Timber Workers Raid Government Building in Adelaide

The forestry union met with the South Australian Premier but the meeting failed to end the protest. Its all about the sale of harvest rights of timber to the American owned timber company the Campbell Group. Local timber businesses are finding it very difficult to compete with the international invasion of business. It's typically the local mining and forestry industries that find competition, well... difficult to swallow.

The protest made it's way into South Australia's State Administration building yesterday. The government is of the opinion that the tax payer is propping up Carter Holt Harvey with enormous money inputs and no output to show for it. The Government is prepared to assist the company to improve it's technology and thus products, but to just throw Australian's hard earned cash into Carter Holt Harvey's pocket again and again is very difficult to digest.  Carter Holt Harvey blames high log prices for their businesses inefficiencies and lack of competitive edge. The Government offered them a $27 million bailout last year.

Unfortunately, the problem is not that simple. Companies that can't remain competitive because of their bad management practices or unionised deficiencies can only improve with a cultural shift. Throwing money at the problem is no different to throwing your your income tax into the chip-mill each year.