After announcing plans this week to no longer print The Age and Australian Financial Review in Tasmania, Nine has now reversed that decision with the print versions to continue.
Earlier this week Nine’s managing director of publishing James Chessell told Mumbrella the newspapers would no longer be printed at ACM’s Rocherlea print site at Launceston due to soaring paper prices.
But after backlash from newsagents and the Australian Lottery & Newsagent Association, the decision was reviewed.
In a statement provided to Sprinter today, Chessell says the mastheads will continue to be printed.
“There has been positive movement on the printing of The Age and The Australian Financial Review in Tasmania, and we are happy to confirm that the printed issues of those mastheads will continue. We are always exploring ways with our printing partners to ensure the physical paper is available as broadly as possible,” Chessell said.
Newsprint prices have increased by up to 80 per cent over the last year due to the European energy crisis, supply chain issues related to Covid and the trend of paper mills shifting production towards paperboard.
Regional, community and suburban newspapers have been feeling the brunt of rising paper prices for some time.
In the lead up to the federal election this year, both the Coalition and Labor heeded the concerns of Country Press Australia and offered between $10 million and $15 million in funding support so newspapers could continue to be printed in country areas. A further $2 million in support was also pledged for paper miller, Norske Skog, which operates Australia’s last papermill located at Boyer, Tasmania.
Australia is now down to one paper mill – Norske Skog’s operation in Boyer, Tasmania.
In 2021 Norske Skog closed its paper mill in Tasman, New Zealand to address capacity issues. In October 2021 the company announced additional capacity closures for 2022 and 2023, including moving to paperboard production at its mills in Bruck, Austria and Golbey, France.
Earlier this year, The Real Media Collective CEO Kellie Northwood also spoke on this issue, saying a “perfect storm” was brewing for print due to mill closures, supply and demand imbalances, COVID-induced freight issues, the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on softwood supply, extended industrial action in Europe and global volume shortages which stood to hit the sector.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter