More than 100 environmentally focused, conservation jobs are set to be created in 2020 with an initial investment of more than $4 million as part of the McGowan Government's Green Jobs Plan.
First round grants totalling more than $4 million will go to projects in regional Western Australia to create new green jobs that improve the habitat for WA's unique and important flora and fauna. A range of environmental organisations will deliver work including fencing, seeding, planting and managing threats, to improving native vegetation and habitat for fauna such as Carnaby's Cockatoo.
Partially funded by the government's Offsets Fund for Recovery (OFFR) and Native Vegetation Rehabilitation Scheme (NVRS), the Green Jobs Plan is focused on providing employment opportunities for people in the regions whose jobs have been affected by COVID-19.
The Green Jobs Plan program is being overseen by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Initial projects which will be delivered include seed collection and propagation to ensure the supply of seed and seedlings for the next two years of revegetation work. Over three years, the Green Jobs Plan will see a total of $60.3 million invested in Green Jobs.
Projects are located across the Mid-West, Wheatbelt, Peel, South-West and Great Southern regions and target biodiversity values including cockatoo breeding and foraging habitat, and fragmented remnant vegetation in highly cleared landscapes.
The Green Jobs Plan also provides free training to people in the regions, for selected skillsets to support our recovery from COVID-19. Qualifications in horticulture, rural operations and conservation and land management are included so participants in the Green Jobs Plan can gain a nationally-recognised qualification while they work.
As stated by Environment Minister Stephen Dawson:
"The McGowan Government's Green Jobs Plan is a win-win, it's making a real difference for our unique environment and at the same time creating vital employment and training opportunities right across the State.
"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt particularly hard in regional WA, so we're determined to help communities.
"It's important the economic recovery of Western Australia works hand in hand with the continued protection of our State's magnificent and precious environment.
"Ensuring our environment is not only protected but enhanced through our Green Jobs Plan will place Western Australia in an ideal position for economic recovery post COVID-19."
