From little things big things grow.
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The final report on the Wambelong Fire within and adjacent to the Warrumbungle National Park was delivered to the NSW Parliament in February 2015. Recommendation 20 (of 29) was: "That the Minister for Police and Emergency Services examine the feasibility of relocating the NSW Rural Fire Service headquarters to a rural or regional location."
At a similar time, there was a discussion that the current lease on the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Headquarters was expiring in 2018.
After discussions over several months about Dubbo helping the RFS by having facilities located at our airport, council formally resolved on 25 May 2015: "That should the NSW Rural Fire Services Headquarters be required to relocate from Sydney Olympic Park, Council make representations to pursue and encourage the relocation of the NSW Rural Fire Service Headquarters to Dubbo."
Subsequently, as Mayor of Dubbo City Council, I sent a letter to Troy Grant who was our local member and also happened to be the Deputy Premier.
In further discussions with the state government, we were given numerous operational reasons why the actual RFS Headquarters needed to remain in the Sydney metropolitan area but we were also told that we should keep pushing for other emergency services facilities to be located in Dubbo. After all, the NSW RFS District Headquarters had been located in the general aviation area of the airport since 2008 and the Royal Flying Doctor Service had established a base in Dubbo in 1999.
We continued to push for further facilities to be located at the airport and then on 26 April 2016, council resolved: "That Council make representations to the Deputy Premier, Member for Dubbo, Minister for Justice and Police, the Hon Troy Grant MP and the Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon David Elliot MP seeking again the relocation of the Rural Fire Service Headquarters to Dubbo."
This was one of the last letters I sent as Mayor of Dubbo City Council as the amalgamation occurred on 12 May 2016.
The announcement we had been promised eventuated in July 2017 when Troy Grant, standing alongside Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers and Dubbo Regional Council Administrator, Michael Kneipp, announced that the NSW RFS would build a $9 million training facility in our airport precinct.
This week saw the latest development in our burgeoning precinct at Dubbo Regional Airport.
The Hon. Jihad Dib, MP, Minister for Emergency Services was in Dubbo to open the RFS Aviation Centre of Excellence.
The precinct now boasts the RFS State Training Academy; RFS Dubbo Headquarters; RFS Orana Fire Control Centre; SES; VRA in addition to the RFDS Visitor Experience Centre. The Police Training Centre construction is nearing completion and talks are under way for further expansion.
With accommodation for 124 personnel, this precinct has certainly grown from small discussions in 2015.
