Mr Truss was in Bathurst yesterday to meet with local and state government representatives to discuss job losses in the region, including at Bathurst’s Simplot plant.

He was a guest of Member for Calare John Cobb, who said the Deputy Prime Minister’s visit focused solely on what the Government could do to mitigate these losses. 

Bathurst mayor Gary Rush said he told Mr Truss that per population, the loss of 200 jobs in a regional city like Bathurst has the same impact as the loss of 25,000 jobs in Sydney.

Cr Rush said he spoke to Mr Truss about the importance of developing infrastructure in the region, citing the Bells Line Expressway as an example.

He said he also spoke about manufacturing and tourism, which he sees as a largely untapped industry.

Mr Truss, however, could offer no specifics when it came to how the Federal Government might help, despite Mr Cobb directly appealing for funds last week to build a new dam in the Central West.

Cr Rush said he also spoke to Mr Truss about the need to address the shortage of doctors in regional areas by expanding health services at Charles Sturt University both in Bathurst and Orange.

He said in terms of infrastructure, Bathurst already has a number of “shovel ready” projects that could make good use of federal funding, such as council’s flagstaff project, which the Deputy Prime Minister was interested in, and the amenities block at the new bike park on the Vale Road.

More than 500 workers will lose their jobs when Electrolux closes in Orange. 

There will be more than 100 job losses from Simplot and a further 100 jobs lost when Downer EDI in Bathurst closes its doors. 

Mr Truss said he wants to see the time that workers have until their jobs go used effectively, and the Government will support them in that.

However, he was not clear on how the Government would be supporting them. 

Denying that workers at the two interstate Holden plants got special treatment, Mr Truss said the promise of a $100 million package for workers a couple of days after news of the Holden plant closures broke was only a broad announcement, building on work already done.

“The people at Holden are still waiting for more detail,” he said.

Mr Truss stressed the Government was committed to the generation of jobs in regional areas. 

However, he said while he was impressed with the case put forward by Mr Cobb regarding the Needles Gap Dam proposal, it was too early to make any kind of judgement. 

Mr Cobb believes building the Needles Gap Dam would “mitigate job losses in the region” by creating approximately 150 positions. He says it would take up to five years to plan and construct. 

However, in terms of a solution, Mr Truss said the construction of a dam would take time and expert skills would be required. 

However, Mr Cobb is convinced building a new dam would “give heart to everyone”. 

“The best way to deal with job losses is to create opportunities,” Mr Cobb said.

“A dam does that.

“We are concentrating on creating morale in the business community, not just opportunities for people who lose their jobs.”

Mr Cobb said it is better to build on a good existing business than to try to attract a new one.

Despite this philosophy, no funds were forthcoming to keep Simplot in Bathurst. 

Mr Cobb said he made it plain to Simplot that the Government would not provide assistance to allow the company to cut back its operations.

He said he asked Simplot to wait six weeks before making the decision on whether or not to pull out of Bathurst.

“They weren’t willing to wait,” he said.

“They had already made up their mind.”