It’s coming up to state election time in the west, and as a part of his bid to be re-elected, Premier Colin Barnett has announced that the Liberal government will spend three million dollars on a new headquarters for Surfing WA if successful at the polls. With current facilities at Trigg Beach both undersized and outdated, Surfing WA has welcomed the call by the incumbent government to fund a new base for the organisation just down the road from their existing premises. And while the announcement might seem like a classic case of pork-barrelling, Surfing WA CEO Mark Lane says the development has actually been in the works for close to three years now.
‘We did a full business case and feasibility study,’ he explains. ‘And so with the amount of events and activities that we put on, they’ve deemed that they need to do something to help us.’
The new site will include a larger operational area, training and equipment storage facilities, and more room for staff offices and work stations. Considering that Surfing WA is a not-for-profit organisation, the promised contribution from the state government will be of great assistance to their future operations. Not only will it allow the organisation to increase the amount of services they offer on site, it will also enable them to better facilitate the growth of the sport in WA as a whole, which is something Premier Barnett highlighted in his announcement.
‘It will be a great support for the sport overall, particularly for young girls and boys who've taken up surfing, to do the sport and do it well and maybe even have a professional career if they're good enough,’ he stated.
And while there’s no guarantees that a Liberal government will be re-elected, Lane says he hopes that Surfing WA would be able to gain support for their plans from whichever party assumes power.
‘I would be reasonably confident, given the work that’s gone in and the support we’ve had through all of the corridors of power, that the Labor government would probably look kindly on it as well,’ he said.
The election is due to take place on the 11th of March 2017.
