NHT funding will strengthen community support for fight against salinity

16/10/97

Natural Heritage Trust funding allocations announced today will enable strong community involvement in the fight against salinity in Western Australia, according to Deputy Premier Hendy Cowan.

Welcoming the initial $23.5 million in grants from the Commonwealth, Mr Cowan said the NHT funding would also support a wide range of projects conserving and managing land and water resources and biodiversity.

He said Federal Primary Industries Minister John Anderson had also reaffirmed that total Commonwealth funding for NHT in WA would exceed $30 million in 1997-98.

"These funds are tangible evidence of the State and Federal Governments' commitment to tackling major conservation issues, and in particular salinity," Mr Cowan said.

"The Natural Heritage Trust will give community groups the financial resources required to implement and further develop locally based programs.

"In all, 336 community and agency partnership projects across the State have had funding approved in the first round and others are being considered for allocations in the future.

"A large number of these projects will deliver results under the State Government's Salinity Action Plan.

"The stage is set for a long-term and concerted campaign to conserve our natural heritage, support agricultural sustainability and to address environmental problems."

Mr Cowan said WA had acted quickly and decisively to win Natural Heritage Trust funding and was the first State to sign an NHT agreement with the Commonwealth. It was also the first State to submit an integrated package of requests to Canberra.

Regional panels with strong community involvement made initial assessments of projects with a State Assessment Panel carrying out a broader examination and ranking projects in order of priority.

Mr Cowan said the NHT funding detailed today was in addition to about $28 million being spent by the State on the salinity problem in 1997-98.

Media contact: Peter Jackson (08) 9222 9595