Nationals Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders with Dubbo Regional Council Mayor Mathew Dickerson and Councillor Shibli Chowdhury
Dubbo's status as a regional emergency services centre of excellence has received a boost, thanks to a significant investment from the NSW Nationals in the state government.
Nationals Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders has announced $98,250 for Dubbo Regional Council to develop a business case for the Dubbo Regional Airport Large Aerial Tanker (LAT) Base, runway lengthening, strengthening, and taxiway construction.
"Due to its central location, Dubbo was chosen to host one of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS)'s LATs during the bushfire season, but this agreement is only in place until 2025," Mr Saunders said.
"Establishing this base will enable Dubbo to host these tankers on a more long-term basis, enhancing the city's role as the hub of western NSW."
The Dubbo Regional Airport precinct has undergone significant development in recent years, with the $35 million Police Training Centre and $6.4 million RFS Aviation Centre of Excellence set to join the $24 million RFS Training Academy, $2.3 million joint NSW State Emergency Service (SES) and Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) Unit, Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) base and NSW RFS Orana Fire Control Centre.
"Any successful project starts with evidence-based planning and this program will help take council's ideas a step closer to reality, benefiting not only Dubbo but right across the region," Mr Saunders said.
"This is about helping make the business case stand out and be more competitive, it will help break down project costs, outline how projects will benefit the community and identify any challenges that need to be met.
"I commend the council for taking part in this program, to help strengthen the opportunities for the Dubbo region now and into the future."
Dubbo Regional Council Mayor Mathew Dickerson welcomed the funding for the business case.
"The current pavement is already being asked to do more than it ever was intended, and this grant will help further enhance the partnership between Dubbo Regional Council and the NSW RFS by enabling current aerial firefighting services to continue while catering for larger fire-fighting aircraft in the future. Dubbo as an aerial firefighting hub can reach every corner of NSW within an hour," Councillor Dickerson said.
"With significant development being undertaken, this funding will further explore the business case to cement Dubbo Regional Airport as an important centre for emergency services and training in Regional NSW."
The Regional NSW - Business Case and Strategy Development Fund is part of the $3.3 billion Regional Growth Fund and will help create a pipeline of investment-ready projects for future funding opportunities.
