Question Without Notice No. 579 asked in the Legislative Council on 12 September 2017 by Hon Colin Holt
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
DEPARTMENT OF BIODIVERSITY, CONSERVATION AND ATTRACTIONS — PREMIER'S COMMENTS
579. Hon COLIN HOLT to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the Premier's comments on 2 September about moving to Bunbury the headquarters of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, formerly the Department of Parks and Wildlife.
(1) Is the headquarters still moving to Bunbury?
(2) Will the Koombana Bay site be used?
(3) If no to (2), which new site has been chosen?
(4) If no to (2), what will the Koombana Bay site now be used for?
(5) How much has been spent to date on the Koombana Bay site?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(5) The move was not fully funded by the former government. The chosen location of Koombana Bay is not centrally located in the Bunbury central business district, and the McGowan Labor government considers that this site could be put to better use, including for tourism. The government has committed $1 million for a review of the project and consideration of an alternative use for the site.
Part of the McGowan government's public sector reforms include delivering better services to the community. The government is developing a pilot project for Bunbury to demonstrate how services can be delivered in a coordinated and collaborative way in the form of a one-stop shop.
Estimated project expenditure to 30 June 2017 was $5.230 million. The government has committed funding to complete the landscaping, lookout, outdoor education facility and car park to complete this parkland facility. The new outdoor education pavilion will enable the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions' Nearer to Nature school education program to be delivered in Bunbury. The facility could also be used for education programs by the Dolphin Discovery Centre.