The Orana and Central West regions could become a major industry hub once the federal government’s Melbourne-Brisbane rail link – Inland Rail – comes online, Parkes MP Mark Coulton has said.
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Treasurer Scott Morrison committed $8.4 billion to the project in Tuesday’s budget, with construction set to begin on some sections before Christmas.
The project will deliver a significant employment boost for the region. Inland Rail is estimated to create 16,000 new jobs at the peak of its construction, Mr Coulton said, with the longest and most significant works – about 307 kilometres of new track – to take place between Narromine and Narrabri.
The 1700 kilometre freight rail link will also include upgrades to existing track between Parkes and Narromine.
“Having the line close to Narromine will present great opportunities there but I think some of the businesses in Dubbo can start to seriously look at how this can be an advantage for them,” Mr Coulton said.
“There will be great opportunities for the farmers and miners to have access to different ports, there’ll be opportunities for distribution centres and warehouses in the Central West … and for industry to set up where there’s an availability of land and access to every capital city in Australia for the first time by rail.
“I think it’s highly likely we’ll see some major industry relocate to the towns in the Central West.”
It’s a major win for Mr Coulton – the project was one of the reasons he entered federal politics in 2007.
But the project has also been welcomed by local business leaders.
Regional Development Australia (RDA) Orana chair John Walkom has dubbed it the “jewel in the crown” of a budget that showed a strong commitment to regional Australia.
He said the rail link would provide greater access to Asian markets, which local producers could capitalise on through value-adding.
“What our region needs to focus on now is how we can capitalise on … the business opportunities during the construction process, and what that connectivity will create,” Mr Walkom said.
“This is certainly a generational piece of infrastructure.
“There’s been money spent on regional infrastructure before but not like this … it’s region-shaping.”
The Western NSW Business Chamber has also welcomed the commitment, with regional manager Vicki Seccombe saying “the short and long term benefits to businesses in inland NSW will be high and projects such as the Inland Rail are job creators for our region”.
“But we do want to see a commitment to using our local businesses to provide goods and services for the project,” Ms Seccombe said.
