PM makes $24 million election pledge to upgrade nation’s last newsprint factory 

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has committed $24 million to help modernise the historic Boyer Paper Mill, north-west of Hobart, the nation’s last producer of newsprint and communication paper.

A statement from the Australian Forest Products Association describes the assistance as helping the mill transition its boiler infrastructure power “from coal to electricity along with other essential measures.”

AFPA CEO Diana Hallam said on Monday: “We welcome Federal Labor’s commitment to the Boyer Mill announced today – $9 million in upfront support over the next two years and $15 million to deliver mill upgrades over the longer-term.”

The mill was previously allocated $2.1 million through the October 2022 federal budget, supporting a feasibility study to replace the coal-fired boiler.

It has a capacity of 150 000 tonnes of newsprint and 135 000 tonnes of lightweight coated magazine paper, according to a statement from former owner Norske Skog earlier this year. 

Boyer is in the federal seat of Lyons, where Labor’s Rebecca White is a candidate after Brian Mitchell’s retirement. He held the seat since 2016. 

https://x.com/AlboMP/status/1911686926035263966

According to a statement from Michael O’Connor of the “soon to be Timber Furnishing Textiles Union (TFTU)”, the announcement “is a win for Tasmanian timber and manufacturing workers”.

“This announcement shows what’s possible when government backs local industry – a strong forestry sector and a strong future for pulp, paper and bioproducts manufacturing right here in Tasmania,” he added.

The site employs approximately 300 directly. The TFTU said the Boyer site also supports “over 100 harvest and haulage” jobs through its supply chain.

The mill was constructed in 1941 by Australian Newsprint Mills, and had been owned by Norway-based Norske Skog since 2020.

Norske Skog announced in February that it had sold the mill for $27 million to Boyer Capital, led by David Marriner.

Picture: credit Norske Skog

Further reading

Prudent and targeted – budget delivers for industry

No more sleepwalking on manufacturing: Who are the budget’s big winners?