BUILDING 13 new Sydney ferries in China and Indonesia was "a kick in the guts" to the Hunter's industrial capability, opposition leader Jodi McKay said on Thursday night.
Ms McKay is back in the Hunter today, Friday, with an itinerary that includes a speech to the Newcastle Industrial Relations Society's annual conference at Port Stephens, and a tour of the Port of Newcastle with her Labor upper house colleague, Adam Searle, and Port of Newcastle chairman Roy Green.
Last night Ms McKay told the Newcastle Herald that the ferry contract was the latest in long series of foreign public transport purchases by the Coalition that made a mockery of Premier Gladys Berejiklian's claim to want NSW to be "the manufacturing capital of Australia".
"Well I have a different view to Gladys Berejikilian," Ms McKay said.
"I believe that manufacturing has a strong future in the Hunter, and we can better use the State Governments procurement power to support local businesses."
Ms McKay said her "position on the port has been clear and consistent".
"I have always supported establishing a container terminal in Newcastle as the best way to diversify the regional economy," Ms McKay said.
Referring to her single term as Newcastle MP from 2007, she said "it was a stance that cost me my seat in 2011".
Read more:Jodi McKay's betrayal by the ALP
She was concerned the Hunter was not "leveraging the port" as effectively as it could be.
"We have incredible boat-building capacity right here and people who are hungry for opportunities but are being denied," she said.
Ms McKay said she would talk about the port in her speech, as well as outlining details of Labor's industrial relations and workplace policies.
She said Labor would "rebuild" the NSW Industrial Relations Commission as the "independent umpire".
Her team was also looking closely at the re-emergence of silicosis among kitchen builders and installers, saying it was a potential "new asbestos".
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