TAXPAYERS will need to prop up the Triabunna woodchip mill if it ever reopens, according to its owner.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Triabunna Investments general manager Alec Marr said yesterday that the company was waiting to see if such an arrangement was part of the forest peace deal signed on Thursday.
"The mill is in the best condition it's been (in), because it hasn't been used for 18 months, but the market conditions are the worst they've ever been," Mr Marr said.
"The only way Triabunna could run is on massive government subsidies, and that may be what's buried in part of this agreement."
Mr Marr said the company would be seeking to speak to everyone involved in the process over the next few weeks.
"There are still many, many questions. It's really unclear what result, if any, there will be (from this agreement) until things start taking shape."
He said Triabunna Investments was unlikely to make any decision about the mill's future until at least after the Legislative Council debated related legislation in State Parliament.
The owners had recommitted to opening the mill, for a set time, as part of the forest peace process after entrepreneurs Jan Cameron and Graeme Wood bought it from Gunns.