NORSEMAN COMMUNITY
RESOURCE CENTRE
251. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the Minister for Regional Development:
(1) How many
community resource centres are there in Western Australia, and what was the
total cash contribution to CRCs in the 2016–17 year?
(2) Is the
minister aware of a plan to close the Norseman Community Resource Centre; and,
if so, what is the date of the intended closure?
(3) Is the
minister aware that the services of the Norseman CRC are highly valued by local
residents and by local organisations representing Indigenous Australians, and
that the Norseman CRC is vital to the tourism industry as the first source of
reliable communications for travellers arriving in Western Australia across the
Nullarbor?
(4) Will the
minister undertake to keep open the Norseman Community Resource Centre?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the
member for the question.
(1) There are 105
CRCs in the network, including those on Christmas and Cocos Islands. In the
2016–17 year, $12.8 million was spent on the CRC program.
(2) No.
(3) Yes, indeed.
Our election commitments in the goldfields included investment of $1.6 million
in a new cultural, visitor and community precinct in Norsemen that will become
a welcome centre for travellers arriving in the state and travelling within the
region.
(4) A review of
the CRC program is underway, and the Department of Primary Industries and
Regional Development will be providing me with an options paper on the
allocation of funding for the CRC program into the future.