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Funds flow for government projects

Toby HusseyAlbany Advertiser
WA Education Minister Sue Ellery and Premier Mark McGowan in Albany yesterday.
Camera IconWA Education Minister Sue Ellery and Premier Mark McGowan in Albany yesterday. Credit: Toby Hussey

A road upgrade, a new Albany TAFE employment service and a $300,000 grant to digitise Great Southern museums were announced during the State Government’s visit to Albany this week.

On Tuesday, Premier Mark McGowan confirmed a $6.4 million contract had been awarded to reconstruct, widen and add an overtaking lane to the South Coast Highway, 13km north-east of Albany.

It will be the first in a series of upgrades for the road during the next three years.

Yesterday, the Premier officially opened the Jobs and Skills Centre at South Regional TAFE, a service which provides free information and advice on training, employment and apprenticeships from South Regional TAFE.

Speaking at the event, Education Minister Sue Ellery said 65 people had already used the service since its unofficial opening in November.

“Bear in mind December and January are the quietest months in the training calendar, (so) that tells you I think the numbers (of users) will be quiet high,” she said.

Priorities for the service will include helping indigenous Australians find employment through a partnership with Southern Aboriginal Corporation.

Outreach services will be provided in Esperance, Denmark, Walpole and Katanning.

Also yesterday, at the Museum of the Great Southern, Culture and Arts Minister David Templeman presented the Australian Museums and Galleries Association WA with a $301,000 Lotterywest grant to roll out a two-year training program to digitise its collections.

“Building a platform to showcase the wonders of Western Australia to the world will help to realise the true value of these community collections for social, education and tourism purposes,” he said.

Albany MP Peter Watson said the funding would benefit communities across the region.

“Small community collecting groups especially will benefit from building their capacity to digitise and share their infor-mation with the wider WA community, and the world,” he said.

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