Welcome What a wonderful wet season we are having, but unfortunately there has been a lot of damage to the internal Kimberley unsealed road network however the highway is holding up well - drive safely out there folks!
We were fortunate to have Senator the Hon. Fiona Nash, Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Local Government and Territories visit Broome recently. RDAK chair, Graeme Campbell and I were able to showcase some of the recent projects that have been funded by the Commonwealth and also discuss regional priorities.
Community engagement workshops for the North West Aged Care Strategy begin this month - please come along and have your say on the future of aged care in the Kimberley.
The grant writing workshops started well with over 100 attendees for our Broome and Derby workshops. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the other three workshops due to road closures - sorry to those registered for the inconvenience - but please see below for the rescheduled dates.
As ever, please don’t hesitate to call or contact our office anytime for more information or to have a chat.
Chris Mitchell - Executive Officer
Mid and East Kimberley
Grant Writing and Governance Workshops
RESCHEDULED
Workshops dates are:
Kununarra Monday 1st May Halls Creek Tuesday 2nd May Fitzroy Crossing Wed 3rd May
Ian Crawford will be back in Broome and Derby during first week of May to present another engaging and informative workshop. We will keep you posted on times, dates and content.
Kimberley Small Business Support Center are running a wide range of business development and support workshops through out the Kimberley. Check out what's on near you here.
We have been successful with Lotterywest funding to proceed with the project and the consultant will be undertaking community workshops throughout the Kimberley.
Please come along and have your say on the future of aged care. BroomeMonday 20th March @ Lotteries House 10am-12pm DerbyTuesday 21st March @ SDWK Council meeting room 8.30am -10.30 Fitzroy CrossingTuesday 21st March @ Fitzroy River Lodge 3pm -5pm Halls CreekWednesday 22nd March Venue & time TBA Wyndham & Kununarra Thursday 23th March Venue & time TBA
The Strategy aims to:
Plan for community infrastructure and aged care facilities;
Challenge the automatic assumption that people do not want to retire in the North West and aged care services and residences are not needed;
Identify services required for people who want to be able to stay near their children and grandchildren but live independently as they age; and
Identify strategies to move forward with providing more options for aged care.
Round one Infrastructure Projects closed on the 28th February - there are some really great Kimberley projects being put forward - best of luck to all applicants.
We are continuing to work with not for profits and local governments to ensure there are strong applications from the region for the Community Infrastructure stream which is closing on Friday 31st March. Contact Chris Mitchell for assistance.
Northern Alliance Update
The eight RDA’s that comprise the Northern RDA Alliance had a productive and successful meeting in February in Canberra. We met with Ministers and advisors across the northern Australia, tourism, infrastructure, regional development, small business and energy portfolios. Specific deliverables from the White Paper and future opportunities for collaboration were discussed with the Office of Northern Australia, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and AusIndustry. We also met with the Hon Warren Entsch, Chair Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia and discussed the current Northern Australia Tourism Inquiry, future investment in northern Australia roads, telecommunications and energy issues as well as the future work of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia in driving the broader northern Australia growth agenda.
Cooperative Research Centre for
Developing Northern Australia
The CRC is a centerpiece of the investment under the Northern Australia White Paper with a $75m investment over 10 years with a focus on industry-led collaborations to initially on agriculture, food and tropical health.
An initial funding round is now open, closing on Thursday 20th April. The CRC for Developing Northern Australia Project Funding Round supports short term industry-led research collaborations to develop important new technologies, products and services which address industry problems in northern Australia.
Up to $3 million over three years is available for each project with matched cash and/or in-kind contributions from project applicants.
Funding can be used to support the costs of research * salaries * student placements * commercialisation * capital items, such as equipment
Further information on CRC grant process is available here
jobactive PaTH The Australian Governments new youth employment initiative jobactive PaTH will commence in April 2017.
Jobactive PaTH is designed to support young people to gain the skills and work experience they need to get and keep a job through a Prepare-Trial-Hire program. It also supports employers to host internship placements and provide them with incentives when they take on a young person. Further information available here
Mercy Foundation’s Small Grants Program provides grants for a range of social justice and community initiatives. The focus for 2017 is on projects that address social justice issues concerning older people. Grants of $1000 to $10,000 are available. Applications close March 27. https://www.mercyfoundation.com.au/grants/index.cfm…
Holden Home Ground Advantage grants program - to help clubs improve facilities, purchase equipment and even develop exceptional talent. https://www.holden.com.au/about/home-ground-advantage#/overview
Commonwealth Bank Community Grants program, which opens on March 6. Community groups with DGR status have until March 31 to apply for up to $10,000 towards supporting youth-focussed initiatives. https://www.commbank.com.au/…/opportu…/community-grants.html