❓ Mr. Blayney asks about the Liberal-National government's support for the Geraldton Universities Centre. The Minister details funding of $3 million via the Royalties for Regions program and highlights the importance of regional education for retention of residents.
AnsweredQoN 166Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GERALDTON UNIVERSITIES CENTRE
166. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the
Minister for Regional Development:
It was a pleasure to
welcome the minister to my electorate on the weekend for the opening of stage 2
of the Geraldton Universities Centre. Can the minister please update the house
on the level of support that the Liberal–National government has
provided to this very important institution in my electorate?
166. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the
Minister for Regional Development:
It was a pleasure to
welcome the minister to my electorate on the weekend for the opening of stage 2
of the Geraldton Universities Centre. Can the minister please update the house
on the level of support that the Liberal–National government has
provided to this very important institution in my electorate?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for Geraldton for the question, and I compliment him on his haircut—a
very good job—and also for his attendance at the opening of an
extension to the Geraldton Universities Centre, along with the good member for
Moore, who also represents a region that contributes to the student base that
attends that facility.
Last year the
Department of Regional Development conducted the Living in the Regions survey.
I am sure that both the member for Geraldton and the member for Moore will be
very happy to know that that survey showed that 80 per cent of people living in
the midwest were happy with where they lived and to be part of the midwest
region. The survey highlighted that for those people who might be thinking of
moving to the region one of the key factors in considering whether to live in
that part of the world was access to education, training and professional
development. That is a consistent view around a lot of regional Western
Australia. A theme in a lot of the planning that has happened in the Midwest
Investment Plan and more recently in the blueprint for development in regional
Western Australia is this notion of access to education and professional
development. It indicates that education is critical to people's
decision-making.
We all know that
developing facilities in regional Western Australia to access higher education
is very challenging. We know about the inconsistencies that apply at a federal
level in the application of resources to support universities in regional
Western Australia. The situation with Muresk is one of the consequences of
that. The model at the Geraldton Universities Centre appears to be working
extremely well, and it is one that we want to support. The application of that
model has meant that it is able to offer training, including in nursing. Just
last week the centre announced that a nursing program that will be run through
the University of Southern Queensland will commence later on this year. The
model provides access to a range of courses, including business, accounting,
communication, journalism, psychology and engineering. The facility that we
opened comprises a couple of classrooms and some support facilities. Funding of
$3 million came through the royalties for regions $220 million Midwest
Investment Plan. Clearly, there has been a lot of planning to provide the
infrastructure, which is important to keep people living in the regions. The
Geraldton Universities Centre is one of outcomes of that planning, and it is
pleasing to support, particularly through the Liberal–National
government's royalties for regions program, a new facility that will
complement what the Geraldton Universities Centre is doing extremely well.
By the start of this
year, more than 80 new students had enrolled. By the middle of 2014, they
anticipate there will be 200, and by 2016 there will be 300 students enrolling.
They are well on track to have a model of delivery in regional Western
Australia so those students do not need to move out of that area. We know that
if they stay and do their training in Geraldton, they are likely to stay in
that region. That is an outcome that this government wants. It is part of a $32
million investment the government has made more broadly in that region, not
only to the Geraldton Universities Centre but also the residential college and
Durack Institute of Technology to support training in the midwest region.
It is well known that
when young people study in the regions, they stay in the regions. The
government is making the investment to support that happening in regional
Western Australia. This is a very good example of that and I am very pleased
that the member for Geraldton and the member for Moore were able to attend the
opening of this facility to support education in regional Western Australia.
for Geraldton for the question, and I compliment him on his haircut—a
very good job—and also for his attendance at the opening of an
extension to the Geraldton Universities Centre, along with the good member for
Moore, who also represents a region that contributes to the student base that
attends that facility.
Last year the
Department of Regional Development conducted the Living in the Regions survey.
I am sure that both the member for Geraldton and the member for Moore will be
very happy to know that that survey showed that 80 per cent of people living in
the midwest were happy with where they lived and to be part of the midwest
region. The survey highlighted that for those people who might be thinking of
moving to the region one of the key factors in considering whether to live in
that part of the world was access to education, training and professional
development. That is a consistent view around a lot of regional Western
Australia. A theme in a lot of the planning that has happened in the Midwest
Investment Plan and more recently in the blueprint for development in regional
Western Australia is this notion of access to education and professional
development. It indicates that education is critical to people's
decision-making.
We all know that
developing facilities in regional Western Australia to access higher education
is very challenging. We know about the inconsistencies that apply at a federal
level in the application of resources to support universities in regional
Western Australia. The situation with Muresk is one of the consequences of
that. The model at the Geraldton Universities Centre appears to be working
extremely well, and it is one that we want to support. The application of that
model has meant that it is able to offer training, including in nursing. Just
last week the centre announced that a nursing program that will be run through
the University of Southern Queensland will commence later on this year. The
model provides access to a range of courses, including business, accounting,
communication, journalism, psychology and engineering. The facility that we
opened comprises a couple of classrooms and some support facilities. Funding of
$3 million came through the royalties for regions $220 million Midwest
Investment Plan. Clearly, there has been a lot of planning to provide the
infrastructure, which is important to keep people living in the regions. The
Geraldton Universities Centre is one of outcomes of that planning, and it is
pleasing to support, particularly through the Liberal–National
government's royalties for regions program, a new facility that will
complement what the Geraldton Universities Centre is doing extremely well.
By the start of this
year, more than 80 new students had enrolled. By the middle of 2014, they
anticipate there will be 200, and by 2016 there will be 300 students enrolling.
They are well on track to have a model of delivery in regional Western
Australia so those students do not need to move out of that area. We know that
if they stay and do their training in Geraldton, they are likely to stay in
that region. That is an outcome that this government wants. It is part of a $32
million investment the government has made more broadly in that region, not
only to the Geraldton Universities Centre but also the residential college and
Durack Institute of Technology to support training in the midwest region.
It is well known that
when young people study in the regions, they stay in the regions. The
government is making the investment to support that happening in regional
Western Australia. This is a very good example of that and I am very pleased
that the member for Geraldton and the member for Moore were able to attend the
opening of this facility to support education in regional Western Australia.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.