My heart goes out to the 142 workers who will lose their jobs with the closure of the South Island’s largest sawmill at Eves Valley, here in Tasman. Carter Holt Harvey is consolidating its operations to one mill in Kawerau in the North Island, which now has the capacity to produce construction timber for the whole of New Zealand.
This is a heavy blow to our local economy, especially considering the ripple effect for all the additional businesses that supported the sawmill in its operations. And in the current economic climate, it is highly unlikely that another operator would step in to reopen the site – the closure is probably permanent for our region.
The sawmill closure is a case in point for the sometimes perverse incentives of globalised markets – and central government legislation – that drive concentration and mechanisation at the expense of local jobs, communities and the environment.
New Zealand is the world’s largest exporter of raw logs. Not because we have the largest commercial forests on the planet, but because we are one of the very few developed countries that still allows the unlimited export of unprocessed timber. Other countries restrict the quantity of logs for export to support industries that create value-added products locally, lifting productivity and protecting jobs.
Exporting raw primary products while importing refined or manufactured goods is the hallmark of a low-value economy. Unfortunately, that is exactly what we are incentivising here in New Zealand. It is cheaper to send raw logs to China for processing and to buy back construction timber than it is to process timber locally. That is why we are seeing local sawmills disappear from our countryside, leaving unemployment and rising living costs in their wake, as the jobs and productivity shift offshore.
Local government cannot fix these national policy settings, but we can build resilience. As Mayor, I’ll work to support small businesses, diversify our economy and celebrate the goods and produce that make Tasman special. We must strengthen our local economy so we are not left so vulnerable to decisions made in boardrooms or in Wellington.
