The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) has slammed the NSW Government for signing off on a project to establish a rail facility in Dubbo, claiming the existing former UGL site at Lansdowne would be a better option.
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The union claimed limited train assembly will be completed at the soon to be built Dubbo site and that existing facilities at Lansdowne, Goulburn and Bathurst could be easily converted to cater for production.
The union recalled comments from Member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead to Manning River Times in 2016 that suggested the site is intact and would handle manufacturing a rail fleet of that magnitude.
Operations closed at the site in 2013 and has been virtually unoccupied since.
It was purchased by managing director of Newcastle based company Machine Shop and Engineering Services Bob McCrimmon about three years ago and has been earmarked as a potential site for a manufacturing advanced skills and training centre.
He told Manning River Times at the time the site is home to “irreplaceable infrastructure.”
“If I was to give you this vacant block of land for free with no buildings and improvements on it- it would cost you $50 to $70 million to replace the infrastructure.
“In today’s economic market, if you were to spend that money you would never get a return on that investment.
“We have protected the infrastructure in its entirety to make sure that if someone has a big picture in mind they can come here,” Mr McCrimmon said.
