FEDERAL Member for McMillan Russell Broadbent has used Parliament to urge all Australians to buy locally-made paper.
Mr Broadbent yesterday held up an empty package of 20 per cent recycled paper made at Australian Paper’s Maryvale mill in Parliament and spruiked the virtues of buying the local product.
“This means more to me than just a simple piece of rubbish that’s about to be thrown out. This is Australian paper. This paper was made in Australia by the hands of Australians, by the innovation of Australians and it actually affects the lives of thousands of people in the electorates of Gippsland and McMillan and right across this nation,” Mr Broadbent said.
Mr Broadbent and Member for Gippsland Darren Chester have taken up the fight in Federal Parliament for government departments to use Australian-made recycled paper.
It follows a decision by the Federal Government to no longer require its departments to use 100 per cent recycled paper, despite backing a $90 million de-inking and recycling plant at Maryvale.
“Think about buying Australian paper because we need to preserve this industry in perpetuity so that we’ve got the cleanest paper in the world, the cleanest jobs in the world, (and) the greatest opportunities for young people across Gippsland and McMillan,” Mr Broadbent said.
