Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am particularly concerned for the various sporting and community groups and regional shires within my electorate of Forrest. These groups and organisations have made application under the previous government’s Regional Partnerships program for funding for their community projects and infrastructure development, as well as for private sector projects. They have researched, planned, been through a thorough and rigorous assessment process and attracted partnerships funding. They already have local and state government approved funding as well as having the results of their own fundraising and in kind considerations—often genuine regional community efforts. Federal government funding through Regional Partnerships is the final part of this process. However, they are now in limbo. The government is not providing these groups with any genuine information or certainty on when they will receive their funds or letting them know exactly where the process is. By its very silence, federal Labor is condemning these regional community projects back to the drawing board, which will again hinder and restrict these important community projects and infrastructure development in the region. As a result, federal Labor is stalling regional community development. Not only have these specific projects gone through the rigorous processes of planning, designing, feasibility study and the expense of consultants’ reports but also they have often been through fundraising efforts by the many volunteers who are the backbone of our communities.

In my electorate of Forrest there are currently 15 Regional Partnerships applications waiting for direction. These projects have met the criteria and have been assessed locally by the board of the South West Area Consultative Committee and ranked as priorities for the region. The Busselton jetty project is one. The Bunbury Sea Search and Rescue project, the Bunbury hockey sand field redevelopment and the Morrissey Homestead’s Leschenault Day Centre project are others. To explain these further, the Busselton jetty restoration project is not only an important project for the future of Busselton but also a historical tourist icon that plays a vital role in the economic and social fabric of the greater south-west region. The Bunbury Sea Search and Rescue Group ordered a rescue boat after being guaranteed funding of $50,000 in the Regional Partnerships program last year. That funding has since been delayed indefinitely, but the boat has already been ordered and partly built. The group may be still liable to purchase it if a new buyer cannot be found, as it was being built to specifications for their purpose. The new rescue boat would have allowed entry to the Leschenault Inlet and would have acted as a training vessel for the service’s 35 members. Can you really imagine what this would mean to a group which is providing such an extremely valuable service? Morrissey Homestead in Australind is another local community group that does not know if its project will ever proceed. They are desperately waiting to hear if they will receive their promised funds and have attempted to arrange a meeting with the member for Brand. After written approval was received, the Bunbury and Districts Hockey Stadium Association commenced work on the redevelopment of their defunct sand surface in preparation for the opening of the 2008 hockey season. Their project is stalled. Without the delivery of funding they cannot finish the resurfacing of their field. They are now behind schedule and this will delay the opening of the season.

All of these projects in Forrest are legitimate and have gone through a rigorous assessment process. My questions are: has the government met with the proponents of these and other south-west project proponents and will the South West Area Consultative Committee continue? Does federal Labor have any idea of what delays and uncertainty mean to regional groups and organisations? I call on the government to deliver the funding to those projects already approved by the previous government and to allow the funds to flow through to these projects so that regional communities can continue with their plans. We cannot afford any further pressure or impact on volunteers who work tirelessly in our community.