Australian-made paper will be used “wherever practical” in all state government departments from July next year if the Coalition wins November’s election.
The commitment has received the backing from Australian Paper group general manager Julian Mathers who said its employees should feel “a lot more secure about their futures” following the announcement.
Speaking in Traralgon, Nationals leader Peter Walsh estimated more than 300,000 reams of paper were used by government each year and said the promise highlighted the Coalition was “serious about protecting Victorian jobs”.
“I’m not aware of any places that wouldn’t be practical, I suppose that’s put in there just in case there’s an example that none of us know about,” Mr Walsh said.
“It’s more about the signal to the industry here in the Valley, the signal to private enterprise … that they should be buying Australian paper.
“[We] will say to the government authorities ‘you will buy Australian paper’ and that sends a very clear signal to the rest of the population that we are serious about protecting Victorian jobs.”
The cost difference of using Australian-made paper would be “negligible”, according to Mr Walsh, who dismissed claims it would increase costs.
Opposition leader Matthew Guy said a majority of the paper would be “predominately Gippsland product” emanating from Australian Paper’s Maryvale mill.
“You’ve got product being taken in from Austria, product being taken in from other parts of the world. We are producing that paper here in Gippsland,” Mr Guy said.
“We believe that the vast majority of those 300,000 plus reams of paper will be able to be purchased on Australian product, Victorian product, predominately Gippsland product.”
However, member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing criticised the announcement, calling it a “policy on that run that doesn’t actually deliver anything”.
“The fact is that Government Departments are already required to consider local suppliers when purchasing paper, so this latest Coalition announcement to use local paper “where practical” doesn’t actually guarantee a single job or a single extra dollar for the local economy,” Ms Shing said.
“The Latrobe Valley deserves better than this, but it seems the Coalition hasn’t learned a thing since turning its back on the region after privatisation and again during the mine fire.”
Australian Paper group general manager Julian Mathers said the company was “very grateful” for the announcement which is expected to improve confidence for the company’s 5000-odd workers employed through its operations.
“Governments of all levels across Australia are the largest users of paper in Australia,” Mr Mathers said.
“The potential here in regards to not only the direct departments that are within government, but also those agencies and other arms of government … such as schools and hospitals [which use] a large consumption of paper so it would be very well received.
“I would like to this with the direction we are now setting and the type of support that is being shown today will be a lot more secure about their futures.”
The Coalition said Australian paper would be used in “all government departments” from July 1, 2019 if it wins the election.
