Media announcement Albany WA. Photo Ben Gubana, ABC
Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan told a press conference in Albany on Friday 10 August that after discussions with regional communities, the Government had changed course.
The proposed cuts, announced in the 2018-19 state budget, would have reduced funding from $13 million to $8 million annually. The move would have reduced funding by 40 per cent to the network of 105 CRCs, but the proposed cuts were met with a significant backlash in regional WA.
The Minister spent the past six months visiting CRCs in regional WA, as part of a review process to identify potential savings in the centres' services.
Serpentine Jarrahdale CRC
Individual CRCs and the group's representative body, Linkwest, lobbied the Government not to continue with the planned cuts.
In an announcement that came as a shock to many, Ms MacTiernan said the Government would now work with CRCs to ensure the centres delivered trainee programs to boost economic activity to regional WA.
"We will continue to fully fund CRCs to the tune of $13 million per year, ensuring CRCs can deliver important services to regional communities.
"We want to see the CRC program strengthened, with a real focus on getting the most out of the traineeship program to drive training opportunities across regional WA."
Lake Grace CRC manager Suzanne Reeves and Dalwallinu CRC manager Sharon Bell, welcomed the decision. "The proposed cuts have been extremely difficult," said Sharon Bell.