Member for Geraldton Ian Blayney welcomes Labor’s announcement to construct two high speed jetties in Geraldton given The Nationals WA called for the initiative after meeting with local tourism operators back in June.
“Six weeks ago The Nationals WA led calls for expenditure of $3m towards the construction of several jetties to accommodate high speed vessels,” Mr Blayney said.
“We recognised the value such jetties would provide to the boating and marine industry as well as the tourism experience for visitors to Geraldton and I’m delighted to see this vision resonated with Labor too.
“After having written to the Regional Development Minister to suggest the money left over from the Beresford Foreshore project should be spent locally, she gave me assurance it would, so it’s pleasing to see her follow through.”
While Mr Blayney welcomed the high speed jetty confirmation, he said tourism operators were still being left in the dark around the proposed development of the Abrolhos Islands.
“Back in May, I submitted questions to the Premier asking him to outline how much of their $10m commitment to develop tourism at the Abrolhos has been spent to date and these questions have still not been answered,” Mr Blayney said.
“While jetties at the Esplanade and the Marina will certainly support tourism at the Abrolhos Islands, it is just one element in a wider tourism picture for the Mid West, and the drip-feed of information is frustrating for tourism operators and small businesses in Geraldton.
“There hasn’t been any marked progress at the Abrolhos Islands since Labor’s announcement back in 2018, so I have to question how genuine Labor’s commitment to Mid West tourism truly is.”
