Australian Paper has made a pre-election plea for the government to recognise its economic contribution by buying local.

The 1,400-staff manufacturer said its two mills annually produced about 600,000 tonnes of paper – and that it contributed $724 per tonne to the government, which would equate to $434 million per year.

Chief executive Jim Henneberry said the Maryvale and Shoalhaven mills, both of which are in regional areas, provided a "valuable contribution" to the "Australian economy, communities and jobs".

He added that local papers were forced to compete with imports from Indonesia, China and Thailand that were "flooding into Australia" due to the "high Australian dollar".

[Related: Australian Paper takes on cheap imports]

"Together, Australia’s federal, state and local governments form the largest national paper buying group and we need their support for Australian manufacturing now more than ever before," said Henneberry.

"As a significant local manufacturer, Australian Paper’s operations have a major positive revenue impact across all levels of government… It makes real sense for governments to take this into account and actively support paper made locally rather than from overseas."

Henneberry said Australian Paper backed a campaign by the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union to support local manufacturing.

"The CFMEU’s 'Let’s Spread it Around' campaign recognises the importance of local manufacturing and local jobs to healthy Australian communities," he said.

"Governments at all levels are large users of paper and the campaign emphasises the important role local, state and federal governments can play in taking into account the value created by a major Australian manufacturing industry and the thousands of local jobs we support."

[LinkedIn: Is the government doing enough to support the industry?]

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