The Rockhampton Railyards have been an important part of our community for more than 100 years.
They’re an important part of our history. Rail supply chain manufacturing is in our DNA in Rockhampton.
I was proud to advocate for the Palaszczuk Government’s purchase of the railyards to create good, honest local jobs.
The rejuvenation of the railyards will see the precinct become a major rail manufacturing supply chain hub.
The site will be made up of two precincts, an Industrial precinct to provide for commercial use and a heritage precinct to preserve the rich rail history of the site and create an accessible community space.
The work to rejuvenate the Railyards is powering ahead with the first two tenants for the precinct announced.
I was proud to join Minister Mark Bailey, Minister Di Farmer, Assistant Minister Bruce Saunders, and Member for Keppel, Brittany Lauga, to share the excellent news.
CQ Fibreglass will take up residence in one of the largest sheds in the Industrial Precinct.
They are a great local company so it’s fantastic to see them announced as the first new tenant at the site.
An agreement has also been reached to welcome Queensland Rail back to the site later this year, bringing more jobs to the site and establishing a hub for a research centre into hydrogen-powered locomotives.
Works will continue on remediating the site to prepare for more new tenancies to be announced throughout 2023, and in to 2024.
The rejuvenated Railyards are expected to support more than 200 local jobs, providing more opportunity for Central Queensland and our community.
I recently met with Nick, owner of local business Turner Demolition and Asbestos, who is benefiting from the pipeline of infrastructure projects, like the Rockhampton Railyards is bringing to Central Queensland.
He’s even looking for more staff to keep up with the work, so please reach out if you’re looking for work in this space!
I would be remiss to not mention that September is Queensland’s first Manufacturing Month.
I’m proud to be a part of a government that is bringing manufacturing back to Queensland.
A centrepiece achievement of the Palaszczuk Government is that we’re manufacturing trains in Queensland again, and the Railyards will play an integral part of the projects supply chain.
After the LNP moved train manufacturing offshore, it hurt communities like ours that rely on good, secure, stable jobs.
The Palaszczuk Government has a proven track record of delivering for our community, spending 69 per cent more per capita on infrastructure in Central Queensland than it does in the Southeast.
I’m looking forward to making some more announcements about the Rockhampton Railyards and other projects over the coming months.
