HIA is a federal government research and development corporation and Cr Kidd said moving all or part of it to Orange, Bathurst or Parkes would be ideal.

“It could be moved right into the middle of a prime horticultural area,” Cr Kidd said.

“We’ve got food and wine, culture, sporting and medical facilities, we don’t have an opera house but it’s only three hours away.”

Cr Kidd, who is deputy chairman of Regional Development Australia Central West, lent his support to a call from federal regional development minister Fiona Nash to find government offices and departments suitable for decentralisation.

He said there was a proven record of re-locations in the Central West with the Department of Primary Industries in Orange, the Central Mapping Authority in Bathurst and Roads and Maritime Services’ western region office in Parkes.

Cr Kidd, a member of the committee overseeing the re-location of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, said decentralisation wasn’t about stripping jobs from the cities.

He said regional areas needed diversity of industry from public to private to thrive.

Cr Kidd said decentralisation also helped redirect resources, however it wasn’t about cutting jobs.

“It can’t be a top-heavy structure, there has to be people doing the work, I would rather a simplified structure, where the investment in employees goes into people doing the jobs and giving them the resources to do the job,” he said.

“Efficient and effective operations need to be considered as well as bringing more jobs to regional areas.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Western NSW Rick Colless said video conferencing had made it easier for departments and stakeholders to communicate.

“It’s a lot easier to manage large departments without being in Sydney,” Mr Colless said.

He said both state and federal governments should be supporting decentralisation where possible.

When it came to bringing Horticulture Innovation Australia to a regional area, he said there could be advantages for both research staff and producers.

“There’s got to be support for it at the grassroots level, I dare say most of the people around the horticulture industry would support those organisations moving to these communities,” Mr Colless said.

He said it would mean easier access for industry for projects under way and the potential to build better networks around the industry.