The regions

Ensuring that regional Western Australia is strong and vibrant.

Policy and planning
Sustainable regional communities 
The Pinjarra-Brunswick Sustainability Study will develop a social, economic, environmental and land-use strategy to underpin the future prosperity and sustainability of the communities. It will identify land, infrastructure, services and facilities, economic, social and environmental opportunities, and the planning and process requirements needed to build sustainable communities in the area. The draft strategic plan is due for release in October 2004 with the final strategy due by January 2005.

Regional airports 
To help build better and safer facilities in regional areas, we allocated funds through the Regional Airports Development Scheme to upgrade airports infrastructure. In 2003-04, $2 million was provided for airport upgrades.

Assistance to 37 projects this year included more than $100,000 to improve airports for four Aboriginal communities in the Pilbara and one in the Mid-West, funding towards works at Mugarinya, Denmark, Esperance, Mount Magnet and Wongan Hills, and an allocation of $100,000 for planning for the new airport terminal at Newman.

Regional air services 
At the direction of the Aviation Ministerial Council, the Department has coordinated implementation of the State's Air Services Policy. During 2003-04, we initiated several components of the policy including:

• Developing policy in relation to air charter operations over Regular Passenger Transport (RPT) routes, which led to the integration of several air charter services using existing RPT services;
• Moving to regulate certain routes by licensing arrangements;
• Tendering and awarding sole operating rights on certain routes;
• Establishing the role of an aviation industry observer to oversee the performance of the regulated routes;
• Reviewing the performance of the state's non-jet network to determine whether regulation should remain beyond May 2005; and
• Commencing the development of a subsidised air services policy to ensure subsidy funds are appropriately targeted to regional and remote communities - this policy is expected to be completed by December 2004.

Skippers Aviation was granted the rights to provide an air service between Perth, Kalbarri and Shark Bay for a period of two years. This followed an exhaustive selection process managed by the Department. The arrangements with Skippers also include some access to Geraldton, as the Government's 2003 Intrastate Air Services Review determined that the route could sustain some competition if managed carefully. The services commenced in February 2004.

Also, in a joint effort with local stakeholders (Kimberley Tourism Association, Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley and local businesses) and Qantas, we assisted with the resumption of a weekly jet service from Perth to Kununurra to complement the daily turbo-prop services from Broome and Darwin.

This will provide a major boost to tourism and business in the region. The service resumed in May 2004.

In 2003-04, the Government provided a total of $866,000 in financial support for four subsidised air services. Three of these services were tendered during the year:

• Broome - Derby
• Broome - Fitzroy Crossing - Halls Creek
• Broome - Port Hedland.

Golden Eagle Airlines won the rights to provide the three services for a 12-month period from 1 July 2004.

Read More...
Read more about Regional Air Services under Land Use and Transport Infrastructure Service Delivery

Non-jet intrastate services 
An independent review of non-jet intrastate air services in WA was undertaken during the year. In May 2004, the Government endorsed the review's recommendation that those services continue to be regulated.

Further extensive consultation will be undertaken to evaluate and develop appropriate route networks to ensure sustainable air services that will meet community, tourism and airline viability over the longer term. The identified regulated routes will go to competitive tender by February 2005 with the aim of commencing services by December 2005.

Albany action plan 
A stakeholder working group has developed an action plan to address issues relating to heavy freight movements to the Albany port. An interagency taskforce coordinated by us has been overseeing implementation of the action plan. Key actions included developing a work plan for road 'hotspots' in Albany, preparing a package to increase the use of rail for freight transport, and developing suitable planning controls for key freight routes under the Lower Great Southern Regional Strategy.

Broome development 
Finding ways to cater for the Broome land boom is the focus of work we have done, on behalf of the Western Australian Planning Commission, on the Broome Local Planning Strategy - 'Country Land Development Program: Broome 2004'. A rapidly expanding tourism industry and residential population has put pressure on land availability and values, resulting in a shortage of land development options. The strategy addresses current economic and demographic trends and provides information for planning and budgeting purposes to the public and private sectors involved in property development and services provision.

Maximising rail  
In July 2003, we hosted a public forum to explore the potential for getting more freight on the south west railway. One of the outcomes was the development of a strategy to introduce more plantation timber freight on to rail. The Government is working with the railway and plantation timber industries on ways this can be achieved. The forum report will be finalised once this initiative is fully explored.

Service delivery  
Strengthening the regions
We have developed a more coordinated approach to the delivery of portfolio functions in regional areas as part of our commitment to meet the Government's Regional Development Policy objectives. A key component of this approach has been the consolidation of service delivery to collocated premises, with new centres opened in Geraldton, Bunbury and Kalgoorlie. As well as the financial benefits, collocated sites provide customers with improved services from single service delivery locations.

To support the agency-wide commitment to improving service and performance in regional Western Australia, each of the Department's Executive Directors has assumed 'sponsorship' of a region to strengthen senior management's appreciation of the Department's services and performance - and our many challenges - in regional Western Australia.

In May 2004, Regional Services Managers were appointed with a strategic focus on the enhancement of our profile and reputation among regional customers and stakeholders while maintaining responsibility for 'on the ground' services provided by the Department. The Regional Managers will take a more strategic role than the Regional Coordinators have done in the past.

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