Gilmore candidate Andrew Constance’s old train fleet claim called out

Scott Morrison’s hand-picked candidate for Gilmore has been accused of rewriting history over claims no Australian-based companies bid for a multi-billion dollar train contract.

Andrew Constance has been accused of rewriting history over claims no Australian companies bid for a multi-billion dollar train fleet contract with the NSW government.

The former NSW Transport Minister’s record in procuring public transport infrastructure now threatens to affect his bid to win the federal seat of Gilmore as Scott Morrison’s hand-picked candidate.

Mr Constance has repeatedly said no Australian companies bid to build the $2.8bn new Intercity Fleet, for which contracts were awarded when he was minister.

Last week he told Shoalhaven radio that the government “went to the Australian market seeking someone to build a train (but) no-one put their hand up”.

That’s despite an Australian arm of an international company expressing interest in building the trains locally.

Gilmore candidate Andrew Constance is the former NSW transport minister. Picture: Richard Dobson

Stadler Australia had planned to create up to 600 indirect jobs to build and maintain the new trains, according to reports at the time.

Wollongong Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the company met with him when it was preparing its bid to build the New Intercity Fleet and outlined their plans for local jobs.

“They were looking at building those train sets at Unanderra,” he said.

Mr Bradbery recalled being “pretty impressed” with their pitch.

The company, the local arm of Switzerland-based Stadler Rail, was ultimately unsuccessful.

The contract was instead awarded to an international consortium which built the trains overseas.

Wollongong mayor Gordon Bradbery.

However, the winning bid – which included Mitsubishi Electric Australia – involved up to 300 local jobs at a maintenance facility in Kangy Angy.

The tender process for the new trains – announced by then-Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian – also favoured offshore manufacturers because the NSW government wanted an “off-the-shelf” solution.

The trains have been plagued with problems including an ongoing stoush with the union which is preventing them from being put into service more than three years after they were due to be running.

AMWU National Secretary Steve Murphy on Sunday accused Mr Constance of lying about trying to build the trains here.

“We all know that Scott Morrison lies and now his hand-picked candidate for Gilmore has been caught out lying too,” he said.

“(Mr) Constance is rewriting history when he says he took it to the local market. He knew from the beginning he wanted these trains built offshore,” Mr Murphy said.

“Not only did Constance sell out workers and businesses in his own region, he now has the gall to tell them barefaced lies about it.”

But Mr Constance accused the union of suffering “amnesia” because former Labor Premier Kristina Keneally bought trains from China while in power.

“I’m focused on local roads in Gilmore in 2022, not trains announced back in 2014,” he said.

“The union should get the trains on the train lines to the south coast and stop playing their games around pay,” Mr Constance said.