The City of Busselton is committed to finding a way to fund the estimated $16 million worth of refurbishment and repairs that are required to ensure the future of our iconic jetty.

Shire President Kevin Douglas has stated that the jetty's future is dependent upon the commitment of all tiers of government working in a cooperative manner.

Cr Douglas said, on this basis, the State Government has been made aware of the challenge and the Shire is shortly to have discussions with the local Federal Parliamentarian.

"While the Minister for Tourism WA faces some difficulty in providing any assurance of financial assistance and is questioning an agreement made in 1988, the Shire, however, remains confident the State Government will work with us to find a resolution to these issues," he said.

The jetty is one of the State's most important tourist attractions and because of this, the Shire committed to a licence agreement with the State Government in 1988 to maintain the jetty at a time when its future was very uncertain.

At that time the jetty was already more than 120 years old and in need of significant repair.

Part of the licence agreement was the payment of $500,000 from the State Government to repair the jetty.

These funds were utilised and around $4 million has been injected into jetty maintenance.

Separately, the addition of the Interpretive Centre and Underwater Observatory to the jetty's infrastructure has significantly increased the jetty's revenue base, from which all funds raised are injected straight back into securing the jetty for the future.

Although the Shire does not own the jetty and is a licensee operating under a maintenance agreement, it conducted a complete structural assessment of the jetty in December 2004 which identified the significant refurbishment work that is now required.

The major repairs required involve substantial capital replacement of significant sections of the jetty and are beyond the scope of general maintenance.

This highlights the need to have all levels of government commit to this significant project that is vital for the future of both Busselton and the State.