Joondalup and Wanneroo councils receive $6.5m through Federal financial assistance program

THE Federal Government has given the cities of Joondalup and Wanneroo almost $6.5 million through the 2018-19 Financial Assistance Grants program.

Moore MHR Ian Goodenough said the government made an early payment of 50 per cent of funding to the cities to support delivery of essential services and infrastructure.

The City of Joondalup received $2.9 million and the City of Wanneroo received $3.6 million to fund local projects in the upcoming year.

“This is a major windfall for both the cities of Joondalup and Wanneroo who rely on untied grant funding to fund a wide range of local projects and services, including in transport, health, sports and recreation, environment and employment projects,” Mr Goodenough said.

Regional Development, Territories and Local Government Minister John McVeigh said the early payment to all 546 councils across Australia would help fast track delivery of priority local projects.

Mr McVeigh said it was important to give local councils the power to prioritise projects in their region.

“These grants are therefore an extremely important means of allowing local governments to invest substantial allocations of federal funds based on local needs,” he said.

The funding announcement followed Local Government Week, when representatives from both cities visited Canberra to discuss their strategic infrastructure, economic and development priorities with Federal ministers.

The representatives included Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob, chief executive Garry Hunt and Councillor Nige Jones as well as Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts, chief executive Daniel Simms, Cr Frank Cvitan and Cr Samantha Fenn.

According to Mr Goodenough’s office top priorities discussed included activating the Joondalup city centre, redeveloping the Ocean Reef Marina, employment opportunities in the Neerabup industrial area and upgrading the road network.