Member for Moore Shane Love has welcomed news that the state government will allocate $17.5 million to extend the northern breakwater at the Jurien Bay Marina.
Mr Love said the funds would be roundly welcomed by Jurien Bay locals and visitors who have long endured fish kills and unacceptable environmental conditions due to toxic conditions in the town’s marina.
“The Jurien Bay community has had to wait until the final budget before the forthcoming state election to see a commitment to these engineering works when the engineering solution was agreed to in 2020,” Mr Love said.
“At the time, the project was costed at $7.8 million but four years on, that costing has blown out by a further $10 million.
“Since then the Transport Minister has repeatedly told us the Federal government would have to contribute funds but it seems the miserable Albanese government has refused and the state Labor government has had to stump up and take responsibility for its state-owned asset.”
Mr Love said he hoped that the funds would not be held back for three or four years in the forward estimates, given the marina had been an environmental disaster that spanned decades.
“Ten years ago I helped instigate the Jurien Boat Harbour Steering Committee that saw data collected and research collated,” he added.
“The engineering solution would not have come about without these studies and the spur groyne proposed was modelled against future tides, wind, wave and weed movement.”
Mr Love said Labor had refused to fund Jurien Bay’s spur groyne for the past four years, despite clocking up billions of dollars in surpluses.
“The delays have stymied the development in the Marina precinct as no one would want to invest while the fish kills continued,” he said.
