Opal is suing the Victorian government for $402 million, accusing it of not providing a steady supply of pulpwood.

 

Japanese-owned Paper Australia, trading as Opal, has filed proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria, claiming the government breached a contract that required it to provide a stable supply of pulpwood to the Maryvale Mill in Gippsland's Latrobe Valley.

 

The Maryvale Mill ceased white paper production in 2023 (including the once leading Reflex brand) but still produces other paper products in a smaller capacity, in the wake of dwindling native timber supply and the state government ending native timber harvesting in 2024.

 

Opal operates the mill near Morwell, and is a major employer in the region, with more than 500 people at its site and a direct economic output of more than $622 million each year.

 

The company said it was suing the state government for substantial loss and damage.

 

Timber Furnishing and Textiles Union president Denise Campbell-Burns said closure of the native timber industry was a ”travesty”, with widespread ramifications for Gippsland.

 

"You drive through the Gippsland area, and you look at what were flourishing timber towns that look like ghost towns," she told the ABC.

 

PHOTO: Workers at Maryvale with the mill's last ream of Reflex white paper in January 2023