Residents at Wilora, some 55km north of Ti Tree in the Central Desert region, are taking the initiative for working and projects in their community.

After Central Desert Regional Council (CDRC) installed a new kitchen in Wilora in August for the Community Development Program (CDP), it is being used to run the CDP Health and Nutrition program for Wilora.

It took local CDP participants two days to set it up, including cleaning the fridges and defrosting the deep freeze. They installed a new fridge, cleaned the main hall area and threw out broken, rusted equipment. They developed a plan involving cleaning, food menus and a “No dogs in the kitchen” policy.

“The women are very enthusiastic about the new space,” said Leanne Hoey, CDP Activity Supervisor at Anmatjere. “They are keen to set up a white-board and roster for tasks on site. We have posters on healthy eating to put up and a new copy of the Fred Hollows cookbook in the kitchen,” she said.

CDRC CEO, Diane Hood, said they are helping communities in their region to grow and develop, including improving job opportunities. “CDP projects like this one are an important step in this goal,” she said.

It looks like Wilora has some fine dining coming its way.

The 2018-19 Central Desert Regional Council Annual Report has been sent to the NT Minister and is now available. You can read it here or download a copy of the attachment below.

 Over the last year the Council has faced a number of challenges including a continued reduction in operational funding, ongoing cost shifting from other tiers of government and changes to significant funding agreements.  Despite these challenges the Council continues to deliver on major projects to meet the service delivery requirements of our remote indigenous communities. The President’s and CEO’s Report provides a good summary of the issues facing the Council.

 Our 2018-2019 Annual Report provides a summary of the achievements made by the Council in line with its Strategic Goals. Council is also moving towards a more financially sustainable future through its focus on productivity and service workflow. In 2018-19 Council achieved a surplus which will enable it to look at the creation of asset replacement reserves into the next budget cycle.

 The Council will continue to assess how best to meet the existing and future service delivery requirements of residents in our communities and will work in partnership with the Northern Territory Government, Commonwealth and other relevant stakeholders to ensure positive outcomes are achieved.

 Happy reading!