Clean manufacturing and affordable housing were some of the talking points outside the old Electrolux factory Monday afternoon, when a candidate in the upcoming federal election launched a project to "future-proof" the regional economy.
Independent candidate Kate Hook addressed media in Edward Street where she outlined the ideas within her 'Regenerate Calare' plan.
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"We once made many things in Calare, but increasingly over time, we simply open boxes brought in from Sydney or overseas, leaving no room for locally created jobs," she said.
"Regenerate Calare is a vision for the immediate and long-tern future of our region."
The plan hit on a total of eight key points, such as the tourism and arts industry, and decarbonised transport.
When asked to provide some specifics surrounding her affordable housing and living plan, Ms Hook said ideas such as 'build to rent' schemes where homes are purpose-built to house renters, rather than their owners, were up for consideration.
"Then of course, coming down to day to day cost of living," she said.
"The long term solutions are around some of the other things ... like taking away the cost burden of fuel prices by electrifying transport, taking away the cost burden of electricity bills by providing more benefits to rooftop solar so that everyone can access them."
With an emphasis on community consolation, including making sure the views of Indigenous communities were sought "every step of the way", Ms Hook hoped that if she was elected, people would see "action take place, not just a plan" within 12-18 months.
As for the significance of holding the press conference outside the Electrolux building, she added: "When people think about the opportunity with the transition to renewable energy, they tend to think that's it just about jobs like setting up a solar farm, or building a wind turbine.
"But actually, the big opportunity is to answer the question 'what can we do with an abundance of clean, cheap energy' and the answer is clean manufacturing.
"We look at other regions like the Hunter where they've had big coal mining background, similar to Lithgow and Mudgee for us. They are doing clean steel, clean aluminium, all sorts of manufacturing using clean energy."
She also added that organisations such as Arts Out West needed to be "supported and funded adequately" and said she would advocate for that type of assistance.
"We can create a plan to give Calare communities a clear direction for an orderly, prosperous transition from old to clean energy," she said.
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Riley Krause
I am a journalist for the Central Western Daily. A jack of all trades, I cover everything from sport, to human interest stories and crime. I have previously worked as a journalist in Griffith and South London.
I am a journalist for the Central Western Daily. A jack of all trades, I cover everything from sport, to human interest stories and crime. I have previously worked as a journalist in Griffith and South London.
