Carbon tax could cost particleboard operation AU$1M/yearThe executive director of a particleboard operation in Victoria, Australia, says an AU$23/ton carbon tax due to start on 1 July will cost his business more than $1 million a year, putting jobs under threat, according to a report by The Border Mail.David Henderson of D&R Henderson Pty Ltd. in Benalla said he was dismayed the Gillard government had given in to the Greens’ demand for a carbon tax, which he says will force his company to increase the price of particleboard. D&R Henderson produces up to up to 13,000 m3 of particleboard a month and 7,000 m3 of melamine laminate. Over the last seven years, the company has spent $25 million on upgrading the machinery and improving the plant's efficiency and environmental performance. Henderson said the full impact of the carbon tax on the business had not yet been determined, but the plant's high energy costs meant it could be $100,000 per month. Henderson said the tax would take away all the benefit the company had gained from its restructuring. Henderson noted that the tax comes at a time when competition from Asia is increasing, and demand from the building and furniture industries is down. Source: The Border Mail |
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