central desert news cdp ramping up! the laramba community development program (cdp) has been hard at...

Central Desert News

EDITION NO. 30 / JUNE 2016

INSIDENew homes for NyirripiCouncil recently celebrated the final

handover of the Stronger Futures NT Housing Refurbishment Program at Nyirripi with the last of the 43 houses to receive major upgrades commissioned by the NT Department of Housing being completed. The program has showcased the hard work Council staff and local community members have put in over the past ten months to provide the people of Nyirripi with fully refurbished housing.

The program began in August 2015 and has seen 40% of all worked hours being done by Indigenous people, mainly locals, including Council’s municipal services crew and three community members gaining continuous paid employment with Council’s sub-contractor, Roustabout Construction. Roustabout Construction’s owner, Ian Hackett, said, ‘It is great to see community members interested in working with my crew and participating in the construction phase. The skills they learn whilst working in houses can be used outside this project anywhere in or out of the community.’

Council President Adrian Dixon believes that this project demonstrates the strong capacity of the Council. ‘Council has proved we are well placed to support local people transitioning into meaningful employment. This project has seen local

people upgrade their own houses and gain meaningful skills as well as real jobs. We believe Council has a strong role to play in future changes to housing management in our remote communities,’ he said.

Community Development Program workers have participated in works throughout the contract on various jobs such as painting, cleaning and fitting. To encourage local engagement, Council partnered with Ngurratjuta Aboriginal Corporation to provide training through the Centre for Appropriate Technology in the following qualifications:

• Certificate I in Construction (White Card)• Certificate II in Civil Construction Plant

Operations• Certificate II in Construction Pathways• 4WD Awareness• Applying First Aid.

This is a fantastic outcome for the Nyirripi community and the Central Desert Region.

Central Desert News is published byCentral Desert Regional CouncilPO Box 2257 ALICE SPRINGS NT 0871Ph 1300 360 605www.centraldesert.nt.gov.auPlease send your stories [email protected]

New homes for Nyirripi 1

Laramba unveils a new wood-fired oven 1

From the President 2

From the CEO 2

Laramba CDP ramping up! 3

Council plans for 2016/17 4

Sandpit fun at Willowra 5

Our voice in First Circles 5

Stand up and be counted 5

Willowra Park has it all 6

School’s in 6

Working together for a healthier future 7

First Circles in Laramba 7

Nturiya Road opens up the community 8

New look for Nyirripi football team 8

Around the region 9–10

Yuelamu set to go mobile 11

Jocko Long a winner 11

Compactor on its way to Yuendumu 12

Sports weekend fun for the whole family at Atitjere

12

LEFT: Renita Roderick and Salrina Dixon are pleased to be able to cook damper in the brand new wood-fired oven at Laramba.

Laramba unveils a new wood-fired oven

Laramba community has unveiled its new wood-fired oven in the CDP Centre. The

oven will be used to cook tasty baked meals – everything from damper to pizza! Read more about this and what else the Laramba CDP have been up to on page 3.

2 • CENTRAL DESERT REGIONAL COUNCIL NEWSLETTER

From the President

The middle of the year is already upon us and the pace has not slowed for

Council! This quarter has seen us reach some important milestones, including completion of the Stronger Futures Northern Territory Nyirripi housing contract.

Planning for 2016/17 has also been a major focus during the past three months with community planning sessions held in each of the nine major communities across the region. Read more about it in this issue. I want to thank everyone who came along to the community meetings and got involved. Council’s 2016/17 Regional Plan is now on the website for public comment. I encourage everyone with an interest to read through it and provide feedback.

I have been visiting a number of communities as the cool weather sets in. Recently I was in Lajamanu for the May local authority meeting and discussed

community issues and achievement with the Local Authority Chair, Robert George. Thank you to Robert and the chairs across the region for being a strong voice for your local communities

From the CEO

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Central Desert News. As you can see

from the articles in this edition there is a lot happening around the region. Council has been particularly proud of the work done by the team at Nyrripi as part of the SNFT Housing upgrades. This contract has made a real difference to the community members in Nyirripi with 43 houses undergoing major upgrades. The project provided an opportunity for local people to gain skills and employment thanks to the Council’s strong relationships with Ngurratjuta Aboriginal Corporation (the CDP provider in the region) and the Centre for Appropriate Technology (the RTO). Other communities in the region will also be experiencing similar upgrades during the coming months and Council will be working to ensure that similar training opportunities

are available to residents of these communities.

It is also very pleasing to see the large number of projects being undertaken in community. Our local authorities continue to provide valuable advice to the Council. In particular it has been encouraging to see local authorities identifying projects and activities which are important to the community. Thanks to the strong efforts of the local Council staff and CDP participants, many of the local authority projects are being delivered. I am looking forward to sampling a pizza from Laramba’s new wood-fired oven.

It has also been really pleasing to see the involvement of community members in the community planning exercise. Across all communities in the region, the input from community members has been excellent. Ideas from these community meetings were used

during the Council’s strategic planning workshop and have been incorporated into the Council’s Regional Plan. Within each community, the ideas identified will be prioritised so that each local authority and also the Council can see what each community considers important. These plans will also help coordinate the activities of all stakeholders in community and focus service delivery according to local priorities.

The draft Regional Council Plan provides a high level plan for the whole region. This plan is currently out for comment. Submissions are open until 17 June 2016.

Cathryn Hutton Chief Executive Officer

Council President and Lajamanu Local Authority Chair, Robert George, at Lajamanu in May.

and setting a course for Council for the coming year.

Adrian Dixon President

Laramba CDP ramping up!

The Laramba Community Development Program (CDP) has been hard at

work during the month of May. The guys have been involved in a range of capital works around the community, including replacing the ramp at the rear of the Aged Care Centre. The new ramp is part of the capital works improvements to Aged Care across the region reported on in the last issue. CDP participants are also performing stage 1 of the beautification of the Council Office area, installing a new path, building garden beds and planting new trees around the edge of the lawn.

The women have been travelling further afield to collect bush bananas and seeds. The seeds will be used to make jewellery which will be painted up in the arts centre. Another activity has been growing gourds in the activity centre garden. The gourds can also be used as canvases for beautiful artworks by the local women. CDP women have also helped out a great deal at Laramba Childcare doing some of the cleaning of

the facility outside of business hours. The men also cleaned around the outside of the building and this was greatly appreciated by the staff and children alike.

Outside the garden the CDP pizza oven is up and running and all of the women and men have been enjoying homemade pizza at lunchtime – even the guys got involved in making the pizza.

Training has been happening as well, with five CDP women travelling to Yuelamu for a training course in softball coaching and scoring run by Softball NT. The women are also attending the school once a week for an hour-long session to interact with the junior class. Preparations are underway for the men also to go to the school once a week to interact with the middle class and develop their own mentoring and leadership skills.

Laramba CDP has certainly been ramping up as the weather cools with winter upon us! There no lack of things to show from their hard work.

CENTRAL DESERT REGIONAL COUNCIL NEWSLETTER • 3

Laramba CDP with gourds grown after only five weeks!

Shane Dixon shows off a pizza he made in the wood-fired oven.

Roseanne Stirling gets the Laramba Childcare Centre looking lovely.

Veronica Tilmouth attends to the children’s washroom in Laramba.

Josean Briscoe is all smiles as he prepares pizza ingredients in the CDP kitchen.

L–R: John Briscoe Jnr, Kennrick McNamara, John Briscoe Snr and Lewis Nelson clear a way for the path at the Laramba Council Office.

L–R: John Briscoe Snr, John Briscoe Jnr, Lewis Nelson, Jonsean Briscoe and Kennrick McNamara start carving out the path.

Council plans for 2016/17

Council has turned its focus to planning for the next financial year: 2016/17. The process kicked off

with community planning meetings across the Central Desert Region. This consultation is key to steering Council in the direction set by community members for the next financial year. Ideas were then brought back and presented to Councillors at the Special Council Meeting in Alice Springs on 4 May. Councillors used colour-coded post-it notes to create a visual mind map, placing like ideas together and discussing similarities and differences across the region. The next stage will be prioritising items so that project plans can be developed. Good feedback means that Council’s work will reflect the needs of local people and mean Council’s focus is where it should be. The Councillors are shown here brainstorming the community ideas at the 4 May planning workshop.

Voting teams coming to your community for the federal election

A voting team from the AEC will be visiting your local community to enable you to vote in the federal election.

If you cannot vote on election day you can vote when one of the voting teams listed below visit. You can also vote before election day at an early voting centre, or at an interstate voting centre on election day.

Remember, you must be enrolled to vote, and if you’re enrolled, votingis compulsory.

If you will not be able to attend one of the polling locations listed below you should contact the AEC for information on how you can vote.

The mobile polling schedule may change. To check locations and times, please call the AEC on 08 8982 8000 or email [email protected].

Place Date Polling Start Polling EndAlice Springs Saturday, 2 July 2016 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Alpurrurulam Friday, 24 June 2016 8:30 AM 4:30 PM

Alyuen Tuesday, 21 June 2016 9:45 AM 10:45 AM

Ampilatwatja Tuesday, 21 June 2016 8:30 AM 4:30 PM

Arawerr Wednesday, 22 June 2016 12:00 PM 2:00 PM

Arlparra Friday, 24 June 2016 9:00 AM 1:00 PM

Atheley Thursday, 23 June 2016 3:00 PM 4:00 PM

Atitjere Wednesday, 22 June 2016 8:30 AM 12:30 PM

Atneltyey Tuesday, 21 June 2016 11:45 AM 12:45 PM

Atnwengerrpe Wednesday, 22 June 2016 9:00 AM 10:00 AM

Camel Camp Monday, 20 June 2016 11:20 AM 12:20 PM

Engawala Tuesday, 21 June 2016 8:30 AM 12:30 PM

Indaringinya Thursday, 23 June 2016 9:30 AM 10:30 AM

Inkawenyerre Thursday, 23 June 2016 12:00 PM 1:00 PM

Inkwelaye Wednesday, 22 June 2016 3:15 PM 4:15 PM

Irrerlirre Wednesday, 22 June 2016 2:00 PM 3:00 PM

Irrultja Wednesday, 22 June 2016 11:30 AM 1:30 PM

Iylentye Tuesday, 21 June 2016 3:00 PM 4:00 PM

Lajamanu Wednesday, 22 June 2016 8:30 AM 4:30 PM

Laramba Wednesday, 22 June 2016 10:00 AM 2:00 PM

Mt Eaglebeak Tuesday, 21 June 2016 3:15 PM 4:15 PM

Mulga Bore Monday, 20 June 2016 11:30 AM 1:30 PM

Nturiya Tuesday, 21 June 2016 1:45 PM 3:45 PM

Nyirripi Thursday, 23 June 2016 9:30 AM 1:30 PM

Orrtipa-Thurra Thursday, 23 June 2016 10:30 AM 12:30 PM(Bonya)

Pmara Jutunta Friday, 24 June 2016 8:45 AM 12:45 PM

Pungalindum Tuesday, 21 June 2016 9:30 AM 10:30 AM

Soakage Bore Wednesday, 22 June 2016 9:00 AM 10:00 AM

Ti Tree Monday, 20 June 2016 11:30 AM 3:30 PM

Tommyhawk Monday, 20 June 2016 2:20 PM 3:20 PMSwamp

Willowra Thursday, 23 June 2016 9:30 AM 1:30 PM

Wilora Wednesday, 22 June 2016 12:00 PM 2:00 PM

Yuelamu Friday, 24 June 2016 8:30 AM 12:30 PM

Yuendumu Monday, 27 June 2016 12:00 PM 3:30 PM

Yuendumu Tuesday, 28 June 2016 8:30 AM 4:30 PM

Yuendumu Wednesday, 29 June 2016 8:30 AM 12:00 PM

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Size Change

Community Development Program (CDP) participants in Willowra have

been busy constructing a brand new sandpit for Wirliyajarrayi Kurlu (Willowra School). The men worked on construction and the women collected spare tyres from the tip to put around the edges. A great effort. The students love their new play pit!

Willowra CDP has had a daily focus to work with the school every day. Each morning CDP volunteers work

as assistant teachers, sitting in with students and teachers in classrooms to assist. When CDP participation rose to unprecedented levels, the Willowra school principal was asked if there was anything that the CDP could do to help around the school. That is when the half-finished sandpit (which had a rope around it to prevent students from playing in it) was mentioned. That same day, a dozen men came to the school, tooled up and proceeded to dig a deeper,

more even pit and to remove grass and spiky weeds from the area. The women helped out by collecting tyres from the tip to put around the pit. Once the pit was square it was ready for sand. The council helped out by bringing sand from the river. It was certainly a community effort. Since the installation, almost the whole student body has been out playing in the pit every day. Thank you to the Willowra CDP – the students and teachers love their new sandpit.


Sandpit fun at Willowra

Our voice in First CirclesAnthony Petrick,

Arltarpilta Inelye Ranger with the Central Land Council and the current Atitjere Local Authority Chair, was recently accepted as a member of First Circles Engagement program for 2016. First Circles Engagement focuses on engaging future Indigenous leaders from across the Northern Territory to bring new voices to the conversation and help build the next generation of community leaders. Anthony’s role will see him working with those at the highest level of the Northern Territory Government.

He joins Council President, Adrian Dixon, who was an inaugural appointee to First Circles in 2015 and Mr Robert Robertson, Team Leader of the Yuendumu Mediation and Justice Program, who was also selected earlier this year. The program holds four to six forums each year.

Anthony attended a First Circles workshop on 27 and 28 April in Alice Springs followed by a workshop in Darwin in early June where he made his first member’s presentation before Cabinet.

Congratulations to Anthony on his appointment. Council wishes him the best as he brings the voice of his community to Darwin.

For more information on First Circles you can go to the Department of Local Government and Community Services www.dlgcs.nt.gov.au/office-of-aboriginal-affairs/first-circles-engagement.

Anthony Petrick, Atitjere Local Authority Chair, was recently accepted as a member of First Circles Engagement program for 2016.

Stand up and be countedThis year, 2016, is a census year. The Census is undertaken every

five years in Australia to collect information about the Australian population that is later used by policy makers to plan for the future needs of Australia. If you live in town, you will receive a letter with login details which will enable you to do the census online. If you live in a community, census will be done manually over a six-week period. Census collectors are starting to arrange visits to each community and will be recruiting census employees soon. Subject to operational needs, please feel free to allow internal staff to take leave without pay to work as a census collector.

Census is really important to the Council as our Federal Assistance Grants are determined by the population figures gathered during census. In fact, all of the grants provided to the Northern Territory Government rely on census information. Historically there has been a significant under-recording of people in community and this means that the Council does not get as much money as it should. It also means that some things that we consider to be obvious (like overcrowding in community housing) do not show up on census data. For example, census tells us that the average number of people living in houses in the CDRC area is 4. Is that true?

I would like to encourage all of you to start talking about census and spreading the word about how important it is. Some things you might want to reinforce are:

• Census determines how much money the Council gets.• Census also informs where funding for things like housing gets

distributed.• Census information is private. The information you provide to

the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which collects the census data, CANNOT be shared with other government agencies. So, for example, if a person has three families living in a Territory Housing home, Territory Housing will not find out from the census data.

More information about the 2016 Census is available from the Census website at www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/2016.


Willowra Park has it all

Now that all the preparation works for the Willowra road reseal are completed,

the Willowra Works Team can return their focus back to installing the remainder of the playground equipment. We have three rock-climbing walls and a rope bridge to install which the community kids are itching to play on.

So far the park has been a huge success with young people in Willowra. Things are looking up as, not more than 12 months ago, the area was just a patch of dirt. The site now has two large shade shelters with concrete slabs, two 14-seater bench seats under each

School’s inFantastic school attendance figures at

the Laramba School for term 1 of 2016 was aided by the work of the Community Safety Patrol (CSP) Team. Laramba school principal, Deb Williams spoke very highly of the efforts of CSP:

‘I cannot overstate the significant impact that Safety Patrol, particularly Ron and Stephen, have had and continue to have on maintaining the improved attendance. Their services have become invaluable!’

From Monday to Friday CSP carry out the ‘school run’ where the patrollers actively encourage students to get to school on time every day. The patrollers start by going from house to house, beeping the horn and telling students to get up, have breakfast, have a shower and go to school. If there are any students walking on their own, or walking past cheeky dogs, the patrollers will give them a lift to school in the CSP vehicle. At 9.00

am when the bell rings, the patrollers go to school and talk with the school staff to determine which students are still missing. They use a photo board that has a profile picture of each students missing from school so that no one is missed and that there is clear communication between the school staff and the CSP Team. The patrollers then go back out to get the missing students. At this time the patrollers speak with the parents and families of the missing students to determine why they aren’t at school on time or are not going to school at all. By getting respected patrollers in the community to speak to the parents the responsibility is put back on the parents and carers to ensure that their children go to school. By involving the CSP Team and parents, Council’s Youth and Communities team hope to foster a cultural shift that ensures all children in remote communities attend school on a regular basis.

shelter, a water tap, a wood-fired barbecue, an outdoor bench press, butterfly press and chin-up bars, two sets of swings (one suitable for children under eight years and the other for over eight), twin lockable wheelie bin stands on a concrete slab, fencing and bollards, solar lights which are operational from dusk to dawn, rock-climbing walls, play equipment with slippery dip, rope

bridges and slide poles and the area is now landscaped with trees and grass. Willowra Park was a joint project with funding secured from:

• CLC/GMAAC• LA Project Funding from the

Department of Local Government and Community Services

• Community Development Program• Family Safe Funding.

Shane Vels, CSM, in front of the new park at Willowra.

Eric Williams, Nazareth Long, Azariah Martin and Mark Kennedy in their high vis gear have worked hard to get the park up and running.


First Circles in LarambaCongratulations to Laramba on the erection of

fantastic new shade structures – built by community members and funded by First Circles – at varioius ceremony and sorry business sites at the community.

First Circles member and Council President, Adrian Dixon, consulted with his community in Laramba and identified a need for shade structures at important ceremony and sorry business sites.

Community members involved in construction really took ownership of the project. Les, the construction supervisor, said, ‘The greatest part about the construction [was that] the men took ownership of [it] . . . All up, there were fourteen men at any one time working in groups and working collaboratively as a team. The men were very proud of the end result and even suggested we extend [the shelters] due to the number of community members who will utilise these structures.’

Congratulations to Laramba on a fantastic outcome from a partnership with First Circles and the teamwork and skill of community members!

Working together for a healthier future

The Department of Health’s trachoma team have been screening in some

Central Desert communities recently. Trachoma is a contagious bacterial infection of the eye which causes inflammation on the inner surface of the eyelids. If left untreated, trachoma can eventually lead to blindness. This means detecting and treating the condition as soon as possible is very important. If during testing the team find a 5% positive response they immediately stop screening and commence treating.

While conducting screening in Laramba in May the trachoma team found that over 5% of the patients screened

had trachoma. To encourage children to receive treatment (a simple pill), the team offer a piece of fruit; however, at this time the store in Laramba had no fruit. The word immediately went out to Council staff in other centres, including Alice Springs, to ask if anyone was headed to Laramba who could bring fresh fruit to the communtiy. Staff from Council’s School Nutrition Program offered to provide fruit and a local staff member from Laramba organised getting it to the Laramba community.

The tyranny of distance and remoteness is an issue we all strive to overcome. More importantly, the health

of Central Desert communities is of paramount importance and something that needs to be tackled head-on. Australia is the only developed country where trachoma exists and the trachoma team needs to move quickly before people in a community move on and potentially spread it elsewhere. In our busy jobs and lives, it’s easy to forget that all of the different service providers can support each other to ensure that these critical issues are tackled head on. Thanks to Council staff and community members who assisted to ensure that community members were treated as soon as possible.

L–R: Kennedy Brown, Kennrick MacNamara, Lawrence Stafford, Joshua Morton, Jerome Glenn, Lewis Nelson (kneeling) and Watson Dixon proud of the finished product.

L–R: Watson Dickson, Kennedy Brown and Kennrick McNamara make sure the frame is structurally sound.

L–R: Watson Dickson, Kennrick McNamara and Kennedy Brown at work on the frame.

Kennrick McNamara, Ian Nelson, Ricky Morrison and Jason Charles working together to dig the foundations.


Central Desert Regional Council recently completed a major

upgrade to floodways and damaged road sections along the main Nturiya Road with assistance from the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements Program.Council’s Indigenous staff were closely involved with the contractors and gathered to celebrate with the Nturiya community.

President Adrian Dixon, Councillor James Glenn, Local Authority members, community members and Council staff were on hand for the official ribbon cutting.

Council would like to acknowledge the assistance of the NT Government and Federal Government who jointly funded this project.

Nturiya Road opens up the community

New look for Nyirripi football team

The Nyirripi football team love their new jerseys purchased by the Nyirripi Local Authority thanks to

grant funding from the Department of Local Government and Community Services. The team posed for a photo before they won their match by a healthy 14-point margin. These skilled players certainly look every bit footy legends.

Nyirripi footy team show off their new jerseys before a game.

Council President stood alongside Ti Tree Works Teams staff to cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of the new Nturiya Road.

L–R: Director Works and Infrastructure, Glenn Marshall; Ti Tree Works Supervisor, Rodney Baird; CEO Cathryn Hutton; and Ti Tree Council Services Manager, Peter VanHeusden, pose in front of the Nturiya Road refurbishment signage.


Around the region

At play in Lajamanu LEFT AND BELOW: Lajamanu Local Authority Projects have been coming along in leaps and bounds! The last of the shade structures have gone in, sand for the softball area is imminent, and work on the cemetery fence is happening with one of four sides completed. As these photos show, the Holy Ground Play Equipment is already being put to good use and the Memorial Park is looking neat with new traffic fencing installed.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Duncan Gallagher and Kathy Satour inspecting work as it nears completion; office staff have time for a quick grin; and Nyirripi office staff catch up.

Willowra roadworks Field Officers Eric Williams and Azariah Martin and Leading Hand and Essential Services Officer, Terry Colotti, pose on the newly sealed road at Willowra. Now the reseal has finished the Willowra work crew are busy installing new traffic bollards to control off-road traffic and make it safer for pedestrians.

Up in Ti Tree Vet nurse Jess Bartlett was up in Ti Tree recently to work with the community dogs. Jess is shown here shaving the dog before an operation. In order to keep the surgery area clean, it has to be shaved and receives a surgical scrub to discourage infection, disease, or contamination. Hair and feather removal and disinfection of the operative site are aseptic techniques used to prepare the animal for surgery. The Ti Tree dogs are lucky to have had some good medical care and attention!

Catching up with Nyirripi


Around the region

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:

Gabby and Japeth listening to instructions on how to soak the ground with water.

Local kids get a tree planting lesson at Memorial Park in Lajamanu.

Gabby and Japeth back filling soil after planting the tree.

Japeth giving a tree a big drink.

ABOVE PHOTOS: Ti Tree town, Nturiya, Pmara Jutunta and Wilora recently saw entrance signs erected by Works staff. They are looking great!

ABOVE PHOTOS: Marshall and Roger hard at work at the Nyirripi Works Depot.

Gardening at Lajamanu Sign of the times!

Another day of work at Nyirripi

Following on from our discussions with community members some

months ago, the Centre for Appropriate Technology (CAT) has now confirmed funding through the Northern Territory Government to provide a CAT mobile phone hotspot at Yuelamu. This will enable anyone with a mobile device (smartphone, tablet, etc.) to connect to the nearest service, which is the Telstra service at Yuendumu.

The hotspot is a very compact ‘one caller at a time’ device which amplifies the very weak signal at Yuelamu, without needing any electronics or power supply.

After testing at numerous Yuelamu locations late last year, a suitable location was found at the western end of the store car park. This is the only spot that does

On Friday 18 March, Jocko Long was named the GTNT Apprentice of the

Year. It is now two years in a row that Council has had winners, with Corey Woods (Ti Tree Essential Services Officer) receiving the same award last year. Congratulations to Jocko on his hard work and dedication that has been recognised Territory-wide!

Morgan Abbot was also in attendance at the awards ceremony, nominated for the Remote Apprentice Award.

Congratulations to Morgan on the nomination.

Anmatjere Council Services Manager Peter van Heusden said, ‘We are proud of the achievements of our team and the team as a whole. Morgan, Jocko and Trevor Berne worked together and helped each other through the coursework and Central Desert congratulates these three on this outstanding achievement.’ This is a great outcome for Ti Tree and Council. Well done to everyone involved.


Yuelamu set to go mobile

Jocko Long a winner

L–R: Morgan Abbot, Maureen, Jocko Long and Peter van Heusden at the GTNT Awards ceremony.

Jocko Long accepts his award as GTNT Apprentice of the Year 2016.

GTNT award winners 2016.

not require the user to walk up the hill to obtain sufficient signal.

The necessary clearances have been obtained, including sacred site clearance and dial before you dig, so things are ready to go! Yuelamu is set to become a lot more connected and this is good news for all of the community members.

L–R: CEO Cathryn Hutton, President Dixon, Minister Price and Deputy President Patrick are pleased to announce Yuendumu will soon receive a new compactor truck.


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Sports weekend fun for the whole family at AtitjereThe Harts Ranges Races and Bush Sports

weekend is held annually at the Harts Range Racecourse at Atitjere. The NT August Picnic Races Public Holiday stems from this 69-year-old tradition which began at the Harts Range Racecourse, 215 km east of Alice Springs on the Plenty Highway. This year the weekend will stretch over three days, from Saturday 30 July to Monday 1 August.

Events include the rodeo, Red Centre Camp Draft, jumping castle, bush dance, talent quest and a ton of activities for the kids. The Bushfires NT Family Sports is held on Sunday morning, with a hilarious array of events for everyone, including sack races, three-legged races and running races for the kids. Adults can try their hand at the tug’o’war and ladies can line up for the Cow Tail Toss. It’s a fun-filled morning with medals for the winners and a huge lolly scramble for the kids, there are even cash prizes awarded to the winners of the Harts Range Mile.

If you need to get away and spend some quality time with your family, come to the Harts Ranges Races and experience some real bush hospitality, you won’t be disappointed. Remember not to bring motorbikes or fireworks as they frighten the horses and cattle. Come along and enjoy some of the best community events Central Australia has to offer.

What’s on around the CouncilLocal Authority meeting dates:

Anmatjere: 14 JuneWillowra: 15 JuneAtitjere: 20 JuneEngawala: 21 JuneLaramba: 28 JuneYuelamu: 29 JuneNyirripi: 12 JulyYuendumu: 13 JulyLajamanu: 27 July

Council Meetings:

Special Council: 24 JuneOrdinary Council: 5 August

Committee Meetings:

Finance: 7 JulyAudit & Risk: 7 July

Public holidays:

Queen’s Birthday: 13 JuneAlice Springs Show Day: 1 JulyNAIDOC: 4 July

Picnic Day: 1 August

Compactor on its way to Yuendumu

Council is delighted to have received a special purpose grant from Minister Bess Price to

purchase a compactor truck for Yuendumu. Compactor trucks have major benefits for waste management in communities as they enable rubbish to be compacted down to very small volumes, meaning less room is taken up in landfill, in turn allowing the landfill to be used for longer periods and saving Council resources.

President Dixon and Deputy President Patrick received the grant at a Local Government Association of the NT conference in Jabiru in early April.

Central Desert Regional CouncilPO Box 2257 ALICE SPRINGS NT 0871Ph 1300 360 605www.centraldesert.nt.gov.au

central desert news cdp ramping up! the laramba community development program (cdp) has been hard at...

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