Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (19:00): (1419) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Regional Development, and the action I seek is for her and her department and the government to do everything they can to support the people of Yarram, most particularly the workers at the AKD sawmill, who turned up today to be told that they had lost their jobs – 73 workers and their families. This is a devastating blow, obviously for them but also for the wider Yarram community, which has a population of only about 2000. If you consider that proportion, that is a huge impact on a community like Yarram and on the families but also on the harvest and haul contractors, the trucking contractors and all the businesses that supply this mill. AKD has indicated that it is struggling to justify the continued operation of the mill, given the downturn in housing construction that has occurred and the general broader economic environment, which is a serious concern and I think an issue that all Victorians are equally concerned about.
Yarram has had its share of troubles in recent years. Firstly, the government’s decision to shut down the native timber industry had an impact, particularly on harvest and haul contractors there. There is another, smaller native hardwood timber mill in Yarram which is, thankfully, continuing along, the Radial Timber mill, but they are also struggling for log supply. We have also seen recently the Bendigo Bank close – the last bank in Yarram, closed. So Yarram has a had a few knocks lately. I know the minister is aware of this issue, and I thank her for contacting me earlier today, but I do need the government to do what it can. I am aware that Regional Development Victoria has been and met with management onsite this afternoon. I am not aware of the outcomes of that, and I am not sure whether there is much the government can do, certainly about the closure of the mill per se as it seems to be a fait accompli, but can the government do whatever it can to assist in terms of the workers and their entitlements, which I would hope would be protected anyway, and particularly in helping them to redeploy – not to some far-flung place but by trying to actually get some more jobs into Yarram. This is a significant employer in the town. It has been pretty dry in the Yarram area in the last year or two, so the agriculture sector has also been battling. It is really important that the government supports this community. Yarram is a wonderful community. It is a strong and vibrant community, and it needs all the help it can get to get through this very difficult phase.