Indigenous Affairs

THE BEAUTY OF BARUNGA

The leader of the Bagala clan, Bangardi Lee, came up with the idea of the Barunga Festival, a joyous celebration of Indibenous culture. That was in 1985. The festival has been held every year since – and attracts about 4000 visitors. It’s a showcase of music, sport, traditional arts and cultural activities over three days. In 1988,...

Business

GREAT LEAP FORWARD

Indigenous people have been fishing and gathering seafood along the Northern Territory’s vast coast for more than 50,000 years. Now they are poised to become major players in the commercial industries. The Aboriginal Sea Company was set up by the Northern, Tiwi and Anindilyakwa land councils after several years of consultation with...

Indigenous Affairs

BILAWARA LEE: PROTECTING LARRAKIA CULTURE

The old Larrakia lady lay in her bed at the palliative care unit in Royal Darwin Hospital and wept quietly. Not because she was dying – she accepted that with dignity – but because she feared she would not be able to understand her ancestors when she crossed to the other side. They would speak only Larrakia, a language not spoken...

NEC Indigenous Affairs

NEC DRIVES PROSPERITY

NEC’s forward-thinking policy of awarding subcontracts to Northern Territory businesses is having a lucrative knock-on effect.  The work improves the capability and capacity of the Territory’s information technology industry.  And it acts as the business bedrock – enabling subcontractors to win other contracts, take on more...

RAPIDCLEAN NT Business

RAPIDCLEAN GROWS WITH THE TERRITORY

An Aboriginal-owned company is so confident of its future and the Territory’s economic prospects that it has built a fit-for-purpose warehouse, office and showroom in Darwin’s leading business hub.  RapidClean NT, which is wholly owned by Ironbark Aboriginal Corporation, will soon move from rented premises in Winnellie to the new 1200...

INPEX Business

ASHLEY TAKES INPEX PATHWAY TO SUCCESS

Ashley Stephensen worked as a lab technician for more than a decade in the mining industry before securing a laboratory analyst position with INPEX in July 2021 as part of the Solid Pathways Program.  Ashley is born and bred in Darwin and his family are Woolwonga people from the Frances Creek area near Pine Creek.  He started his...

Screen Territory Indigenous Affairs

NT SCREEN INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO BOOM

Screen business is thriving in the Northern Territory with record results driven by a raft of new initiatives.  The Territorian screen industry is experiencing record levels of production with a wide range of projects reaching a huge international viewership. The introduction of a new program to attract large-scale international...

DITT Business

HOW BUYING POLICY BENEFITS BUSINESS

Ryan and Soraya Smith had a newborn and toddler in tow when they set up their company three years ago. But the business overcame the demands of good parenting and survived the pandemic to grow from two people to a staff of 10. “We’re nothing if not resilient,” says Soraya. The 33-year-old Aboriginal woman runs the administration...

Northern Land Council Business

FIRING A NEW CARBON FUTURE

Aboriginal rangers and Indigenous students are melding modern science and traditional knowledge to care for their country. Their professionalism and know-how are now so widely recognised that they are able to sell carbon capture credits. Two imaginative programs – Caring for Country and Learning on Country – complement each other...

Gumatj Corporation Indigenous Affairs

GUMATJ PREPARE FOR A BRIGHT TOMORROW

That will mean the end of mining royalties and other payments to the Yolngu people, who anthropologists say have owned the land for more than 50,000 years. Traditional Owners are not sitting back and waiting for the worst – they are working hard to secure their future. As they say: “We have lived on this land for thousands of years –...

INPEX Business

ICHTHYS LNG COMMITS $24M TO RANGER PROGRAMS

Steven first began working with the rangers for work experience while he was at Nightcliff Middle School in 2008 and Darwin High School in 2013. He started working for Larrakia Rangers in 2013. Now 28, the proud Larrakia man is following in the footsteps of his uncle as a full-time ranger and leads a team of 14 Larrakia rangers. “I am a...

INPEX Education

LARRAKIA RANGERS ARE CARING FOR COUNTRY

The INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG development recently committed $24 million to the program to help Aboriginal rangers manage and protect land and sea country in the Top End over the next two decades. INPEX General Manager Northern Territory Roland Houareau says Aboriginal rangers play a critical role in managing and protecting many beautiful and...