I was joined by Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole on Monday to announce that the $48 million government workplace hub in Carrington Avenue, Dubbo, is a step closer, with the selection of Cox Architecture to lead the design.
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The establishment of this new hub will inject $208 million into the economy and support more than 440 jobs in the design and construction stages alone.
The new, purpose-built office building will boast about 6,700m2 of flexible office space to accommodate around 700 public sector employees. Increasing local jobs in Dubbo will see a significant boost in consumer spending, providing ongoing economic benefits for local businesses.
Toongi critical minerals hub
The Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy and Critical Minerals Hub were launched on Monday by Deputy Premier Paul Toole at the Toongi deposit.
The strategy will help deliver economic growth, diversify the NSW royalty base, and create the advanced manufacturing jobs of the future in regional NSW.
It includes further geological surveys to deliver more quality pre-competitive date for explorers, investigating the potential for copper production and other downstream processing opportunities for critical minerals, and providing assistance to mining projects to navigate planning and approval processes. Dubbo itself is the centre of the critical minerals activity in the region, and is the natural hub to provide many of the ongoing services which will be needed.
Early education for Indigenous kids
Aboriginal children and families in the Dubbo region will have additional support to participate in 600 hours of quality early childhood education in the two years prior to school.
Dubbo West Preschool has received a $10,000 Early Childhood Learning grant to support Aboriginal children to participate in preschool and invest in staff development.
We know that the first 2000 days of life are the most crucial, and access to quality early education in the years before school gives kids the best possible foundation.
Investment in skilled workers
It was great to announce last week an $802,000 infrastructure investment to help provide a pipeline of skilled construction workers in the Orana region.
TAFE NSW Dubbo is one of 16 campuses to share in a state-wide $6 million investment which will see new covered outdoor learning areas to facilitate carpentry and joinery training, regardless of weather conditions.
This facility will enable students to safely gain critical skills such as constructing wall frames and roof trusses.
Not only that, it will also significantly reduce the number of days lost to inclement weather, speeding up training and increasing TAFE NSW's capacity to train new apprentices.
