Working with our community partners – Temora Shire Council
Temora Shire Council has been working with Inland Rail for about a year to prepare its residents and businesses for the exciting changes to come with this once-in-a-generation infrastructure project.
Craig Sinclair has lived in Temora much of his life, and as the council’s Economic Development Manager he is confident the town of about 6000 people will flourish during the Inland Rail build and, importantly, once operational.
“We are expecting about 1000 temporary-worker jobs for the Illabo to Stockinbingal route,” Craig said.
In southern NSW the economic boom has left the region short of people with the right skills. Craig said Temora offered an affordable, high quality style of living and the Inland Rail project offered “loads of opportunities” for people with the right skills to relocate, which was also a boon for local business owners.
“There will be a lot of new construction workers looking for accommodation and food, and all those kinds of things to support the construction period.”
In fact, Craig estimates the economic benefit over the construction period alone to be about $200 million for the region.
Once up and running, Craig said the investment to improve the freight network would reap benefits for the region’s future generations, opening market access for Temora’s produce.
“Temora is a heavy agricultural-based sector, so anything that makes our products more cost effective and cheaper to buy on the national market, will actually have a direct impact on the farmers and families in our community,” he said.
