Collie company Cardinal Contractors has completed work on upgrading the first 2.2 kilometres of the access road to Lake Kepwari, as the State Government announces an additional $2.7 million of funding towards the tourism development.
 
The additional funding will enhance the scope of the water-based tourism development - bringing the total to $5.7 million - to deliver a quality tourism and recreation hub for waterskiing, wakeboarding, boating and swimming.
 
Work commenced in January 2020 on the development of recreational infrastructure, including providing sealed access to the boat ramp, the construction of a dual lane boat ramp with jetty, 85 parking bays suitable for boat trailers and 65 for cars.    Read more

Kimberley to host iconic sporting events in 2020 - Broome and Kununurra will again host three iconic sporting events this year thanks to a State Government program which assists regional communities to host local events.

The Lake Argyle Swim, national Fat Bike Championships, and Lake Argyle Adventure Race will share in $25,000 from the Country Sport Enrichment Scheme (CSES).  Read more
 
Perth to attract rowing elite with championship triple -  Perth is set to host three premier national rowing events through to 2026, which will attract national and international competitors and inject millions into the State's economy.   The State Government, through Tourism Western Australia, has secured the Australian Masters Rowing Championships in May 2022 and May 2026, and the Australian Rowing Championships in March 2023. Read more  
 
State Government commits $9.35 million to help build better sport and recreation facilities across WA -  Twenty-three communities across Western Australia are to benefit from improved sport and recreation facilities thanks to the State Government allocating $9.35 million to help fund local projects. Two communities in the Great Southern, the Shire of Kojonup and the Boxwood Hill Combined Sports Club, are to receive $534,995.   The projects have been funded in the latest round of the Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Fund (CSRFF) administered by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC).  
Read more about the overall funding.
Read about the Great Southern funding.
 
Balgo swimming pool’s official opening delivers election promise - Western Australian Housing Minister Peter Tinley announced the formal opening of the Balgo community swimming pool and facilities on 25 February.   The new pool is part of a 2017 election commitment of $15.53 million to construct and provide operational funding for two pools in the Kimberley at Balgo and Kalumburu.   Read more

A golfing prodigy with a copybook swing and a champion footballer shared the honours for the 2019 West Australian RAC Sports Star Award presented before a crowd of 530 people at Optus Stadium on 13 February.

Golfing sensation Hannah Green, 23, and Fremantle Dockers captain Nathan Fyfe, 28, were announced joint winners of one of WA’s most sought-after sporting trophies which dates back to 1956.  It was the second award for Fyfe after he claimed the title in 2015, following his first Brownlow Medal victory, while Green grabbed her share of the top award with an epic victory in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Green, who won last year’s Greg Norman Medal, joined exalted company in Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson as the only Australians to have won a major on the tough LPGA Tour.

In other news at the RAC SportWest Awards, rower Hamish Henriques was crowned the Hyundai Junior Sport Star winner after he teamed with Victorian Harrison Fox to triumph in the under-19 double scull at the World Rowing Junior Championships.

Australian cricket coach Justin Langer beat stiff opposition in Ritchie Smith – Green’s coach – and Trevor Gleeson to be named the KPMG Coach of the Year after the Aussies brought home the Ashes from England for the first time since 2001 while the Perth Wildcats were named team of the year.  See the full list of results for the West Australian RAC Sports Star Awards for 2019.

The Great Southern Centre for Outdoor Recreation Excellence (GSCORE) has begun collating a wide range of feedback from members of the public and stakeholder groups commenting on the draft Great Southern Regional Trails Master Plan. The feedback will be reviewed by the Project Management Executive Group and key land managers.
 
The Master Plan, developed by GSCORE in partnership with local and state government stakeholders in the Great Southern region, maps out safe and sustainable development of the region’s recreational trails over the next 10 years. The plan is designed to guide decisions about investment in, and management of, trails and provides a vision for a diverse range of trail experiences showcasing our unique landscapes, biodiversity, geology, Aboriginal culture and settler heritage.
 
For more information, visit the project page.

The Australian Industry and Skills Committee National Industry Insights Report presents skills, training, employment and labour market data, listed by industry.
New content is being added to the Industry Directory over the coming months, with several industry clusters updated already.

A variety of industries will also be covered in more depth each fortnight in NCVER News or users can go straight to the relevant web pages to see what's new:

• National Industry Insights Report
  
• Industry Directory
  

​The Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Government, Professor Brendan Murphy, has provided updated medical advice for hotel and tourism operators on the requirements for self-isolation.  

Updated factsheets are also available for hotel management and staff and hotel guests in simplified Chinese and English .

In a media statement released by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia, the State Government, through Tourism Western Australia, is injecting $2.85 million of new money to support the local tourism industry in the wake of the devastating east coast bushfires and potential impacts on travel plans following the coronavirus outbreak.

The funding is planned to focus on attracting interstate visitors to Western Australia in the coming months through co-operative marketing deals and partnerships with airlines, travel agents, hotels and other trade partners.

Tourism WA will collaborate with the State's Regional Tourism Organisations to encourage locals to holiday at home. The agency will also work with the Perth Convention Bureau to attract last minute business events and conferences to Perth. Tourism WA will also work with automobile clubs to entice members to take a caravanning or camping trip in WA. 
McGowan Government media statement