Listen Now: 
October 06, 2023
Sawmill subsidy encouraging non-pine processing
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On October 6, 2023
Download AudioThe Government is keen to see more non-pine trees processed in the nation’s sawmills.
Forestry Minister Peeni Henare says a fund established in May to encourage more local processing has been taken up by mills in Rotorua and Whangarei.
He recently visited the mill in Whangarei which has built an additional treatment plant to deal with the increased volume.
“They’ve got just over 60 staff. Ninety percent of them are Maori. The treatment plant allows them to grow staff numbers not just during the build but afterwards as well so it’s the kind of opportunity we used to have in New Zealand. May of us will remember when in small town New Zealand there was a sawmill and this is what this does. It puts the power back into those local economies,” Mr Henare says.
RELATED NEWS
