CSIRO Scouring Plant Motion Passes Senate

The Tasmanian Greens have been actively supporting our fight to have the CSIRO scour remain as a dedicated scour for our Industry . Sophie Underwood, a staffer for Senator Christine Milne has consulted with me on several occasions in respect to the Greens support & exactly how they could help us.Senator Milne put a motion to the Senate about the CSIRO scour a few days ago. Sophie contacted me with the following information about the motion....

Dear All,

CSIRO scouring plant motion passes Senate

The Senate today passed the following motion from Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania Christine Milne:

That the Senate:

• (a) notes that:

• (i) the closure of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) wool scour at Belmont in Victoria will impact on thousands of Australian individuals, small businesses and a number of large Australian companies,

• (ii) the CSIRO scouring plant is vital infrastructure to businesses, researchers and enterprises associated with the Australian speciality fibre industries (ultra and superfine wools, coloured wool, cashmere, mohair, alpaca and commercial processors) and small lot wool processors, and

• (iii) it is the only scour in Australia commercially scouring small lots and coloured fibre and its closure will threaten the viability of industry members and force others offshore for processing; and

• (b) further notes the efforts of the Government to date and calls on the Government to ensure that the CSIRO scouring plant is not decommissioned and, if privatised, is required to prioritise research and development and provide ongoing long-term access to scouring services in Victoria for the speciality fibre industries and small lot wool processors.