Each week, RDA Pilbara compiles a wrap of news that's important to industries and communities in the region and also the highlights of our activities on the ground.
Read on for what's been happening from August 11 to August 18.
Our new Grant Hub is open for business Some exciting news for the RDA Pilbara team this week, with the launch of the new Grant Hub on our website.
The Grant Hub is a one-stop shop for all local businesses, community groups, not-for-profits and individuals who are considering applying for a grant. You can see what grants are available, register to receive alerts when new opportunities arise and access tips to help you apply for grants.
The Hub is live and ready to go, so please visit it here: https://bit.ly/3QB9oei
Northern Australia acknowledged to a national audience It was fantastic to hear Federal Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King speaking so positively about the significance and development of Western Australia's regional communities and industries at the Bush Summit in Perth. Minister King touched on the history of these regions (over tens of thousands of years), her own family links to the bush, the importance of Northern Australia (and the future of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility), capacity-building in regional WA (including Indigenous communities) and, of course, industries such as mining and a decarbonised future. The Minister's full address is available here: https://bit.ly/448VbIA
A brand new industry comes to the Pilbara It’s not often you can say something totally new arrives in a region – but the NextDC Data Centre in Port Hedland is certainly that.
The centre, part of a collaboration with BHP, Vocus and Microsoft, will meet growing demand for direct connectivity to cloud services and support the ongoing digital transformation of the mining and resources sector.
Read more: https://bit.ly/3qDaBav
Citic Pacific community grants open for applications Great to see CITIC Pacific Mining's Community Support Fund open for Round 2 of grants. Community groups and not-for-profit organisations in Karratha, Roebourne, Wickham, Point Samson, Dampier and Cossack can apply for small grants of up to $5,000 (inclusive of GST). The grants program is supported by Citic Pacific's Containers for Change recycling initiative which sees the funds raised from drink container recycling at Sino Iron Cape Preston operations reinvested into community projects. Applications close on August 26 and more details are available here: https://bit.ly/3s8YItk
Advance your childcare career and help our region
Expressions of interest are now open for the Early Education and Care Job Ready Program. If you're interested in helping young people in the Pilbara build a foundation to realise their potential - this could be the opportunity you are looking for. It also addresses one of the key challenges in our region, around supply of childcare resources. The program: ▪ is based in Karratha ▪ is completed in 10 weeks ▪ includes industry placement and real-life experience ▪ is flexible around school hours. Register your interest at the following link by September 30: https://bit.ly/458pMaM
Marble Bar the tourist destination There was an excellent article on ABC Pilbara this week examining the great tourism potential of Marble Bar.
As the article explained, the town’s extraordinary temperatures are one item of interest, but there’s also prospecting possibilities, ancient micro-fossils and a quirky annual race day, with a significant airport upgrade just around the corner.
As Pilbara Tourism Association project officer Neil McGilp says in the article "It's something in the psyche of Australians to want to come and visit [Marble Bar], so it's up to us to show them that it's easy to do."
Read more: https://ab.co/3OuRt6B
Police set off on annual cycle trek Member of the WA Police Force are out on the road again this year for the annual Karratha to Broome Bike Ride. The event raises funds for WA Policy Legacy and, as this photo snapped by RDA Pilbara CEO Tony Simpson shows, there is a fair crew pedalling in 2023.
A great run comes to a fabulous end On the subject of being out on the road, congratulations from RDA Pilbara (and we suspect many people in our region) to Guy Schweitzer on successfully running from Port Hedland to Brisbane.
As regular readers of this blog will know, Guy set out from Spoilbank Marina in late May on a nearly 5000km journey to Scarborough Harborough Brewing Co, which he operates in Brisbane’s north with his wife Sonia. MGN Civil, the company of which Guy is a director, is a contractor at Spoilbank Marina and he had been in the Pilbara working on the project.
Guy’s Home Run (as he dubbed it) finished up on Sunday with many more people at the finishing line than he probably saw as he made his way across the outback. There was even a beer specially-brewed for him and we bet it tasted good!
Again, congratulations on the unique accomplishment Guy and thanks for all the photos and fodder you have provided for our blog and social media accounts.
(photo at right below via The Running Guy on Facebook)
