Unions at Australia’s last remaining office paper manufacturer expect the company to soon decide whether to permanently cease production. Between December and January, Opal Australian Paper stood down 120 workers from its white paper production line at its Maryvale mill in the Latrobe Valley, east of Melbourne. The production line primarily makes printing and inkjet paper. It’s understood the mill’s Japanese-owned parent company Nippon Paper Group will decide on Wednesday whether to halt its operations in white paper production. A lack of timber supply is being blamed for the decision, after the company was unable to secure an alternative hardwood supply when a court order late last year halted VicForests’ operations across the state. …The mill also produces brown paper, in the form of kraft liner board for containers. At this point, brown paper production is not affected.