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A Cup of Tea, a Chat and a Hard Day's work
There’s one thing for sure, if you rock up to the Warakurna Community Development Shed at eight in the morning, you’ll be greeted with a hot cup of tea.
It’s all part of CDP officer John Tibble’s approach of creating an environment where everyone is welcome to participate in work.
After a cup of tea and breakfast, the men sit together to discuss the tasks on the day’s agenda, before splitting off into teams to get the jobs done.
Warakurna CDP General Hand, Roy Bennett, said that they get involved by fixing things around the community, tending to the community garden, and making sure the community stays clean through regular rubbish collections.
“We’re out here every day. We come to CDP shed, we have breakfast, and then get to work,” he said.
“I enjoy the work, it’s good for me, good for community.”
John says teamwork is crucial to the program's success, with local Yarnangu empowered to take responsibility for the jobs that need doing around town.
“It’s like that saying, you can give a man a fish and he will eat today,” John said.
“But if you teach a man to fish, he will eat tomorrow.
“That’s the kind of analogy we want to implement here in Warakurna, empowering people to become self-sufficient and self-reliant. We’re just here to support.”
Jason, Warakurna’s CDP Activities Coordinator, says it’s nice to see the ownership the men take in keeping the community clean, and the pride they hold in doing so.
“Every Monday we are out here with the men, working as a team to collect rubbish,” he said.
“If you look around the community, you’ll see the men here do a really, really good job.
“One of their favourite things is to keep the community tidy and clean and take care of the rubbish.”
When the men aren’t out on tractors cleaning up community, you’ll often find them in the Warakurna Men’s Shed, a hub for a variety of CDP activities. The shed is a safe space for men to work together and was built in collaboration with the support from the whole community.
John said his approach prioritises supporting local people to learn life skills that empowers them to support their community.
“It means people can take control of their own destinies, while getting people job ready.”
We’re working to reimagine CDP and the work being done in Warakurna is a great example of how community collaboration is leading the way for a better future.
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Supplying food and fresh produce to the remote communities of ËÄÉ«AV Lands isn’t your typical grocery run, it’s a fortnightly process involving ordering, scheduling and a whole lot of driving! The scope and scale of travelling through the Western Desert would be difficult to conceive for your typical city driver who occasionally takes a trip ‘down south’! NATS’s (ËÄÉ«AV Agency and Transport Services) driver, Rod Moiler, a stalwart and icon of the organisation for over three decades, shared some insight into what it looks like to bring supplies into the eleven communities that form the ËÄÉ«AV Council. “For 33 years, my rhythm was a fortnightly run that began on Wednesday with a pick-up of the big order from FAL (now Metcash) in Canning Vale. From there, it would be back to NATS in Welshpool, and on Thursday, we would get deliveries for each community in order, as well as any other supplies that needed to be distributed,” Rod said. “I’d also make sure that I had the truck fully sorted and good to go with other supplies that may be helpful to others along the way—extra water, fresh fruit from my fruit trees at home, puncture kits to help other travellers out of a tight spot, and newspapers for the graders,” “On Friday, I’d haul out of Perth, usually stopping outside of Kalgoorlie,” “By Saturday, all going well with the weather and breakdowns—never a sure thing—I’d be driving in Warburton. It’s never a sure thing because conditions are variable. The Western Desert experiences soaring temperatures that remind you to ensure your air-con is in good working order, but also experiences flash flooding that can get derail even the most experienced driver. “There was a time when I was stuck in Laverton for a week waiting for the road to be drivable, and another when I did a load out to Alice Springs and back because it was impossible to drive west, but the need was desperate, so I headed east,” Rod said. “There were other times where I got stuck in one of the communities because of the weather. I’d end up helping the store owners with some welding or stacking the shelves to fill in the time before I could get back out on the road,” he adds. Rod took the initiative to bring newspapers for the operators of the road graders as well as fresh fruit. He figured out quickly enough that everyone helps each other in these remote places, and he might need some road grading to make a delivery before too long. More than once, those operators drove through the night to clear a path so Rod could make his next delivery. As Rod would make his way out of Warburton on a Sunday, it would be along a route that became increasingly familiar. “As I went from Jameson to Wanarn and on to each of the communities, I’d be delivering as well as backloading,” “There’d be different supplies that needed to head back to Perth—from the Education Department or Police, or even a stranded tourist or their car—they’d be loaded on board as I made my way around the lands,” “By Tuesday, I’d be back in Warburton, backloading anything from there before heading back to Perth on Wednesday morning,” Rod says. “I’d arrive back in Perth late Thursday afternoon and then unload all the backloaded supplies at NATS,” “Then, I’d spend the weekend with my family before spending Monday and Tuesday servicing the truck and getting it ready to do it all again on Wednesday!” Unsurprisingly, Rod has clocked up plenty of kilometres out on the Lands. Over his career, a conservative estimate of 70,000 kilometres each year adds up to nearly 2.5 million kilometres on the road. He speaks fondly of his trucks, favouring Macs above all others across the years. “Five of my seven trucks have been Macs. My last one was six years old when I bought it. By the time I got it, it had already travelled 1.5 million kilometres on a regular Perth to Darwin run. I probably put another 500,000 kilometres on that one,” Rod says. Numbers like this are a healthy reminder of the challenges of remoteness, including the challenge of getting fresh supplies to the lands. It’s certainly not a quick run to the store to get a few things for dinner. There are schedules, orders, forward planning, weather, breakdowns, and setbacks amongst the rich and rewarding long hauls. Rod Moiler was one of the first drivers for NATS. He played a pivotal role in the early days, not only behind the wheel but also mentoring new drivers on the nuances of efficiently packing and navigating the challenging 900 kilometres of dirt road to Warburton and beyond. While Rod retired in 2020, his legacy continues as he shares his invaluable experience with new drivers, ensuring that the quality and reliability of NATS remain strong, sustaining the lands with all the supplies that have become a reliable lifeline.
750 kilometres a day for nearly two weeks in a car on its last legs sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Shitbox Rally first timers, Jocelyn Bennett and Foysal Ahmed, got the job done while raising over $8,000 for cancer research.
Strong homes and strong stories are at the heart of the aspirations of the members of communities on ËÄÉ«AV lands. The last six months have seen a steady stream of engagements and action within these communities as they have co-designed and collaborated on Community Plans to help their communities flourish. These plans have been developed by the communities, for the communities, and for delivery by the community alongside key stakeholders. Importantly, these Community Plans have now been accepted, giving a green light to opportunities, strategies, and activities that can better resource remote communities and provide greater access to services, which we understand need to be improved in many ways. The recent activation programs over the school holidays represented another key outcome of our Community Plans—creating spaces and places for our young people to engage and flourish on country. These programs involved many of our communities, with major hubs at Warburton, Warakurna, and Warnarn. Our Plans reflect our aspirations for Ngurra Rapa, Tjukurrpa Rapa (Strong homes, Strong stories) to fulfil our collective vision of purpose and agency —communities where members are encouraged and supported to thrive. “Our Community Plans provide community-informed guidance to the ongoing activities and investment into the community for members, businesses and government,” said ËÄÉ«AV Council CEP Thomas Williams. There are plenty of opportunities for members of ËÄÉ«AV communities to be engaged in these plans, and we believe there will be significant employment opportunities in some of our communities. “Our vision is to support the ËÄÉ«AV people to live healthy, fulfilled lives on the lands - places of flourishing where the aspirations of Yarnangu are realised as we work together towards strong families, strong stories, and strong futures on the lands,” Thomas said. The intersecting impacts of remoteness, ineffective social support, insufficient social services, and the high cost of living have made our people some of the most disadvantaged in the nation. “One of the major sources of disadvantage has been the changing face of CDP and ‘work for the dole’ policies, which have been punitive and negatively impacted communities,” Thomas said. “Seeing these community plans not only accepted but moving to implementation is a significant milestone in identifying the potential, opportunities and the resourcing of each of our ËÄÉ«AV communities,” Thomas said. “It’s an exciting phase that we now enter as we’re seeing these community aspirations begin to shape and transform communities as stakeholders and government join us in building vibrant spaces on the lands and addressing head-on the genuine challenges and disadvantages that face our people in these remote communities,” Thomas said. The Community Plans will continue to fuel opportunities as each element is activated and the future of living on the lands becomes brighter for many.
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