The owner of Australia's last white paper mill is suing a state government over an alleged contract breach that permanently shut down production.

Opal, the operator of the Maryvale Mill in Victoria's La Trobe Valley, launched a lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking $402 million in damages from the Victorian government.

Its statement of claim accuses the state government of breaching an agreement, entered into with the mill's former owner Amcor Limited in 1996, to supply pulp wood.

The agreement was not due to expire until June 30, 2030 but was ripped up after the state government announced native logging would end on January 1, 2024.

Opal terminated the supply agreement two days after the announcement in May 2023 over a "breach or an anticipatory breach", the court document al

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