What’s in the State budget for Albany?

The State budget’s out and Treasurer Ben Wyatt is as proud as punch about delivering WA’s first surplus in five years.

But what’s in it for Albany?

Well, we’ve already heard about the big-ticket items:

There was $175m for the final two stages of the Albany Ring Road;

Just over $13m for a cancer treatment facility at Albany Health Campus;

And most recently, $2.5 million for the Greens Pool-Elephant Rocks precinct.

Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan said Statewide funding for tourism and regional arts would be a boon for the Great Southern, which was “fast becoming one of WA’s premier cultural and tourism regions”.

The Regional Taxi Transition Fund should provide some relief for local taxi operators.

Another $1.1m will be spent on establishing a Great Southern Needle and Syringe Exchange Program.

And the City of Albany has welcomed additional funding — a total of $500,000 in the 2019-20 budget — for the planning of the Albany Artificial Surf Reef at Middleton Beach.

“(The money) would fund the detailed design phase and build upon the body of work and baseline data already completed by the City,” City chief executive Andrew Sharpe said.

“This work will result in a costed reef design and is a key step in having the project shovel ready so we can attract additional funding.”

Here are some budget allocation figures for initiatives which were already under way:

• $9.8 million for upgrades to the Albany Secondary Education Support Centre and North Albany Senior High School.
• $30 million for the upgrade of South Coast Highway.
• $3.6 million towards preliminary works at the Middleton Beach Activity Centre.
• $3 million upgrade to Mount Lockyer Primary School.
• $2.5 million to replace transportable classrooms at Flinders Park Primary School.
• $1 million to continue work on the Albany Oyster Reef Restoration Project.
• $3.9 million to complete the Centennial Park Sporting and Event Precinct