Recreational boating grants announced

31/5/06
Recreational boating enthusiasts throughout Western Australia will benefit from an increase in State Government funding for projects to improve boating facilities.
Announcing the latest round of Recreational Boating Facilities Scheme (RBFS) grants today, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan, said nearly $1million had been granted to 21 projects from Wyndham to Albany as part of the 11th round of the scheme.
Grants included $5,000 to the Shire of Murray for a study into alternative boat ramp locations, $80,850 to the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley for an additional lane at the Wyndham boat ramp, $120,000 to the City of Geraldton for an upgrade to the trailer parking at the Town Beach boat launching facility and $6,000 for a new launching surface on the existing boat ramp at Starvation Bay in the Shire of Ravensthorpe.
Ms MacTiernan said the total funding available for projects had increased from $850,000 last year to $1million this year and would rise to more than $1.12million next year.
"With nearly 80,000 registered recreational boats in WA and an increase in registrations of around four per cent each year there is growing demand for new boating infrastructure and improvements to existing facilities," she said.
"The money made available through the scheme, which is administered by the Department for Planning and Infrastructure and funded from boat registration fees, is forecast to increase annually.
"This scheme sees the reinvestment of boating registration fees and represents excellent value for money for registered recreational boat owners that will see continued improvements to the facilities they use."
The Minister said once again, RBFS funding had been keenly sought this year, with a total of 34 applications received.
"The scheme fosters partnership with local governments and other authorities as funding provided by the State Government is matched dollar-for-dollar by the sponsor," she said.
Under the guidelines for RBFS allocations, local governments and other authorities such as CALM can apply for funds up to a maximum of $300,000 to improve recreational boating facilities around the State.
A review of the scheme in round nine resulted in its expansion to include land-based facilities such as trailer parking, trailer manoeuvring hardstands and ablution blocks. Previously funding was only available for water-based projects.
Since its introduction the RBFS has seen nearly $4.38million allocated to 133 projects throughout WA (rounds one to 10).
Grants are recommended by the RBFS Assessment Committee, which is comprised representatives from the Department for Planning and Infrastructure, the WA Local Government Association, the WA Tourism Commission, State Boating Council (Recfishwest and Jet Sport West Boating Association), Swan River Trust and FESA, and approved by the Planning and Infrastructure Minister.
Details of grants are detailed below.
Minister's office: 9213 6400

RBFS - Round 11, Approved Projects

Applicant	Location	Project	Grant Amount
City of Albany	Lower King Boat Ramp	Provide environmentally friendly toilet facilities at the boat ramp	$11,500
Shire of Augusta-Margaret River	Flat Rock	Preparation of a summary environmental document for a proposed boat launching harbour	$10,000
City of Bayswater	Claughton Reserve	Construct a 40-bay boat trailer parking area and lighting at the existing boat ramp	$110,000
City of Bayswater	Claughton Reserve	Construct 'L' shaped floating jetty and lighting at the existing boat ramp	$33,000
Shire of Busselton	Quindalup Finger Jetty	Extend (lengthen to shoreline) and widen the existing jetty	$20,000
CALM	Matilda Bay, Crawley	Upgrade the existing bitumen car park and adjacent grass car parking area at the Matilda Bay Public Boat Ramp	$105,000
CALM	Nornalup Inlet	Upgrade the retaining wall around the existing trailer parking area	$50,000
Shire of Dandaragan	Jurien Bay	Construct a fish cleaning facility and recreational boat wash-down area	$11,100
Shire of Denmark	Poddyshot	Provide hot mix surfaced turning area and boat trailer parking area	$23,205
DPI	Coral Bay	Part-funding for the construction of boat ramps at Monck Head	$150,000
DPI	Hillarys Boat Harbour	Construct Floating Boat Landing at the Hillarys boat launching ramps	$47,500
City of Geraldton	Town Beach	Parking upgrade and extension of the existing car/trailer parking area	$120,000
City of Mandurah	Bertram Street Boat Ramp	Resurface and seal the trailer parking area, construct barrier kerb, provide drainage system and signage	$10,825
City of Mandurah	Birchley Street Boat Ramp	Upgrade the trailer parking area, construct barrier kerb, provide drainage system, signage and rubbish bins	$22,025
Shire of Murray	Murray Bend	Extension of existing finger jetty at boat ramp	$6,000
Shire of Murray	North Yunderup	Feasibility study for alternate locations for boat ramp facility	$5,000
Shire of Ravensthorpe	Starvation Bay Boat Ramp	Construct flexmat boat launching surface over existing boat launching ramp	$6,000
Shire of Roebourne	Dampier Boat Ramp	Construction of a disabled access male and female ablution block at the existing Dampier public boat ramp	$75,000
Shire of West-Arthur	Lake Towerinning	Construct new ablution facilities to replace existing facilities	$32,475
Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley	Lily Creek	Construction of new ablution facility	$30,000
Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley	Wyndham Port	Construct a second boat ramp lane at the same site as the existing boat ramp	$80,850
TOTAL			$959,480