Construction of new macadamia facility cracks on

Thursday, 17 October 2019

A multi-million dollar expansion at the Macadamias Australia facility in Bundaberg is well under way providing construction jobs to the local region.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack and Federal Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt today visited the site of the macadamia cracking and tourism facility to see its progress.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the investment in the facility was an investment in local jobs and economic growth.

“Macadamias Australia received $4.68 million from the Wide Bay Burnett Regional Jobs and Investment Package which aims to diversify regional economies to help drive economic growth and job creation in these communities,” Mr McCormack said.

“Bundaberg is a diverse region with horticulture, seafood, livestock and food agri-processing among the many sectors providing jobs and economic growth to the local community and when complete, the Macadamias Australia facility will provide more opportunities to those living and working in this vibrant region.”

Mr Pitt said the $11.7 million project will bring much-needed jobs to the region with local macadamia production set to increase.

“As well as construction jobs, around 93 ongoing jobs will be created from this project here in Bundaberg. Local production is set to increase by over 10,000 tonne in the next five years and this project will provide an outlet for over 9,000 tonne of nut annually for cracking and value adding,” Mr Pitt said.

“New specialised macadamia processing machinery will also enable the company to create a range of innovative products for both its domestic and overseas markets, which continues to be strong. People are nuts about our macadamias.”

Mr Pitt congratulated the Steinhardt family for its continued dedication to the region and local agricultural industry.

“This is a family owned and operated business which has been around for more than 60 years now and has been at the forefront of innovation is this industry,” Mr Pitt said.

The $220 million Regional Jobs and Investment Package (RJIP) is a pilot program with the Wide Bay-Burnett being one of 10 regional locations across the nation selected.

Other projects funded through RJIP in the Hinkler electorate were the Isis Central Sugar Mill railway extension, value-adding facility at Austchilli, Costas Avocados at Childers new packing facility and an expansion at Consolidated Linen in Hervey Bay.

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