Pollution May Kill Textile Jobs
Newcastle Herald
Thursday February 5, 1998
THE NSW Minister for Regional Development, Mr Harry Woods, will investigate an assertion that National Textiles is about to slash its Rutherford workforce of 420 people and cut fabric-making operations on the site.
Mr Peter Blackmore, MLA Maitland, raised the issue at a media conference in Maitland Town Hall yesterday.
Mr Woods was in Maitland to announce an inquiry into the loss of about 500 jobs because South African millionaire Mr Mel Lahner decided against building a full-scale $30million shelving and trolley-making factory, called Rack Rite, at Rutherford.
Mr Blackmore said National Textiles could not meet water pollution discharge requirements for its Rutherford site.
The company had asked Mr Woods's department in November for $3.8million to upgrade Rutherford pollution control equipment without which it would have to `downsize', he said.
In a drastic move to slow its pollution output, National Textiles had had to reduce its regular number of weekly work shifts, Mr Blackmore said.
The Newcastle Herald was unable to obtain comment from a National Textiles representative yesterday.
Hunter Water Corporation and National Textiles have been discussing for years what could be done to clean up industrial waste that National Textiles discharges into Fishery Creek.
A corporation spokesman confirmed that caustic pollution from National Textiles had on a few occasions killed off wastewater cleansing bacteria that grew in the Farley water treatment works.
The Herald reported last month that the Department of Immigration had refused Mr Lahner an Australian work permit for various reasons, including health grounds because he was 60 last year and had had heart bypass surgery.
Mr Lahner said this meant he would build the bulk of his Rack Rite operation in Ireland and a smaller factory, employing about 100 people, at Rutherford.
Mr Woods said yesterday that Department of Immigration red tape appeared to have cost regional Australia 500 jobs and the `bungle' warranted an inquiry.
It would be conducted by the Legislative Council Standing Committee on State Development, to start as soon as possible and be completed before July.
Mr Blackmore dismissed the inquiry as a politically driven waste of time.
Mr Bob Baldwin, MHR Paterson, said the inquiry was a `cloud cuckoo and patently ridiculous suggestion'.
The Australian Labor Party's Paterson electorate candidate, Mr Bob Horne, supported the inquiry.
The standing committee's chairman, Mr Tony Kelly, said he had actually begun the inquiry on Tuesday by interviewing a senior Maitland City Council officer.
Maitland council's State Government-appointed administrator, Mr Ron Eagle, said he looked forward to the inquiry's outcome because he believed that council officers had been very efficient and thorough in their handling of Mr Lahner's development application.
The council approved the project in the middle of 1996.
© 1998 Newcastle Herald