Political clash over allocation of 2021-22 State Budget funding to regional Western Australia

Great Southern residents can expect a slice of a record $9.1 billion investment in regional infrastructure in the 2021-22 State Budget, but Opposition MPs claim regional West Australians have missed out. Premier Mark McGowan delivered a record $5.8b surplus in this month’s Budget, outlining his Government’s desire to “keep the regional economy growing” with a range of funding commitments across the Agricultural electoral region. “My Government’s responsible financial management is enabling us to invest in the regions to keep the Agricultural Region strong, creating local jobs, building a pipeline of infrastructure works and supporting vital services like health and education,” he said. The Budget includes $79 million to upgrade more than 850km of Wheatbelt roads and an additional $88m to upgrade sections of the Wheatbelt Secondary Freight Routes. There is $1.5b to improve regional educational facilities, including $5.8m to build or transform STEM classrooms in Narrogin, Esperance and Katanning. Kojonup, Gnowangerup and Brookton district high schools can expect transformed science classrooms and Wagin and Boddington district high schools will be provided with new primary school science equipment. Labor Agricultural Region MLC Shelley Payne said the investment would help create jobs for locals. “This Budget will see our region continue to flourish under the McGowan Government with investments in services vital to our communities,” she said. “Investments in the Agricultural Region’s key industries will help to boost economic growth and create jobs for locals. “I am proud to represent our region and to deliver this historic Budget.” But Liberal Agricultural Region MLC Steven Martin expressed his disappointment with the Budget, describing the McGowan Government as “metro-centric” for failing to follow through on the election policies of unsuccessful regional Labor candidates. “Most of the signature election commitments have flown to metropolitan Perth and a lot of money has flown to places like Bunbury, Geraldton and Collie where Labor candidates were successful,” he said. “But where the Labor Party made policies in our region and they didn’t get elected, interestingly, they have not funded major new initiatives in our part of the world and that is disappointing. “I think regional WA can be justifiably disappointed with the result and in particular inland WA, away from the bigger regional cities.” Mr Martin said there needed to be more investment in country roads, blackspot telecommunication areas and regional railway lines. “I would like to see a significantly larger commitment to filling in the black spots in mobile telecommunications network,” he said. “There are still gaps everywhere and I didn’t see any new money in that stream. “Where, after all the talk from Rita Saffioti and Co., was any commitments to railway lines in regional WA? I didn’t see that.” Mr Martin accused Labor of continuing to “rip money” out of of Royalties for Regions despite what he called an extraordinary Budget surplus. “They are taking money out and diverting it from its original purpose — which was to boost economic growth in the regions — and they are paying for things like water subsidies for regional WA and other items of core business,” he said.