Councillors are continuing their calls for manufacturing to return to Australia, more specifically, regional NSW.
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Deputy mayor Ian North and councillor Warren Aubin, in particular, want to see a resurgence in Australian-made products and feel Bathurst would be an ideal place for existing or new companies to establish themselves.
"I think we should be looking really seriously in trying to attract some of that business here," Cr Aubin said.
He said that there are products made from Australian materials that are manufactured overseas, only to be sent back to Australia, and there is an example of that occurring in Bathurst.
"We've got a plant out here that receives pine logs, puts them into containers to ship them to China, for them to be ground up, chipped up and then they come back to make chipboard," Cr Aubin said.
"I just don't see how that can be economically viable and that sort of thing we should be looking at to put to businesses to say 'Look at your costs, can you set up here?'."
Another example he gave was Australian wheat being used to make instant noodles overseas, which are then sold in Australian stores.
"We send our wheat over to Malaysia and Singapore and they make noodles and send it back. Can it be done here?" he asked.
"It couldn't be that hard really."
Cr North wants to see the state and federal governments team up with local councils to come up with ways to entice new businesses to the area.
One idea he had, and has spoken to federal member for Calare Andrew Gee about, is for council to offer industrial land at a reduced price, potentially defer payments for a specified period and for the government to offer some sort of financial relief to the businesses if they choose to set up in a regional area.
"We as council need to think outside the square and create relationships with state and federal in a way we have never done before," Cr North said.
Cr North and Cr Aubin's comments were made during the discussion of the latest mayoral minute, which revealed council's new economic stimulus measures for the Bathurst community.
They expressed similar views in April when discussing the initial stimulus measures and their comments were later supported by the Bathurst Business Chamber.
"We would very, very much welcome that if council is able to attract large businesses to the area," chamber president Catherine Fitzsimons said.
"That's always great for the area; it brings more employment and it brings more stimulus for the local economy."
