THE NATIONALS WA have criticised the State government for spending $200 million under the figure earmarked in its 2019-20 budget for the Royalties for Regions (RfR) program.
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The Treasurer's quarterly financial results tabled in late May showed only $633m was spent on RfR projects up to the end of March, which Nationals WA leader Mia Davies said was well under the original budget.
"That is $200m that should be used to invest in and grow regional WA communities at a time they need all the help they can get," Ms Davies said.
"Instead the $200m goes back into the consolidated account to be used on Labor's pet Perth projects such as the $5.2 billion Metronet plan, which continues to blow out in cost and will provide absolutely no benefit to those outside the metropolitan area."
The Nationals WA have continued to criticise the State government for using more than $1.6b from the RfR program to pay for Water Corporation community service obligations, deliver remote water and power services, underwrite TAFE courses, fund the orange school bus network and to pay regional education assistants, saying that money should have instead been sourced from consolidated revenue.
"The treatment of Royalties for Regions by this government has been insulting to every Western Australian who lives beyond the Darling Scarp," Ms Davies said.
"Under our stewardship, Royalties for Regions injected almost $7bn into 3600 programs and projects, transforming regional communities by filling much-needed infrastructure backlogs and improving services in the bush."
However Regional Development and Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan told Farm Weekly Ms Davies had not factored into her calculations the $160m of RfR funding that was held by agencies at the start of the financial year for ongoing government-funded projects in regional WA.
"We are on track to provide around $1b of investment through Royalties for Regions this financial year to deliver vital, job-creating infrastructure while boosting health and community services across WA," Ms MacTiernan said.
The Nationals WA Treasury spokesman Terry Redman said the State government needed to have a greater emphasis on supporting regional WA, as the State emerges from the COVID-19 crisis.
"Royalties for Regions must be restored to its full integrity to help foster crucial investment across the State," Mr Redman said.
"By whittling away the funding, Labor is short-changing regional WA and critical development will fall away when it is desperately needed."
