Central Desert Regional Council 2015–16 ANNUAL REPORT The Story of the Front Cover The cover of this year’s annual report shows the Anmatjere Roads Team and Community Development Program (CDP) participants and local community members celebrating the opening of the Nturiya Road. Due to heavy rains in January 2015, the Nturiya Road was badly damaged making access to the community difficult and dangerous. Works to reinstate the road were possible thanks to funding provided by the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements funding. The Nturiya Road reinstatement project demonstrates how Central Desert Regional Council actively works to ensure that projects deliver maximum community benefit as well as value for money for community members and funding bodies. Working Nturiya Road, Anmatjere: flood damage reinstatement work. cooperatively with local businesses, training providers and across different programs within the Council, the Nturiya Road project was a success on multiple fronts. The work undertaken by the Council’s Works team was of a high standard and demonstrated the Council’s ability to undertake works of this calibre. A further nine men from the Community Development Program (CDP), worked alongside private contractors and the Council’s own Works team as part of a Certificate III in Civil Construction training program. The training program, delivered in association with Charles Darwin University, saw the participants not only learn valuable skills, but also significantly contribute to important community projects. Skills learnt as part of the training course have enabled the men Anmatjere’s Morgan Abbott, Maureen van Heusden, Apprentice to operate heavy machinery, including backhoes, bobcats, vibe of the Year Jacko Long and Peter van Heusden at the GTNT Award rollers, tipper trucks, semi trailers, graders and front end loaders. Ceremony. The CDP participants began their training in June this year so as to be job-ready for opportunities in the upcoming TNG Limited mining project in the Ti Tree area as well as various opportunities open to them on Council Works programs, outstations and other construction projects across the region. CDP participants were also engaged in delivering other community priority projects: zGrading and laying the foundation for a new shade structure at the Community Development Program Activity Centre zLevelling the ground, loading the tipper truck with the front end loader, digging the pit with a backhoe and compacting the ground with a wide roller at the landfill zGrading the road from Ti Tree town to Nturiya. The Nturiya Road project is just one way that the Council lives its motto of ‘Two ways one outcome – Indigenous and non- Indigenous people working together for the best services and outcomes’. Among the crew were Jocko Long, who in March was named GTNT Apprentice of the Year, and Morgan Abbot, a GTNT Remote Apprentice Award nominee. B Contents President’s Welcome 2 List of Alternative Chief Executive Officer’s Report 4 Place Names Our Governance 6 Gazetted name Alternative name/s Anmatjere Ti Tree Elected Members 6 Atitjere Harts Range Council Meetings 8 Engawala Alcoota Station Local Authorities 8 Laramba Napperby Organisational Structure 11 Lajamanu Hooker Creek Nyirripi N/A Our Community 12 Willowra Wirliyajarrayi Our Performance 14 Yuendumu N/A Key Performance Indicators 15 Yuelamu Mount Allan, Alpirakina Pmara Jutunta Six Mile Our Services 16 Nturiya Station Municipal Services 16 Wilora Stirling Service Delivery Summary 16 Community Services 17 Commercial Activities 19 List of Shortened Forms Corporate Services 19 ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics Our People 20 BIITE Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Staff Profile 20 Tertiary Education Work Health and Safety 20 CAT Centre for Appropriate Technology Recruitment and Retention 21 CAYLUS Central Australian Youth Link Up Staff Training and Development 21 Service Enterprise Agreement Negotiations 21 CEO Chief Executive Officer Cr Councillor Our Achievements 22 CDP Community Development Program Anmatjere 23 EBA Enterprise Bargaining Agreement Atitjere 24 ESO Essential Services Officer Engawala 25 FTE full-time equivalent Lajamanu 26 HMP Housing Maintenance Program Laramba 27 HR human resources IT information technology Nyirripi 28 KPI key performance indicator Willowra 29 LGA local government area Yuelamu 30 LGANT Local Government Association of Yuendumu 31 the Northern Territory MoU memorandum of understanding Our Goals 32 NT Northern Territory Goal 1: Social and Cultural 33 RIPIA Remote Indigenous Public Internet Goal 2: Physical Assets 38 Access Goal 3: Economy 40 RJCP Remote Jobs and Communities Goal 4: Environment 42 Program Goal 5: Management and Governance 43 WHS work health and safety WYDAC Warlpiri Youth Development Our Finances 45 Aboriginal Corporation Financial Summary 45 YS&R Youth, Sport and Recreation Financial Statements FS–1 Index to the Financial Statements FS–4 1 President’s Welcome am very proud to present the CDRC Annual Report for 2015–16. Once again the I Annual Report demonstrates the strength and achievements of the Council. These achievements would not be possible without the contribution made to the Council by its Councillors and Local Authority members. It is a testament to our Councillors’ commitment that four current Councillors received long service awards for their contribution to local government in the Northern Territory. Crs James Glenn, William Japanangka Johnson, Louis Japanangka Schaber and I received awards at the Annual General Meeting of LGANT in April. I would like to pass on my condolences to Councillor Louis Schaber’s family after his passing on 2 April 2016. The Council would like to acknowledge the important contribution Kumunjayi made to local government in Central Australia. Kumunjayi was a founding Councillor of the Central Desert Regional Council serving since its formation in 2008 and a tireless advocate for his community as well as the whole council region. During this year the Council has welcomed two new Councillors. Cecilia Alfonso was elected to the Southern Tanami Ward in July 2015 and Sandra Peckham was elected to the Akityarre Ward in April 2016. It is a pleasure to welcome these two strong community advocates to our Council. It is also a pleasure to note that with the election of these two Councillors our Council is now evenly gender balanced. The impact of a strong community voice, dedicated staff and solid leadership can be felt across the region. The Council continues to focus on ensuring that high quality services are provided to our community members. It is gratifying to see the impact that these services have on community life. Whether it is helping parents grow kids up strong, providing employment, job training or keeping our culture stay strong by supporting our old people, the Council has a part to play. This year we have continued to focus on ensuring our services are joined up so that they can provide the best outcomes. The Council recognises that it is important to work together with our own services as well as other agencies to ensure that we achieve the best possible outcomes on the ground. Our focus on family wellbeing, and the work we have been doing to develop this strategy, has seen us renew our commitment to constructive partnerships, with community and with service providers, and to approach these partnerships with a genuine attitude of collaboration. The outcomes of this collaboration are clear to see. During the year we have delivered on a number of significant projects for the community. Our focus on upgrading sporting facilities has proved popular and successful with both the Lajamanu and L–R: CEO Cathryn Hutton, President Dixon, Minister Price and Deputy President Patrick were pleased that Yuendumu will receive a new compactor truck. 2 President’s Welcome Nyirripi from the air. Yuendumu ovals hosting major sporting events. The upgrade of these facilities, including the installation of competition-quality lighting, was supported by the Northern Territory Government. Pmara Jutunta and Yuelamu have also seen upgrades to their sporting facilities with both communities receiving ABA funds to upgrade their softball field and basketball courts. Work on these facilities will be completed during the 2016–17 financial year. Work also commenced on reinstating roads damaged during the unseasonal rains in January 2015. Reinstatement of roads to a value of $5 million is well underway thanks to joint NT and Commonwealth funding under the NDRRA program. It is pleasing to see that all of these projects, plus many others too numerous to mention, have been delivered with strong support from our community and with the help of CDP participants. It makes me incredibly proud to see the positive impact that our communities and community members can make through their hard work, either as CDP participants or as paid employees of the Council. Councillor Kumunjayi Schaber who passed Working together as a team has enabled the Council and its communities to thrive. Thank away in 2016 was a founding Councillor of the Council and a tireless advocate for his you to all of those people who have helped make this happen. community. I would also like to thank the Chief Executive Officer, her Executive Team and the other Council employees whose expertise and commitment has made the Central Desert Regional Council what it is today. I am also grateful for the support that I have received from my fellow Councillors in what has been an exciting year. Cr Adrian Dixon President 3 Chief Executive Officer’s Report he 2015–16 financial year has been another exceptionally productive period for Central TDesert Regional Council with a number of key priorities achieved. These priorities have been delivered against a backdrop of ongoing financial constraint and legislative review. Within this environment the Council made a number of significant policy decisions. Firstly, while focusing on funding basic service delivery, the Council actively seeks opportunities to work cooperatively with other programs to extend the reach of its funding and maximise community benefits.