MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 1 Santa Teresa representatives accept the Australian Sustainable Communities Tidy Town Award ABOVE: (left to right) Tyrone Griffin, Frankie Marks, Joseph Zimran, Sonia Jugadai, Rachel Kantawara, Darren Dixon, Francis Marshall and Derek Egan NEW ENERGY IN IKUNTJI RACHEL KANTAWARA STARTS AS THE NEW COUNCIL SERVICES COORDINATOR Full story and photos pages 6-7 PAGES 4-5: Councillors speak up on economic development PAGES 12-15: Our young people join effort to reduce suicide INSIDE PAGE 27-37: Internal and Territory Tidy Town Awards MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 2 CEO UPDATE Welcome to MacDonnell Regional Council, Welcome to 2020, I hope those that took holidays had an enjoyable time and I thank those that worked over the break and allowed us to maintain our services to our communities. I am looking forward to this year as we have many exciting projects in the works, including renovations to the Alice Springs office on Bagot Street. As reigning title holders, Santa Teresa and MacDonnell Regional Council (MRC) will host the National 2020 Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Town Awards in April this year. We are looking forward to welcoming visitors from across Australia and showcasing Santa Teresa. Congratulations to all of the MRC communities that received recognition in the Territory Tidy Town Awards and our internal awards. The friendly competition encourages us all to strive towards better standards for our communities. Sadly, we lost Councillor Wilyuka this year. On behalf of the management and staff of MRC, I extend our deepest sympathy his family and friends. Councillor Wilyuka was a tireless leader and advocate for his community Titjikala, the Rodinga ward and the Central Australian area. We will conduct a by-election in the Rodinga Ward for the replacement Councillor after a culturally appropriate period of time. It is extremely satisfying to see so many local Aboriginal staff moving up through the organisation. Congratulations to Kathy Abbott as the new Manager Service Delivery for Hermannsburg, Wallace Rockhole, Haasts Bluff and Areyonga, and our new Council Services Coordinators; Rachel Kantawarra at Haasts Bluff, Simon Walmby in Wallace Rockhole, Stephen Trindle in Docker River and Max Baliva in Hermannsburg. I look forward to working with you all this year to improve the lives of our constituents. Jeff MacLeod, Chief Executive Officer, MacDonnell Regional Council MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 3 Message from the President What a busy and productive year we had in 2019. I am so proud of all our many achievements across all of our services. Thank you to the Councillors for their support and leadership. It is amazing to work with such an experienced and strong team. I must congratulate the Local Authorities for their decisions that continue to improve their communities. I can see the results as I visit each of our communities. I am pleased to see the Local Authorities allocating project funding and decision making to Youth Boards. This is an important way to support our young people who are our future. To our young people, our future leaders, we look forward to hearing your voices. For all of our community representatives, we must keep engaging with our residents, to talk and listen. Sadly last year and early this year with the passing of Councillor Wilyuka, we have lost some inspirational community members. We must honour their legacy as we work together and support each other. We have had several new Council Services Coordinator appointments; Rachel Kantawarra at Haasts Bluff, Simon Walmby in Wallace Rockhole, Stephen Trindle in Docker River and Max Baliva in Hermannsburg. Kathy Abbot has taken on a new role as the Manager Service Delivery for Hermannsburg, Wallace Rockhole, Haasts Bluff and Areyonga. We are heading in the right when all of these new appointments are from our local community. Finally, I would like to thank all the 530 staff of MacDonnell Regional Council for your hard work. The Councillors and I are grateful for your support for community residents to be able to work on community, for community. Roxanne Kenny President MacDonnell Regional Council ABOVE: The final Council meeting of 2019 MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 4 Councillors speak up about economic development for communities at Parliamentary inquiry ABOVE: MRC Councillors talk to the Parliamentary committee Late last year, Council President Roxanne Kenny and Councillors Marlene Abbott, Braydon Williams, Mark Inkamala and Dalton McDonald spoke on behalf of the MacDonnell Regional Council to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Opportunities and Challenges of the Engagement of Traditional Owners in the Economic Development of Northern Australia. President Kenny spoke about the issues that are common across Central Australia of housing deficits, road conditions, resource availability, and the fact that water is running low in communities and outstations. The local Federal Member for Lingiari Warren Snowden recounted how he and fellow committee member Yawuru man Senator Pat Dodson had visited the Docker River camp site and how comfortable they were using the new ablution block. Cr Williams spoke about the value of tourism to the area with its beautiful countryside. He entertained the committee with some examples of the stories associated with the land and the committee agreed that support for tourism initiatives could assist with economic development of the area. Cr McDonald talked about the plans Papunya has for a big music and cultural festival and its potential for the region. Continued on the next page…. MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 5 Councillors speak up about economic development for communities at Parliamentary inquiry ABOVE: (from left) Senator Pat Dodson, Cr Braydon Williams, Warren Snowden MP, Cr Marlene Abbot, Warren Entsch MP, President Roxanne Kenny, Senator Sam McMahon, Cr Mark Inkamala and Cr Dalton McDonald BELOW: Councillors represent MRC at the Parliamentary Inquiry MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 6 New energy in Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) There a new energy around the Haasts Bluff Service Centre Delivery team following the appointment of new Council Service Coordinator (CSC) Rachel Kantawara. The return of Rachel to the community that is 50km east of the outstation she grew up on has sparked excitement amongst the team. New ideas and a refresh of older ideas have been written on a whiteboard in the Council office. Rachel said the board was ready and full of great ideas before she had even started. “I spoke to my team and they want to clean up more and enter into Tidy Towns. I’m excited cause they’re excited about taking care of the community. They take so much pride in their community and they spoke about the awards they got before and they want more awards. They’re excited just talking about it” Rachel Kantawara Council Service Coordinator Haasts Bluff ABOVE: Haasts Bluff CSC Rachel Kantawara Continued on the next page…. BELOW: Haasts Bluff Civil Works team MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 7 New energy in Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) ABOVE: The Haasts Bluff Centre Service Delivery team, when Rachel was asked for her photo, she said that the photos had to include the team. One idea from the Civil Works team is to paint the large cement blocks around the community white so that the community can then paint whatever they want on them, beautifying the community. Rachel said she is happy to be back as it allows her family to come back and visit the lands close to their heart. Rachel started as in administration in Hermannsburg with MacDonnell Regional Council in 2017 and has worked as a Centrelink agent as well. Rachel covered as the CSC in Hermannsburg when Kathleen Abbott was on leave and trained as an Essential Services Officer (ESO), becoming the 1st female Aboriginal ESO for MRC and the NT Southern Region. MacDonnell Regional Council Staff Newsletter January 2020 volume 12 issue 1 page 8 Opening up the decision-making space Papunya Local Authority held in public open space As part of the 2019-20 Regional Plan, Council has been supporting Local Authorities (LAs) to hold a number of meetings in public open space so that the meetings are more accessible to the public. In November 2019, Papunya became the 1st LA to take their meeting outside of the Council office and held their meeting in the Maku Shed. Usually used as a youth space, the area allowed for members of the public to easily enter, listen and make contributions to decision-making. LA member Sammy Butcher said meeting in the public open space was a good start and more people will come. The LA thought it was a good initiative to engage with the public and decided to have another on 11 June 2020. Sammy said it would be a good opportunity to consult with the community about how what the Council should be doing. The next LA meeting in a public open space will be Wallace Rockhole on 13 February with the more in other communities to be held from April in the cooler months. ABOVE: (From left to right) Robert Rabotot, Ken Newman, Sammy Butcher (grey shirt) at the Papunya Local Authority meeting in the Maku Shed 2019-20 MacDonnell Regional Council Regional Plan Goal: Empowered Communities 3.3: Local Authority and Council members, constituents and Objective stakeholders are engaged and informed Local Authority meetings are engaging and accessible to members and Strategy the public 13 Local Authority meetings are held in public open spaces Key Performance 5% of residents attend each Local Authority meetings Indicator 13 Councillor community engagement events supported Continued on the next page….