It has been an incredibly exciting couple of weeks with the return of the Ranger Ready Program, combining traditional knowledge with conservation training.

Developed in coordination with local ranger groups and the Northern Land Council, the program had around 150 participants, most of whom are First Nations people from remote communities.  The groups trained included Wardekken Rangers, Demed rangers, Djurrubu Rangers, Parks Rangers, West Arnhem Council staff and trainees from the Crocodile Hotel.

More than 30 team members from West Arnhem Regional Council (WARC) participated in this fantastic educational opportunity, delivered at the Kakadu National Park by the Conservation and Land Management team from CDU. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t fully stop the delivery the of the Ranger Ready Program in the last 2 years, the regulations still impacted the program by reducing its duration and the number of allowed participants. 

This year though, the program has returned bigger and better than ever.   WARC has been fortunate to secure more than 30 enrolments for our staff who have come together with other local workers to learn and work together gaining practical skills and knowledge needed for their jobs such as chemicals and weeds, small machinery operations and maintenance, four-wheel driving, chainsaws and work health and safety.  William Wurlurli from Warruwi, has attended the Ranger Ready Program for two years and says this helps him to refresh his skills and to share his knowledge with others. 

Jacqui Paine, one of the CDU Lecturers, explains the program is designed to support First Nations people in the Top End to combine their traditional knowledge with training to protect and manage their land. 
“Observing how they are looking after their country helps us to share our ideas, and provide alternative methods or new technologies that can be incorporated into the work that they are already doing”. 

WARC staff has participated in this activity for six consecutive years, providing our staff with nationally recognised accredited training and we hope to continue to do so for the years to come. 

Meg, Gove Remote Development Manager for AFLNT, visited Warruwi and Minjilang recently to run some sessions with both young people and adults and encourage regular AFL activities with an aim for more inter-region matches.    West Arnhem Regional Council Community Wellbeing Senior Project Officer Tamzin France joined Meg, visiting the schools to facilitate after-school sessions with the Youth, Sport and Recreation staff. 

It was great to see the young people get involved and see some of the amazing skills that they have. The week finished in Minjilang with a community games involving all ages.  Meg and Tamzin want to thank both communities for inviting them in and we hope to see more footy happening into the future.

These sessions were supported by the Northern Territory Government Remote Sport Program.

The Kakadu Triathlon will celebrate a decade of supporting CareFlight Top End at the 10th anniversary event in Jabiru on Saturday, 29 April 2023.

The Kakadu Triathlon has an incredible history with hundreds of participants, winners, volunteers and sponsors involved over the last decade, and just under $100,000 has been raised for CareFlight.

The event started as an idea in 2013 when Jabiru residents were wanting more activities that would bring the community together of all ages. What evolved was the Kakadu Triathlon, an event that attracts many local residents and participants from Darwin, Katherine and beyond to compete in a fun, colourful triathlon in the World Heritage-Listed Kakadu National Park.

Originally coordinated by dedicated volunteers and local organisations, West Arnhem Regional Council eventually took over management of the event in 2018 to secure the future of the triathlon for many years to come.

To mark the 10 year anniversary milestone, Council is inviting former Jabiru residents and past triathlon participants to relive the magic and be a part of history by signing up to the event in 2023.

The Kakadu Triathlon is known as a mini triathlon with its short, achievable distances, making it the ideal event for people of all ages and abilities, and this year, there is a new 5 kilometre (km) Kakadu Challenge Run and a 2.4km Colour Run around the Jabiru Lake on the program.

Join in the fun and help fundraise for CareFlight on the event website.

The rain didn’t dampen Unity Day held in Gunbalanya on Friday, 24 February!

Despite the hassles of the wet weather, West Arnhem Regional Council’s team persevered to light the fire and get the food cooking, and as soon as School finished we had heaps of kids come down excited for the treasure hunt!
Overall we had great community engagement and yarning over the fire and music.    Big thanks to everyone who came down making it a lovely afternoon and a special thanks to Elders for coming down and keeping an eye on the kids. 

Thank you to the team at community care, Clontarf, WARC works crew, Rangers and CDP! 
Thanks to Bernie, Brendon, Ishmael, Junior and Mathew for cooking up an awesome feed. 

More than 50 people came together to #Embrace Equity and celebrate International Women’s Day at the Jabiru Library on Wednesday, 8 March.

The event empowered all women in the community and embraced and shone light on the daluk weaving artists in the region with demonstrations by Marrawuddi artists and resources featuring key words about weaving in Bininj Kunwok.
West Arnhem Regional Council wish to truly thank guest speaker Katie Hagebols from Marrawuddi who shared her personal journey and role as the art centre manager.

The morning, which also included a high tea, was thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance including community members and various local stakeholders.

West Arnhem Regional Council wish to thank Kakadu IGA for the wonderful food and the event was strongly supported by the Northern Territory Government.

Last week, the first-ever cohort to obtain formal health qualifications on-country, in Maningrida, made history, graduating with a Certificate II in Aboriginal Primary Health Care.

In February 2021, the Primary Health Care Clinic in Maningrida came officially under Aboriginal Community Control through Mala’la Health Service Aboriginal Corporation. Of the 32 local Aboriginal staff employed at the clinic at that time, only one was qualified (and had graduated over 30 years ago). The gap in course completion was largely due to various challenges with off-site learning. With Aboriginal Health Workers being a vital part of supporting better community health outcomes, it was evident that it was time for change.

With the support and funding from Northern Territory PHN, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' Foundation Skills for Your Future program and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, a place-based training model was developed. The course was tailored to be delivered on-country, ensuring students could continue their family, cultural, work and community responsibilities whilst undertaking studies.

Ninti Training delivered engaging, fun and relatable learning. The tireless efforts of from trainers Miss V and Raelene Beale, contributed significantly to this success. Students further benefited from the on-ground support from Mala’la’s Training Coordinator, Seide Ramadani, and Workforce Coordinator, James Woods, overseeing the course and supporting students throughout the year to achieve their goals.

The graduation ceremony was a memorable and historical occasion. The ceremony was opened with a Welcome to Country by Traditional Owner, David Jones, followed by a welcome speech from Mala'la Chairperson and Senior Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Charlie Gunabarra. Following the official welcome, the students were invited to the stage where they were presented with their certificates. There were many tears and cheers from family, friends and colleagues around the room.

To end the night, guest speaker, NT Chief Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Iris Raye welcomed the new graduates to the health profession and imparted her passion for Aboriginal health care with the graduates.

Mala’la Health Service is immensely proud of our graduates, Eileen Gunabarra, Fabian Smith, Jermaine Namanurki, Kurt Brown, Natasha Bond and Shannon Brown. They undertook the course with courage and dedication and supported each other throughout. Their hard work, personal drive and professionalism will no doubt inspire future generations.

Students of the Year were Natasha Bond and Jermaine Namanurki, while the Ninti Training Award of Excellence was awarded to Fabian Smith.

Statements of Attainment were also awarded to our students Tiffy Taylor, Nikki Stewart, Jayden Smith and Simeon Darcy.

Voting has commenced for the West Arnhem Regional Council, Gunbalanya Ward by-election.

Gunbalanya electors are required to vote in both the Gunbalanya Ward by-election and the Legislative Assembly Division of Arafura by-election.

Mobile voting teams will be visiting Gunbalanya communities from Friday 10 March with voting in both the Gunbalanya Ward by-election and the Arafura by-election being run concurrently. Voters required to vote in both by-elections will be issued two ballot papers at the voting centre.

The locations and times of voting services in the Gunbalanya area are as follows:

• Manmoyi - 10 March, 9:15am to 10:45am
• Mamadawerre - 10 March, 12:30pm to 2:00pm
• Gunbalanya - 15 to 16 March, 9:00am to 3:00pm

Postal vote applications remain open for electors that are unable to vote at an in-person location. Applications close on the following times:

• Local postal vote applications - Thursday 16 March, 5.00pm
• Overseas postal vote applications - Tuesday 14 March, 5.00pm

The NT Electoral Commissioner, Iain Loganathan is reminding electors to make sure their vote counts in both the Gunbalanya Ward by-election and the Arafura by-election.

“I encourage voters to attend their closest voting service or register now to receive a postal vote pack”.

“The more people that vote, the more our councils and governing bodies become representative of our community” said Mr Loganathan.

Voting in the Gunbalanya Ward by-election and Arafura by-election is compulsory.

For more information about the West Arnhem Regional Council Gunbalanya Ward by-election go to NT Electoral Commission website.