Amazon Basics Multi-purpose Copy Printer Paper, A4 80 gsm, 2500 Count (Pack of 5), White

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A hardwood grower, John Woodley, says plantations have been “competing directly with government agencies for market share”. Plantation farmers say the state undercuts plantations by handing VicForests and customers like Opal a free primary resource – 1.8m hectares (4.5m acres) of native forest. Victoria produces on average around 2.5m cubic metres of hardwood plantation pulplog per annum,” he says. “Most is exported.”

The impact on jobs from the potential closure of the mill would not be restricted to Maryvale. According to the Victorian auditor general’s office, downstream wood industries “could not operate financially without [VicForests] pulp log sales”. Mill workers believe Opal “isn’t interested in sourcing timber from anywhere else”, Henry says. “They’re using VicForests as an excuse for something that wasn’t making a profit.” Out of paper: the last roll of white copy paper produced at the Maryvale mill in December. Photograph: Olivias PoppaSarah Rees, a conservationist who served on the government’s forest industry taskforce and the forest stewardship council, says it could lead to “a house of cards collapse”. Chris Taylor, a forestry researcher at the Australian National University, says plantation timber “can replace VicForests shortfalls multiple times over”. Plantation blue gum grown in western Victoria is bought by Nippon Paper Group – the owner of Opal – and exported.

Reflex commands 80% of Australia’s white copy paper market but consumption has halved in the past decade, with further decline predicted. The digital transformation of workplaces and universities slowed consumption, and Reflex’s use of what is known as “high conservation value” native timber resulted in it losing its Forest Stewardship Council accreditation, prompting thousands of businesses to sign an “ ethical paper pledge” to boycott it. Opal says the M5 shutdown is due to a series of court rulings against its supplier VicForests, the state-owned logging enterprise. In a statement to shareholders on Tuesday, it said its decision to close was a “response to this sudden and unexpected suspension of supply”.Suitable for high volume printing, faxing and copying, the 500 sheets of 3R91854 A4 Premier Paper give exceptional reliability when used in high-speed laser and colour inkjet printers as well as copier machines. The Maryvale paper mill is the latest in a long line of employers in the Latrobe Valley to close or downsize. Photograph: Chris Taylor It’s a false dichotomy of jobs versus environment, a culture war that the company is stoking because it doesn’t want to take responsibility for something it hasn’t planned for,” says Bronya Lipski, a lawyer who grew up in the Latrobe Valley and now works as policy and advocacy manager at Environment Victoria.