boyer Paper Mill near Hobart. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

Candidate for Lyons Rebecca White said Boyer had a reputation for producing quality paper products that supported good, local jobs.

“I’m a proud backer of Boyer and have been working with the business to help secure this support to lock in Tassie’s place as the home of quality paper-making, powered by renewables,” Ms White said.

“I acknowledge the efforts of the dedicated workers at Boyer, unions and management who have worked together to find solutions so that Boyer can have a sustainable future for many years to come.”

Mr Albanese was also asked about the Macquarie Point stadium saga, saying the site was

an “eyesore” when it should be the jewel in the crown of Hobart.

He said the federal government in 2012, when he was infrastructure minister, had set aside $50m for the Tasmanian government to plan the stadium.

“It’s been sitting in the budget there for all of that time from Macquarie Point,” he said.

But Mr Albanese refused to be drawn on the state government’s decision to legislate the stadium into existence.

“That is a Tasmanian Government process, what I want to see is urban redevelopment,” he said.

“I have not had discussions with the premier about the specifics on the proposal. That’s a matter for Tasmania.”

Originally published as Anthony Albanese pledges $24m to Boyer Paper Mill in Tasmania