Government agencies and private businesses will be targeted in a push to encourage more decentralisation to regional NSW.
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Member for Calare and the Minister for Decentralisation Andrew Gee said "everything is on the table" as the federal government seeks to encourage transfers to the regions.
Mr Gee and deputy prime minister Michael McCormack officially opened the latest department to move to Orange on Monday. The Regional Programs Branch of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communication will have 31 staff in its Byng Street office.
Mr Gee said the new office had created 23 jobs adding to five permanent staff already based in Orange and that 10 of the new employees had relocated with their families. He said there was a strong case for further decentralisation of government agencies.
"As far as we're concerned everything is on the table," he said. "It can't just be government departments though. A lot more can be done to get private businesses out.
"You unlock a lot of investment and growth when you get private enterprise moving out to a region as well."
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And added COVID-19 had shown companies their staff could work regionally.
"You don't even just have to get the firms out. If firms want to let their employees come and work in the country I think that's important as well," he said. "There is a whole range of decentralisation we can be looking at."
Mr Gee said there are barriers to break down that are stalling decentralisation.
"We need to look at what the key drivers are and what are the barriers," he said. "I think the mindset has been one of the biggest barriers in terms of people not really understanding what lies, in our case, beyond the sandstone curtain."
Mr McCormack said workers who had decentralised "don't spend hours of the day looking at the brake lights in front of them wondering why they live in a capital city".
"Regional living is the best - you have got the services here, you've got the friendly faces here," he said. "These communities are large enough in which to get a good cup of coffee and they are small enough to care. We know that only by growing the regions do you grow our nation."
