45 jobs and $9m for West Coast projects

New funding will pay for 45 new jobs and help sustain 100 more as part of ambitious whitebait habitat restoration and weed eradication projects in Westland.

Conservation Minister Kiri Allan was on the West Coast yesterday to announce $9 million of funding for new four projects.

The Government’s Jobs for Nature programme has helped some businesses keep their workers while the country’s borders are closed because of Covid-19.

Glacier country, which relies heavily on tourism, would receive $1.28m (on top of $2.5m released earlier) so about 100 tourism workers from 40 businesses could continue upgrading and restoring Department of Conservation land, while still being employed in tourism.

‘‘They can keep doing conservation work if there are no tourists, but they can jump back into their job in tourism when visitors turn up,’’ Allan said.

‘‘It’s about making sure that business keep the lights on because we know that when international tourism returns the mighty West Coast will be a very desirable place to visit.’’

Allan also announced funding for three other projects that would create 45 jobs and protect several ‘‘irreplaceable ecosystems’’. A West Coast Regional Council-led project to

restore inanga/whitebait habitats would receive $1.36m for weed removal from 25 streams and new fencing along 18 waterways.

‘‘Whitebait face a range of threats and pressures, including habitat loss, poor water quality, and fishing pressure. All four whitebait species that are threatened or at risk will benefit from this habitat enhancement mahi,’’ Allan said.

Weed Free Tai Poutini was an ambitious project to eliminate all significant land-based weeds from Westland and would create 21 jobs, she said.

The $3.3m project would pay for workers to remove weeds from about 30,000 hectares of public conservation land in the district.

The Arahura Strategic Waterway Restoration project, led by Ma¯ whera Incorporation, received $3m of Jobs for Nature funding and $2.8m from the provincial growth fund to restore the Arahura River.

Eight landowners were supporting the project to fence and plant 195,000 plants in the catchment, which was home to 17 species of native fish, including spawning inanga, Allan said.