Funds boost for jetty

In a boost for Rockingham tourism and recreation, the City was granted $500,000 of Federal and State funding to redevelop the Mersey Point Jetty.

Previous submissions to council by Rockingham Wild Encounters to redevelop the City-owned jetty were dismissed on the basis it was predominately for private enterprise use.

Rockingham Wild Encounters director Terry Howson said he was disappointed by the council's decision and sought more options to fix the damaged facility, which was increasingly becoming a safety hazard.

"We are not the only user of the jetty," he said.

"It's very old and really needs to be replaced; it's past repairing."

Working with Tourism WA, Mr Howson put forward a case for the new Tourism Demand Driver Infrastructure Program to part-fund the project.

The national program is set to boost key WA tourism projects with more than $5 million over four years, including $500,000 for the Mersey Point Jetty redevelopment, provided the City matches it.

Mr Howson said he was excited by the announcement and hoped the councillors would approve the process.

"The jetty needs to be able to assist people with disabilities with wheelchair access and support the operations we do in running tours from it," he said.

"Our operations benefit the whole of Rockingham."

WA Tourism Minister Kim Hames said the program would see some exciting projects take off and make WA even more attractive to tourists.