How's that for embracing an opportunity? Galland didn't lament a bad situation; he found a way forward.

Out of snack city and into the Hunter now, where like pretty much everywhere else at the moment things are a bit of a mess thanks to a certain pandemic. Still, we press on.

Last month the state government started testing the new intercity train fleet. You know the trains - they were built in South Korea and were delayed, over budget, too long for some platforms and too wide for some tunnels. Those trains that have been a debacle from woah to go. Those trains that should have been built here.

Don't worry, I'm not tooting that horn. I'm railing for local manufacturing.

There are three major things at play here. Firstly, unemployment has doubled in the Hunter since mid-February. Secondly, both the Australian and NSW governments want to fast-track projects to get the post-COVID economy moving. Thirdly we have the history, the skills and the capacity to expand our manufacturing sector.

The surge in unemployment has largely been fuelled by the hospitality and tourism industries, and for both of those to return to how we knew them they need to be able to weather a storm with no end date. Do we ask these people to hang on and hope for the best, or do we create the opportunity to retrain, if that's what they would like do?

The NSW government's list of priority projects to fast-track focuses largely on construction, including the University of Newcastle's Honeysuckle campus. Traditionally, Hunter manufacturing has prided itself on transport but let's reframe that. Instead, we work with steel. We build engines. We fit, we turn, we drill.

That leads me to my third point. While the state government doesn't often award large infrastructure contracts to Australian manufacturers anymore, that doesn't mean we can't diversify. In fact, thanks to COVID-19, we already have. Local distilleries have turned their hands to sanitiser. 3D printers have been churning out face shields. Then, we have Ampcontrol who, with many other local companies, will be producing ventilators for hospitals.

Off the back of one phone call they assembled a team of engineers and health professionals. Ampcontrol were venturing into something they hadn't done before, but knew they had the capability so they successfully gave it a go. How good is that? Local people, local production, local innovation. We quickly adapted in a public health crisis; with a little bit of planning and investment imagine what else we could do?

The Hunter isn't short of ability. UGL, Thales, OneSteel, Molycop, Varley Group, Downer Rail, Tomago Aluminium. Tens of thousands of highly-skilled workers have been through their doors. These are people who are good with their hands and minds, who can operate large machinery and hold skills that should be passed on to the next generations. They just need the opportunity to do so.

While those troublesome trains were being tested last month, NSW's own Transport Minister flagged a shift in government procurement as COVID-19 shines a light on global manufacturing and supply chains.

"No one drives a car in this country unless it's manufactured overseas, same with trains, has been for years," Andrew Constance told media. "I think there is an opportunity for us to look at that."

Fantastic! Because here's the other thing; jobs in plants and factories aren't just about paying the mortgage or doing the groceries. It's the little café where the workers grab a coffee. It's the pub where they gather for a beer. It's the kids' sports registrations, the music lessons and the pocket money. The earthquake, BHP, superstorms - in the Hunter we know how to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, reinvent, reimagine and rebuild. COVID-19 needn't be any different.

This is the perfect time to give our manufacturing industry the leg up that it needs.Things are a mess right now, but do we keep ourselves down or do we roll in coconut and repackage as something different?

Sure, the tale of Armand Galland's lamington accident hasn't been proven, but you know what? It hasn't been disproven either. The ability to look at something that's gone wrong and see an opportunity is something I want to believe in.