Inland Rail is backing our communities, with the Australian Rail Track Corporation donating more than $20,000 to six Riverina community groups in the sixth round of their Community Sponsorships and Donations program.
Inland Rail is supporting a range of community initiatives in Forbes, Temora and Wagga Wagga Local Government Areas through donations to:
The Wagga Wagga Men’s Shed, for electrical infrastructure in a new workshop
Blacktown Economic and Employment Development, for a space for local start-up businesses in Temora
1st Kooringal Scout Group, to air condition its Scout Hall in Wagga Wagga
ErinEarth charity in Wagga Wagga, for electronic equipment to support the work they do as a sustainability resource and community meeting place
Boys to the Bush, for the first aid kits they need to support their work with young men
The Forbes branch of the Cancer Patients Assistance Society of NSW, for shade protection while fundraising
Federal Member for Riverina, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the money awarded to these community support services was an extension of the Government’s commitment to provide opportunity and invest and support people living along the Inland Rail alignment.
“Inland Rail offers significant opportunities for our regions – boosting jobs and providing avenues for economic prosperity in the short and long term,” Mr McCormack said.
“The recently completed and now operational Parkes to Narromine section offers an example of the immediate impact to be felt from construction.
“Roughly 1,862 people worked on the Parkes to Narromine project with more than 750 of those local to the area. Local businesses were also awarded almost $110 million in contracts.
“As Inland Rail lays tracks across the country, I’m pleased to see the Inland Rail Sponsorships and Donations program giving generously to the Riverina region.”
A total of $380,000 has been donated to more than 120 community groups across the 1,700km alignment, supporting organisations and services that bring people together, boost spirits and foster local community.
“Inland Rail offers us more than a change in how freight moves around Australia. In a very practical way, the team at Inland Rail are also investing in regional people and those who are lucky enough to live here,” Mr McCormack said.
The Inland Rail Community Sponsorships and Donations program invites applications from community-led projects, events and activities for the eighth round which opened on Sunday 1 November 2020.
