Anderton welcomes quality job creation in Gisborne processing

Minister for Regional Development, Jim Anderton, is welcoming the news that Ernslaw One Ltd. has purchased the Prime Sawmill in Gisborne, with plans to create an extra thirty to forty jobs as it expands its operations.

"The mill currently processes about 50,000 cubic metres of logs a year and Ernslaw One plans to increase that by 400 per cent to around 200,000 cubic metres a year – that is good news for people looking for secure, sustainable work in the industry and it is also very good news for the Gisborne regional economy," Jim Anderton said.

The coalition government actively supports the strengthening of regional economies through strategies such as the recently-launched Tairawhiti Regional Development Strategy which includes support for developing the forestry sector.

"We all know that there is no long-term future in harvesting forests in an unsustainable manner because no one wins if we keep going down that track.

"The most important thing we can all do to promote sustainable, quality job creation in the East Coast is to encourage more processing of locally-harvested wood in the region prior to export.

"The more wood processing we can have within New Zealand then the more value we can add to New Zealand's overall wealth which will deliver more and better paying jobs for Kiwis in our regions into the future," the Progressive leader said.

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