Pilbara set to benefit from State Budget cash splash

Health, infrastructure and tourism are among the big winners for the Pilbara in the 2022/23 State Budget handed down by Premier Mark McGowan on Thursday afternoon. Mr McGowan’s second Budget as Treasurer included a $400 electricity bill credit for every WA household to help ease the burden of increasing cost of living. Key projects in the Pilbara received a funding boost including some $78 million to upgrade Lumsden Point at the Port of Port Hedland, and $9.3m for an access bridge at Murujuga National Park. The Budget also had an infrastructure cash splash with some $50m for the new Great Northern Highway Newman to Port Hedland overtaking lanes, $40m of additional funding for the $76m Port Hedland Airport Deviation project. Meanwhile, $120m was also allocated to continue upgrades to the Marble Bar Road. The package included raising the Keystart property price cap for the Pilbara from $650,000 to $750,000 and $19.1m for the development of new residential land in two regional locations, including Karratha’s Madigan Estate. The controversial Port Hedland Voluntary Buy-Back scheme also received a further $5.5m. A $4.1m cash injection will expand the Inter-Regional Flight Network across the Mid West, Pilbara and Kimberley as well as establish a new route between Karratha and Geraldton. Community safety also received a boost with the previously announced $2.5m expansion of the Target 120 program to Karratha and Newman, as well as further $2.5m towards Operation Regional Shield. The Pilbara’s health system will receive $10m to deliver specialist paediatric, cancer, haematology, stroke and neurology services at the Karratha Health Campus and surrounding sites as well as an additional $1.6m for the Karratha Step Up/Step Down service to address construction cost pressures, bringing the total cost to $8.8m. In Exmouth, tourism was the big winner with the previously announced $19.3m package to support the town’s preparations for the 2023 Total Solar Eclipse. The package included $8.2m in road infrastructure upgrades and traffic management,$5.4m to increase the region’s telecommunications infrastructure and $470,000 for upgrades at Exmouth Town Beach. Mr McGowan said the Budget provided a boost to regional health and mental health, ensuring there are more doctors, nurses and resources in the Pilbara, with continued funding to manage COVID-19. Pilbara MLA Kevin Michel said this Budget provides continued support to the Pilbara’s resources sector. “Our local industry has helped power the State and the nation through the pandemic, and this Budget makes sure the sector is supported to continue creating local jobs for local people,” he said. West Australians will still feel some hip-pocket pain, however, with a host of household fees and charges controlled by the State Government set to increase from July 1. These include: electricity (up 2.5 per cent), water (up 2.5 per cent), vehicle licence (up 3.8 per cent), driver’s licence (up 6.4 per cent), motor injury insurance (up 2.4 per cent) and standard public transport fees (up 2 per cent). The emergency services levy, an annual charge paid by all property owners through local council rate notices, has also been hiked by 5 per cent. Asked to justify the increase to charges when inflation and interest rates are rising, Mr McGowan said “the cost of providing services continues to grow” but every household would benefit from the one-off power subsidy as it was not means-tested. WA’s operating surplus for 2021-22 almost doubled from the $2.4 billion predicted in December’s midyear review to $5.7b, just short of last year’s record $5.8b.