20 December 2017
Millions of dollars of Royalties for Regions funding has been ripped out of Roe by the McGowan Government, letting down regional communities says Member for Roe Peter Rundle.
New figures tabled in State Parliament by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development confirm the extent of the hatchet taken to local projects.
Regional families, education, pensioners and community infrastructure has been hit hardest with funding for programmes such as the Boarding Away from Home Allowance, Community Pool Revitalisation, Community Resource Centres and the Country Age pension Fuel Card slashed by a combined $25 million.
“While in Government, The Nationals committed millions to projects such as the Volunteer Fuel Card, Regional Athlete Support Programmes and the Lucky Bay Campground Redevelopment stage two – Labor has cut all that down,” Mr Rundle said.
Mr Rundle said savage cuts to these programmes and projects reveal just how far the region has slipped down the pecking order since Labor won the March election.
“For almost eight years, regional WA was at the forefront of Government investment and planning decisions. Now, we’re lucky to get a few crumbs off the table,” Mr Rundle said.
Member for the Agricultural Region Colin de Grussa MLC said this is an indictment on the Labor Government and their lack of respect for regional, rural and remote Western Australians.
“Roe and the wider Agricultural Region is out-of-sight, out-of-mind for this Labor Government which puts Perth people and Perth projects first,” Mr de Grussa said.
“The McGowan Government irresponsibly went to the 2017 election with $5 billion worth of election promises despite full knowledge of the state of Western Australia’s finances.
“Since the election the Government has continued to spend money on Perth projects such as Metronet while taking the axe to projects in Roe and across regional Western Australia.”
