One Nation’s Hunter candidate Stuart Bonds says NSW should abandon plans to manufacture trains in the Hunter and instead send the work offshore – a move that would cost the region hundreds of skilled jobs and decades of manufacturing opportunity.
In a post on social media, the former coal miner and One Nation candidate for the Hunter has queried as to why NSW Government is investing $12 billion to build trains in the Hunter, when they should instead partner with overseas companies.
Last month, the Minns Labor Government announced it would bring back train manufacturing to the Hunter, reversing a decision made 12 years ago by the former Liberal-National Government, to offshore train manufacturing.
If the Government was to take the advice of Stuart Bonds, NSW would lose:
- A new train manufacturing facility in the Hunter that will build new trains for the next 30 years – the first of its kind facility in the region in decades.
- Up to 780 jobs during construction and 550 ongoing jobs once it’s running.
- A long-term pipeline of work to build the future replacement fleets for NSW’s Tangara, Millennium, OSCAR and Waratah trains over the coming decades.
The One Nation candidate has also done some calculations on how this announcement stacks up on a cost-per-job basis. This completely undermines the value of local jobs – and the long-term future of manufacturing in the Hunter.
Reducing an investment of this scale to a simple “cost-per-job” calculation ignores its economic and social value for the Hunter. If everyone worked by that logic, governments would never invest in hospitals, schools or major roads.
The cost-per-train calculation in the post by Stuart Bonds is also inaccurate. The $12 billion 15-year investment will not only replace the 55-train Tangara fleet, it will also fund the manufacturing facility and the early investment in the next fleets scheduled for replacement – the Millennium and OSCAR fleets.
For 12 years, the former Liberal-National Government sent train manufacturing offshore instead of backing workers in the Hunter. Now, One Nation’s own candidate for the Hunter has made it clear they would do the same.
With every poll indicating the Liberals would need One Nation’s support to form government, Hunter workers deserve to know that both parties are prepared to send manufacturing jobs overseas rather than invest in Australian industry.
The Minns Labor Government has demonstrated it has a long-term plan for the Hunter, unlike One Nation, who’ve shown they are short-sighted.
The Hunter doesn’t need a running commentary on why we shouldn’t back our region. It needs a government that does.
Jenny Aitchison, Minister for Regional Transport said:
“It’s extraordinary that a candidate seeking to represent the Hunter, with a background in coal mining, would oppose one of the biggest manufacturing opportunities the region has seen in decades.
“While One Nation’s Stuart Bonds tries to reduce this announcement to dollars and cents, it appears he still hasn’t grasped the point of what’s at the heart of this policy.
“An opportunity like this shouldn’t be judged on a cost-per-job basis, it should be judged on the decades of economic value and benefits that local communities will feel as a result.
“The Liberals and Nationals may be in the business of making deals offshore, but the Minns Labor Government is in the business of backing home-grown jobs, skills and local prosperity.”
Clayton Barr, Member for Cessnock said:
“People who’ve built a life in the Hunter should always want to back local jobs, local communities, and local opportunity.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see One Nation’s candidate for the Hunter rubbish one of the biggest announcements we’ve seen in decades, that has the potential to change the future of the region.
“We need to be supporting home-grown workers, who have some of the best knowledge when it comes to building, developing and maintaining trains.
“We have a chance to finally return train manufacturing jobs to the Hunter, not send them offshore.”