Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased today to talk about the government's Regional Growth Fund and the fact that Nannup Timber Processing Pty Ltd has been invited to submit a full business case to meet the assessment requirements for the next stage of the Regional Growth Fund. I congratulate Vince Corlett and his team at Nannup Timber Processing, and I'm looking forward to the full business case presentation, because this will involve the construction of the Nannup Plywood Veneer Peeling Facility, and that project will employ 30 people in the construction process and, as Vince said to me recently, up to 85 people when it's up and running.

For Nannup, this tiny little town with a population of around a thousand people, 280 kilometres south of Perth in the Blackwood Valley, this project would be bigger than Ben Hur. You can imagine what it means to a tiny little community with regard to the opportunities for value-adding. It will enable far better use of their existing residues and waste, and it means great opportunities for young people in this small community. Think of a thousand people and a project like this, with 30 people employed just in the construction and up to 85 once it's up and running. This will breathe new life into Nannup and the whole region, and the timber industry.