THE YEAR THAT WAS: A fight to the bitter end to keep Mossman sugar era alive - Jeremy Blockey

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The Mossman Sugar Mill is a major local employer and crucial to the town's economy. Picture: Supplied

From devastating landslides in the wake of Cyclone Jasper to the closure of Mossman's sugar mill, 2024 has been a year that will remain forever etched in the hearts of Douglas Shire residents.

In a series of 12 articles from each month of the year, Newsport Daily looks back on some of the biggest stories that have impacted Douglas locals the most.

FEBRUARY

If you thought things couldn’t get any worse after the floods, Douglas Shire is on the precipice of watching the collapse of the sugar industry. 

Administrator of the Mossman Mill, John Goggin of Worrells, is set to hand down his report this Thursday to creditors in which he recommends the winding up of Mossman Mill. 

At "one minute to midnight" it seems that there is no knight in shining armour to save the mill. In recent months there have been possible suitors, but they have stepped back.

The big challenge is that the industry had already received up to $45m in State and Federal government assistance and no government is going to be receptive to an industry bail-out package.

That is just reality. 

What needs to happen now is to shift the focus, not just on saving the mill, but on saving the Shire. 

Let me explain: the loss of sugar will not just mean jobs lost at the mill; there will be an exodus of families as they are forced to relocate to find work - dislocation will have impacts on schooling and stress on family life; we will lose skills as well as a major long-term employer of apprentices; local businesses, from cafes to mechanics, will lose trade as farmers pull back on spending; and of course farmers will flounder as they look at their cane wither in the paddock and watch their hard work amount to nought.

Apart from the 150-odd direct mill jobs, there are another 420+ jobs across Douglas at risk.

The consequences for Douglas Shire Council are huge.

The economic impact will flow through to all walks of life, including stresses on council revenues. 

So the council needs to come out swinging - lobbying governments to save our Shire. That may mean seeking many millions to sustain the industry for a period or one, two or more years. 

But let’s be realistic: no government nowadays is in the business of propping up industries - there are, sadly, many examples of that.

But that is no excuse for governments not saving our Shire, especially in our hour of need. 

Add your voice to the fray, attend the Chamber of Commerce forum tonight, write letters to your state and federal members, sign a petition. 

Make our voice heard.

Don’t let 2024 be the end of the sugar era without a fight to the bitter end to keep it alive. 

Best,

Jeremy Blockey