No more pallets being made as Corryong sawmill closes

Giant piles of logs dwindled in recent months as Walkers Sawmill worked towards a closure prompted by the Victorian government's ban on native timber harvesting.

For workers such as administration officer Rhonda Witter and pallet maker Gary Williams it is a sorry outcome after having toiled at the mill for 16 years and 41 years respectively.

"It's the end of an era, that's for sure," said Ms Witter, who distributed letters of termination on Monday.

"They're going to lose a lot of income that comes in, we buy a lot of our products for running the mill from the area, Albury-Wodonga and Corryong."

Mr Williams was a teenager when he began at the mill in 1982.

"It's sad to see it go from the town because it's been a stable industry here for years," Mr Williams said.

"Some of the extremists would say 'yeah it's good to see it go', but I would say 'well it's still a renewable resource, if it's managed right it's still a workable industry'."

While Ms Witter plans to retire and enjoy her grandchildren, Mr Williams hopes to find work picking fruit or caring for trees subject to medical treatment.

"I'm seven years off retirement and I've got a hernia I've got to go and get sorted out and until that happens I can't be looking for another job," Mr Williams said.

There are 24 workers being made redundant with a handful to stay on for a few weeks to tidy the site to ensure it is safe for the fire season.

Thousands of tonnes of waste material will be bagged for kindling and firewood.

Sawmill owner Graham Walker, whose family has run the mill since 1965, said there was no doubt the closure would have a big impact on Corryong.

"I think our family can hold its head high in every aspect of our business dealings," Mr Walker said.

"Many employees have had interest free loans to buy cars, pay off debts, two have had their house deposits lent to them and numerous others helped over the years."

Mr Walker said no firm plans had been made for the mill site.

Member for Benambra Bill Tilley lamented the loss of Corryong's biggest private employer.

"It's a bad day for Corryong and orangutans, you can paper over this with a promise of training or reskilling, but this is 20-plus jobs and the flow on from that is devastating for the town," Mr Tilley said.

"The virtue signalling that drove this decision has become a pox on our parliament.

"The mill operated in Corryong for almost a century, the plan was to phase out the native timber to plantations by 2030 but then bang, Labor fast tracks the closure and families in regional Victoria are devastated.

"We had a heavily regulated industry - well managed, well maintained and well governed - now we're going to import from Borneo, Indonesia, or the Amazon, where are the bleating Greens on that?"

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