Joe Gallagher: E tū negotiations specialist on Kinleith Mill halting paper production and putting jobs on the line

There's concern for hundreds of Kiwi workers as one of New Zealand's biggest pulp and paper mills looks to halt production.

Tokoroa's Kinleith Mill plans to halt paper processing by June 2025 - with 230 jobs on the line.

E tū negotiations specialist Joe Gallagher says these jobs cuts will have a ripple effect that impacts the rest of Tokoroa.

"Tokoroa was born out of the fact that a lot of people migrated to the area to work at Kinleith - a lot of people rely on Kinleith. 230 jobs is not insignificant and that's not counting the downstream of people in cafes, doctors, nurses and all those other jobs.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Just to go to talk it to those. It's a
tough day for the town. They've got news that two
hundred and thirty jobs are set to be cut at
the pulp and paper mill. Now, Malaysian manufacturer paper manufacturer
OG Fiber Solutions owns the place wants to stop producing
paper at kin Leaf next June. It's already shutting. It's
Penrose plant in Auckland. Joe Gallagher from two was at
the meeting with staff this morning. Hey Joe, afternoon, Heather, Joe, Listen,

(00:22):
this was always on the cards, wasn't it after Penrose?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
A Look, you know we've got, you know, facing some
pretty tough economic conditions. There's a bit more to this
potential closure than Penros. I mean, you've got power and
guess prices, you've got an aging plant in a really
tough kind of way. We're steady there reflecting today, I'm
standing in a place full of trees. Yet the price

(00:47):
of domestic logs. You know, OG doesn't own a forest,
so they have to they have to purchase the logs
at roughly three hundred dollars a ton. So and they're
saying they can't, they can't make paper. They need ten
tons of chip to make one ton of paper, and
they say it's only economical, which is you know kind
of you know, adding head into the mix. And it

(01:08):
just doesn't make sense when we're in a country full
of trees. It's just, you know, it's really hard to take.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
What happens to these people. I mean, I can't imagine
that there are a huge number of jobs.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
And talk it all no and you know it's been
around for over fifty years. You know, it's you know,
in the Tokara really was born out of the fact
that a lot of people migrated to the area to
work at Kindley. So you know a lot of people
rely on in the south south of Way Kido rely
on Kindley. You know, two hundred and thirty jobs. It's

(01:38):
not insignificantly, that's not counting the downstream effect on cafe stoptors,
nurses and all those other jobs. And someone said to me, oh,
they're building a new countdown down there, you know, I
mean it's a pretty tough thing to take to, you know,
go from well paid jobs a potentially having to work
countdown or move away. It's really people are very very upset.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
What's going to happen to the paper now as well.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, I mean essentially they will import paper from their
Malaysian plant or any other supplier that they can get.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
But weren't they, Joe, weren't they recycling our paper? Weren't
we sending our paper there for recycling a.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Portion of it? But you know that a lot of
the stuff that they've got a paper machine there that
makes a lot of that packaging stuff that they supply
to the fruit industry in different industries, so they will
import that and that kind of raises that question. And
this is why I'm saying, you know, we need to
halt the consultation. We need to sit down. If they're

(02:37):
serious about it, we need to talk to people like
Shane James. I've got a regional growth Fund. This is
a perfect example of why we could get some money,
put some horse fare and get some call heads in
the room and circle could come up with a way
to support can lead in the wider community to continue
to make paper in New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Joe Beast of Black, thank you so much for your time.
As Joe Gallagher from.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
It Too for more or from hither Duplessy Allen Drive
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