Katherine Times Wed 19 Aug 2015
Katherine Times; NewspaperNT
2015-08-19
This publication contains may contain links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Katherine; Katherine (N.T.) -- Newspapers
North Australian News for Katherine Times
Katherine
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
North Australian News for Katherine Times
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C1968A00075
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/292154
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/399430
www.katherinetimes.com.au KATHERINE TIMES, WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19 2015 7 EMERGENCY SERVICES VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT DRIVE ACROSS BIG RIVERS Northern Territory Emergency Service (NTES) is recruiting hard through the Big Rivers region. Area Manager Dave Travers has recently travelled from Katherine to Lajamanu, Bulman and Numbulwar as part of this recruitment drive. Then: has been great interest in Lajamanu to get an NTES Unit up and running to assist the community in time for the next wet season. Dave has already met with interested community members to discuss the benefits of being an NTES volunteer. their community in a range of events including flood respoi18e, vertical rescue, land & air search, road crash rescue, storm damage and chainsaw operatioi18. It's also a great way to meet new people and give back to your community. From time to time, NTES volunteers may also be mobilised to assist other communities in times of crisis. In March this year, NTES volunteers from Ntaria (130km's west of Alice Springs) travelled to Elcho Island to help with the community clean-up after Cyclone Lam. Next stop on Dave's recruitment drive is Bulman. Good luck, Dave! At the recent Katherine Show, NTES received five inquiries about volunteering from members of the public visiting the Police, Fin: and Emergency Services exhibition. NTES volunteers an: trained and equipped to assist If you an: interested in becoming a volunteer with NTES, please call8922 3630 (Northern Region) or 8951 9300 (Southern Region). I SOLAR ENERGY RAMPING UP IN REMOTE COMMUNITIES WITH SETuP Power and Water Corporation's Solar Energy Trai18formation Program (SETUP) will deliver solar energy systems to over 30 remote Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory, achieving diesel fuel savings of up to 94 million litres over the life of the project. This is an exciting development that will fundamentally change the way in which electricity is generated in remote communities. As part of this project, a lMW high penetration solar system at Nauiyu (Daly River) will deliver a 50 per cent reduction in the community's total diesel fuel bill. The Nauiyu system will also use advanced technologies such as energy storage and cloud forecasting, with the results of this work guiding future projects. developing solar/diesel hybrid systems for remote communities and will create a platform for the expansion of solar and further diesel savings into the future. The solar systems utilised in SETUP will be simple, efficient and low cost using tried and tested technology designed to maximise diesel fuel savings. A 15 per cent diesel fuel cost saving will be delivered when 9MW of 'medium penetration solar systems' are rolled out. SETUP is a $55 million, four year program jointly funded by the Federal Government's Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Power and Water Corporation, with support from the Northern Territory Government. I PROCUREMENT ROADSHOW VISITS KATHERINE SETUP is environmentally and economically responsible and demonstrates the Northern Territory's leadership in Construction of the solar systems is expected to commence in 2016. The Northern Territory Government is increasing opportunities for Aboriginal enterprises and businesses employing Aboriginal Territoriai18 to bid for, secure and deliver contracts in remote communities. The Northern Territory Government has hosted a series of Procurement Information Sessions across the Territory designed to start the conversation around procurement reform and provide the opportunity for discussion and feedback. Following well attended sessions in Darwin, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, a Procurement Infonnation Session was held in Katherine on Friday 7 August. Aimed at businesses which tender for, or would like to tender for government work, the session provided infonnation on the newly established Office of Aboriginal Affairs, the Remote Contracting Policy and procurement reforms. The Remote Contracting Policy is part of the Aboriginal Affairs Strategy and aims to increase the involvement of Aboriginal Territorians and local Aboriginal Enterprise in delivering government contracts. The Office of Aboriginal Affairs has been established to focus on economic development and job creation in remote and regional areas. I BORROLOOLA SCHOOL RECEIVES AN UPGRADE Students at Borroloola the students reaping the are being enjoyed by both School are the beneficiaries rewards with a new library students and teachers. of an upgrade to their and classroom, and a $1.2 million was committed primary and secondary modified classroom block to the Borroloola School school campuses. and covered area. project by the Northern The success of the Direct The revamped school Territory Government Instruction program is was officially opened by to meet the needs of credited for boosting Minister for Education, additional students as part attendance rates and Peter Chandler. These new of the Remote Schools student engagement, with built for purpose facilities Attendance Strategy. I 1965 TO 2015: THE DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRY AND FISHERIES CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF THE KATHERINE SHOW The Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries' large and engaging show display paid homage to the 50th anniversary of the Katherine Show. Here's a roundup of some of DPIF's show highlights: Biosecurity played a starring role with comprehensive information on the melon virus and banana freckle, leaving those who visited the pavilion in no doubt about the impact of the diseases and how the Department is managing them. Livestock Industries focussed on cattle breeds and reproductive performance. Their portion of the display also incorporated common local pasture species, including a comparison between grader grass (a declared weed) and kangaroo grass. The two plants look similar and an: often mistaken for each other. The Fact Cows wen: a display highlight - they wen: let loose on the boards to inform visitors of interesting facts gathered from the recent Pastoral Industry Survey. The Fact Cows helped share lesser known traits of the pastoral industry such as, '73% of pastoral stations recruit via word of mouth' and '60% of producers in the Katherine region run herds larger than 5000head.' The Kalano Farm tomatoes wen: a great success, serving up almost 950 taste test spoons over the two days of the Show. A Grow at Home display was accompanied by a display of local fruit and vegetables and seed stick giveaways. While entries in the Show's Agricultural Section were down on previous years, the giant pumpkin competition went into overdrive with a massive ten entries. This year's winning entry weighed in at 215.02 kilograms- its runner up came in at a mere 93.76 kilograms. For those who keenly follow the giant pumpkin competition, these weights an: well and truly above last year's, where the winning pumpkin weighed only 68.5 kilograms. ~ of all NT stations have been owf!ed for longe.r than 12 ~cJr~, and stay, under the ~me management for up to 6 yeilrs at a