Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Lithgow locomotive workshop is a critical piece of railway infrastructure. The site is needed to expand and secure existing freight rail businesses and new ventures such as battery electric train manufacturing, yet it seems that Pacific National wants to sell it to a property developer. The community wants the site saved, and I note that the recent NSW Country Labor Conference unanimously called on the state and federal governments to begin discussions to buy the site and support local workers and businesses. Will your government do this?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calare for his question. Indeed, I was in Orange, in the member's electorate, just a couple of weeks ago at the country conference, and I can assure the member that the many members who were there enjoyed their time in what is a thriving regional city, Orange, that is seeing a diversification of its economy. We were very welcomed there, and I thank the community through the member for hosting us.

I do note that this is a Pacific National asset, and Sydney Trains operate the line there. The government is supporting a future made in Australia through our National Reconstruction Fund which is supporting the revitalisation of our local manufacturing sector. We're continuing to progress work through a variety of mechanisms, including the National Rail Action Plan. What that was aimed at doing and was subject of one of the commitments that we made in a budget reply is to avoid the situation whereby different states were all trying to manufacture all at once and to get coordination, to get productivity and, therefore, to get costs down for Australian manufacturing. That was an agreement that we've taken through state and territory transport ministers as well. That includes, of course, not just passenger rail but also the rail freight industry, and one of the things that has been very successful about Australian rail manufacturing is that, unlike some of the carriages that have been commissioned overseas in parts of Asia, the trains actually fit the tracks. When the trains need renovation, you don't have to shut down the tracks like when the Sydney light rail track was shut down for more than six months. It's just like when we manufacture ships here you don't have a situation where the ferries on the Parramatta River can't go under the bridges because people would be decapitated if they were on them. It makes sense for us to make things here. The minister will continue to engage with the member, and I'll also raise this issue with the Minister for Industry and Innovation, Senator Ayres, in the other place on his behalf.