The Hand That Gives Also Takes Away

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The Australian logging company Gunns is reviewing its corporate sponsorships as it struggles to deal with a dramatic slump in sales of woodchips to Japanese customers. In an interview, the company's new chief executive, Greg L'Estrange, flagged that the company would be cutting back its sponsorships. "We haven't finished our discussions but certainly you would say our appetite for some of these areas has diminished. Life is a two-way street. People keep wanting us to keep putting money back into the community but they need to want us as well," he said. Gunns has encountered strong opposition to its proposal for a pulp mill and been humiliated in court over its pursuit of a legal action against leading environmentalists.