GOOD NEWS
Keep Australia Beautiful NT 2023 Awards
24 January 2024
Demed has won the award for Best Homelands Association and Best Homeland (Irgul) for the fifth year running, Demed wishes to thank the Homeland residents the Demed Board and staff for their dedication and commitment to improving the lifestyle of our Homelands residents.
New Front End Loader
24 January 2024
Demed recently received our New Front End Loader The new Loader will continue to help our ever expanding Civil Team grow and offer our employees additional career and training opportunities.
With our civil program expanding rapidly with continued contracts with Kakadu National Park, West Arnhem Regional Council, Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation and our contract with Government to build new houses in Gunbalanya, this new Loader will increase operations and efficiency.
Demed would like to thank the cooperation with National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) for awarding both graders and seeing the economic benefits to our region. Without their support, our civil team wouldn’t be able to grow this fast and members of the Demed civil team wouldn't have the opportunities to develop their skill further.
Accommodation blocks at Mandilbarreng Outstation
Well done to the Demed team working on the accommodation blocks at Mandilbarreng Outstation. Ground was levelled , foundation blocks installed and accommodation containers placed in position. All the works were done pre-wet season. Next works will start in the dry to include electrical and plumbing hook up and a veranda to be built between the blocks.
Six New Homes Completed in Gunbalanya
15 October 2023
Six new homes in Gunbalanya have just been completed with keys handed over to very excited tenants on 20th September 2023. Local Member for Arafura Mr Manual Brown, DDJV Director John Thomas and General Manager Lindsay O’Hea, alongside with Territory Families, Housing & Communities and Demed Aboriginal Corporation staff were on hand to celebrate this momentous occasion.
This is the first six of 24 new homes under the HomeBuild NT program. Works are being carried out through a joint venture by the Demed Aboriginal Corporation in Gunbalanya and Aboriginal-owned construction company, Dice Aust, (DDJV). As works continue, many more families are set to receive new and upgraded homes including the extension of 18 homes through the room to breathe program. This improved housing will contribute to better health , education, and employment outcomes for families of Gunbalanya.
Maintenance Works: Manmoyi Homelands
Pre–wet season works had Paddi, Gregg and Leslie visit Manmoyi on numerous trips to repair/replace windows and doors at the single-man quarters. Five new doors were installed and five windows were fabricated from Perspex sheets. Great Work team.
Plant Ticket Training GunbalanyaPlant
Congratulations to our Demed Staff whom recently received their Statement of Attainments in Skid Steer , Front End Loader and Grader operations.
Nipper Gumurdul , Robert Balmana and Basil Nabarlambari attended training alongside West Arnhem Regional Council staff in October 2023.
Training was conducted at Gunbalanya by Charles Darwin University instructors. These competencies form part of Certificate III in Civil Construction and Plant Operations. Well done Lads—Top Effort.
Demolition of Two Homes in the Gunbalanya Community
A “Smashing” effort by the DEMED/DDJV team in the successful demolition of two homes at Gunbalanya community. This was a first for the team with many new skills and experiences learnt over the demolition period. Heavy Plant operators improved their machinery skills in a multitude of different ways during demolition. New houses built on those Lots will be starting later this year.
It was great to be given an opportunity to prove that Demed Aboriginal Corporation have the capacity and staff to do these types of jobs. Well Done lads.
Demolition of Lot 330 and Lot 436
Keep Australia Beautiful NT 2022 Awards
Demed has continued its success and commitment to providing our constituents with the best service achievable. Due to the dedication and passion of our team, Demed won two awards at the Keep Australia Beautiful NT ceremony.
Wiligi won outstation of the year, which has resulted in Demed winning outstation of the year for the fourth time running. A big congratulations to the residents at Wiligi. On top of that, Demed was awarded the best service provider of the year. This outstanding achievement has only been achieved with dedication from the Board of Directors, Demed's workforce and our relationships with our residents.
Demed aims to continue to provide a high level of service and continue to raise the bar. Congratulations to all the winning outstations, and Demed looks forward to working with all our outstations in our continued success.
New Grader
Demed’s new grader arrived today, and our Board Chair Timothy Nabegeyo made sure he was the first to grab the keys and take the machine for a spin around town. Timmy loved the grader and was happy with the opportunity this brings. The new grader will continue to grow and offer our employees additional career and training opportunities.
With our civil program expanding rapidly with continued contracts with Kakadu National Park, West Arnhem Regional council and Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, this new grader will increase operations and efficiency.
Barry “Chico” Nadjowh commenced working with the civil team when our first grader was awarded as an operator. Chico won employee of the year and was promoted to civil team leader last year. He has developed and grown his leadership and management skills to oversee a 90% indigenous civil team with positive feedback from all our stakeholders. He is ecstatic with the new machine and claims it as his own. Chico’s success and improvements are at the core of what these grants and programs are designed for. We look forward to more stories like Chico coming out of the civil team.
Demed would like to thank the cooperation with National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) for awarding both graders and seeing the economic benefits to our region. Without their support, our civil team wouldn’t be able to grow this fast and individuals like Chico wouldn't have the opportunities to develop.
ABA update: Container dwellings
The approved container dwellings addressing the overcrowding of homelands are coming along on schedule and budget. The five containers have completed their fabrication, painting, and internal framing, with electrical, plumbing, and joinery currently underway. After testing and final inspection, the containers will be prepared for transportation around the end of July 2022.
The residents are getting excited about the new additions and benefits to their homelands.
Finalist- Outstanding Leadership Awards 2022
Demed’s CEO John Thomas has been nominated as a finalist in the “Outstanding Leadership Awards 2022” community leader category. These awards receive nominations worldwide from a range of industries.
This outstanding nomination is a well-deserved recognition for John’s significant contribution to the community and region. His leadership, dedication, and passion have resulted in much-needed support, opportunities and training for the region’s Indigenous residents. Demed’s employees wear the logo with pride and enjoy working with John.
John has been CEO of Demed for multiple years working alongside board members and the management team. John has continued to encourage and grow the team to raise the bar for Demed and the quality of life for the residents in the region. John leads by example and encourages the community through his passion and determination. The team has proven this success in the housing tender’s latest news, which provides a significant economic boost to the community and region.
Demed wishes Johns the best of luck and well-deserved recognition.
You can see all the finalists on the link below.
Significant Benefits to the region
Demed and Dice are exceptionally proud to announce that our joint venture “DDJV” has been awarded the Darwin region - Gunbalanya community - provision of construction, refurbishments and upgrades to northern territory government (NTG) housing infrastructure for a period of 36 months.
The success will see the Gunbalanya community get needed new dwellings and renovations/additions through room to breathe. These projects will address the ever-present overcrowding that has been especially prevalent during the Covid 19 pandemic.
As part of DDJV is situated in Gunbalanya, it’ll mean that the local residents and region will receive the benefits, including training and upskilling. DDJV has announced that we will be offering nine resident apprenticeships and a range of residents with training and career pathways.
DDJV will tie in Dice’s expertise and skills to train in the construction industry, while Demed will supply the workforce and heavy machinery. Demed’s CDP program will play a significant role, utilising this workforce to develop the new homes and offer training.
This partnership between Demed and Dice has been blossoming for over two years to get each organisation prepared for the success of this tender. However, the ultimate goal is to offer services and infrastructure to the region’s local residents, significantly increasing their quality of life.
DDJV are excited about this opportunity and will continue to have the region’s best interest in mind.
Unexpected visitor at campgrounds
Demed's campground manager, Trevor, had an unexpected visitor today. This friendly python was trying to get some sleep in the ablution block that our tourists use. Luckily for them, Trevor is experienced in handling snakes and was able to remove and relocate this python safely.
Through a growing relationship, Demed has secured a contract with Kakadu National park to manage the campgrounds near Ubirr, granting new skills and career prospects for our Indigenous staff; and some excellent stories like this one.
No snakes or humans were harmed in this capture and release.
Ginga on the run
Our Head Ranger, Nipper Gumurdul, got an unexpected visitor overnight. A Ginga (Kunwinku for Crocodile) decided to sleep on his front door. Luckily, Nipper has grown up around crocodiles and was able to secure the Ginga for release safely. The Demed rangers then drove the Ginga to the local billabong for freedom, and hopefully, he doesn't go exploring anytime soon.
During the whole process, no humans or crocodiles were injured. This highlights the connection that communities have with their land and wildlife.
Board Chair Bio- Timothy Nabegeyo
Timothy Nabegeyo commenced his employment with Demed in 2009 and is a Traditional Owner of Mandilbarreng. Timmy started his position as Board Chair in October 2021. His passion and dedication are crucial factors in Demed’s growth and investments. The main factor that drives Timothy's decisions are job opportunities for the region and caring for his fellow residents.
Timothy is a qualified grader operator and loves getting behind the wheel. Timmy drives the clinic’s care to collect and drop off patients in his free time. When not at work, you'll find Timmy fishing, staying in his homeland or spending time with family.
Agitator - cost-effective concrete
Demed has been able to procure an agitator to go with our brand new batching plant. Having these two machines together ensures that Demed can supply commercial or domestic concrete to the region at a lower price than the current rate. The agitator is a Mack Metroliner 2007 and will offer training and career perspective in a whole new industry that hasn't been available before.
This Agitator will enable concrete supply to homelands, allowing vital training and job opportunities for residents and CDP participants. Demed is extremely happy with the continued opportunities that we have been able to offer our residents. We will continue to strive to improve options and pathways for our residents in the region.
NLC Land rights News
The Northern Land council's January newspaper "land rights news" included a story about the success of grants awarded to Demed. These grants improved local and remote residents' job and training opportunities through our civil program.
This was highlighted by the direct quotation of our Deputy CEO, Josh Oddy.
“Demed was able to procure some heavy machinery to increase our core duties to homelands and expand our Civil program,” said Demed Aboriginal Corporation’s Deputy CEO Josh Oddy. “The civil program consists of 80 per cent local Indigenous employees - that wouldn’t have been possible without the Stimulus Grant. Our civil program provides a much need career pathway and training in the civil sector. The stimulus grants also provided some much needed career pathway and improvements to some very remote homelands.”
Demed is excited about future opportunities for the region that could evolve from a strong partnership with NLC. Demed will strive to improve and develop our residents in the region.
If you wish to read the whole article, click here.
Mobile Batching Plant- New job opportunities
Demed has secured a mobile batching plant to be utilised in the community and on homelands. As there are no concrete batching plants in the community, this is essential to ensure there is affordable concrete for domestic and commercial use. The machine is designed for bulk bags and comes with a batching control system to bring up a detailed report of the concrete consistency to ensure the desired grade is produced every time.
However, the most significant benefit to this batching plant is that it offers a whole new industry for job opportunities and training for the residents. Being able to mobilise this plant anywhere means when concrete is needed on homelands, the CDP participants living on homelands can be involved and gather valuable training and upskill—offering them unique skills for job prospects.
ABA- Addressing Overcrowding on Homelands
A strong partnership between Demed and NIAA has been able to supply five new rooms via an ABA grant. 20” container homes will be added to existing dwellings providing an additional bedroom, kitchen and bathroom.
With the current overcrowding on our homelands and the health risks posed through Covid 19, these additional rooms will provide needed support and improve the quality of life for our First nation’s people on our homelands. Demed tirelessly aims to offer the best service and high standard of work and attention to the population in the region.
Qualified tradesmen will carry out the installation with 50% of the work carried out by our Indigenous employees and CDP participants under the supervision of skilled tradesmen. This will offer job opportunities and skills that the homelands residents don’t receive.
Kakadu National Park Civil Contract
Demed is proud to announce that we have an agreement with Kakadu National Park to carry out civil and earthworks on their road networks and visitor sites in the Jabiru region. Our civil team carried out civil works last year to a high standard resulting in a formal agreement between the parties.
The agreement includes but is not limited to:
• Opening and closing of roads
• Maintenance grades
• Scour repairs
• Carting materials
This collaboration between two companies in the region will ensure a boost and sustainability in job opportunities and training for the local population. Our civil team leader, Chico, is excited to show his grading skills in keeping the roads safe.
Demed is excited about what opportunities this partnership could bring. Commencement will begin once roads dry up from the wet season.
Mamadawerre Solar Upgrade
With the support of the Northern Territory Government, Demed was successful with the stage two solar upgrade for Mamadawerre. Stage two consists of upgrading the batteries capacity and storage, the inverter, and relocating these in a new safe and secure fitted out room.
Mamadawerre is a large homeland between Gunbalanya and Maningrida, with 50 to 100 residents depending on the season. This upgrade contributes to the quality of life for residents living on country, which is extremely important with the current climate of Covid 19.
The upgrade will commence mid-year with completion before the wet season providing needed relief for residents when access is only available by small aircraft.
Congratulations Letter from Minister for Local Government
We had the pleasure of receiving a letter of congratulations from the Minister for Local Government, Chansey Paech MLA, in relation to the 2021 Territory Sustainable Community Tidy Towns (SCTT) Awards for Buni-Inwunbuluk.
Working with WARC- Pre Wet Season
Demed has been helping West Arnhem Regional Council (WARC) in preparation of the coming wet season. The civil team has carried out a variety of works including repairing drains, shoulders and roads around Gunbalanya, this will reduce the risk of flooding and damages to property.
We take pride in working alongside other local organizations in delivering a higher standard of living to the residents of Gunbalanya and surrounding area.
Employee Bio- Nipper Gumurdul
Nipper Gumurdul commenced his employment with Demed in 2013 and is a Traditional Owner of Gunbalanya(Oenpelli). Nipper has worked in the rangers team as a senior/acting Ranger Coordinator for majority of his employment and has been instrumental in the constant success of the ranger output and moral of the team. The Rangers program received a brand new Ute which you can see Nipper posing with below.
When not at work you'll find Nipper either fishing, hunting, riding his quad bike, spending time with his family or working on his house in Gunbalanya. He has aspirations of pursuing a carrier in mechanics.
"I enjoy going out bush, working on aerial burning and weed control. I like working with the team, providing services to Demed outstations "Nipper Gumurdul
Best Outstation 3 Years in a Row
Buni-Inwunbuluk has been awarded Outstation of the Year in 2021, resulting in Demed winning Outstation of the Year three years running. This outstanding achievement has only been possible with dedication from the Board of Directors, Demed's workforce and the relationships we hold with our residents.
Demed aims to continue to provide a high level of service and continue to raise the bar. Congratulations to all the winning outstations and Demed looks forward to working with all our outstations in our continues success.
Tidy Towns Best Homeland Award 2021
Tidy Towns has been running nationally since 1990, and began in Western Australia in 1968. These awards encourage, motivate and celebrate sustainability achievements of rural and regional communities across Australia.
Buni-Inwunbuluk (Annersley Point) was crowned the Tidy Towns Best Homeland of 2021, which acknowledges the hard work and collaboration shared between Buni-Inwunbuluk residents and Demed. Congratulations Buni-Inwunbuluk!
You can watch the whole awards video on Keep Australia Beautiful NT website by clicking here.
NLC Stimulus-Gumeragi Major repairs
Gumeragi Homeland is situated on the coast of Cobourg Peninsula. Demed was successful in an NLC Stimulus grant to carry out major repairs and provide a much need improvement to the quality of life for the residents.
We would like to thank NLC, especially Joe Martin-Jard , Samuel Bush-Blanasi & Jonathon Mcleod for their support with this project and TB Constructions who are carrying out the project.
We are currently two months in and have some amazing progress photos to share
Employee Bio- Barry "Chico" Nadjowh
Barry Nadjowh, or known by all as Chico, commenced with Demed in 1987. Chico’s homeland is Gumarrirnbang which is located 150km from Gunbalanya. Over the years Chico has worked within a variety of teams including Rangers, Homelands and most recently the Civil team leader.
Demed has expanded our Civil team and Chico has been instrumental in their success with leadership and skill. The Civil team consist of 100% local indigenous employees which has operated smoothly due to Chico’s energetic and friendly demeanor. We look forward to see and encourage Chico’s ongoing growth and progress.
“I enjoy working on country and operating the new grader.” Barry Nadjowh
CDP Activity- Sebastian
Demed's carpenter along side Sebastian constructing furniture for team health in Gunbalanya. Sebastian was a CDP participant for Gunbalanya who came to Demed to learn new skills in construction and civil.
New Machinery- Tilt Tray
Demed procured a new tilt tray through NLC Stimulus Grant, we would like to thank the continued support from NLC to help Demed offer employment opportunities to our local residents and improve their quality of life in the region. This tilt tray upholds Demed's services with a wide range of homeland and communities whom benefit from this machine.
CDP Activities- Seedlings
Demed has recently collected seedlings from the jail through a program with the inmates. These seedlings has been nurtured and cared for by the inmates of the prison, whom have family and friends that reside on the homelands that our CDP participants live/participate.
Demed believes this is a fantastic opportunity to increase participation and pride for activities and caring for country.
Machinery Benefiting Homelands
Demed has been awarded two separate Municipal Special Purpose Grant (MESSPG) grants from NT Government to purchases machinery that benefit the residents on homelands and in the surrounding areas.
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New water tanker to supply residents with water in case of emergency for all homelands
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A ditch which to service septic tanks at homelands and surrounding areas
These new machinery will help increase quality of life on homelands and reduce risks.
New grading opportunities
Demed welcomed the opportunity to expand our civil program to the other side of Cahills Crossing. Demed was contracted by Kakadu National Park to patrol grade Jim Jim Falls and Cannon Hill. As Jim Jim Falls is a popular tourist attraction there'll be plenty of eyes on our finished product.
We hope that this contract will progress to a prospering partnership between two Indigenous corporations.
Below are images and video's of Jim Jim Falls before and after grading.
Adjumarlarl Rangers
It's been a busy few months for the Adjumarlarl Rangers with the commencement of pre season burns and invasive weed spraying. The team has attended fire meetings and various training programs in preparation for the coming fire season.
Images below starting from left going clockwise:
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Nipper working on an incendiary machine. This is also called the rain dancing machine
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Jethro identifying invasive weeds in Gunbalanya
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Blurred image of Nipper carry out training about feral pigs . Click image If you wish to see the photos of a dissection.
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Rangers carrying out training on small engines
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Basil carrying out weed spraying
New Machinery- NLC Stimulus
Demed was awarded funding through the Northern Land Council (NLC) stimulus grant to purchase new machinery. The new assets include (as pictured below):
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Prime Mover
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Float
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Bulldozer
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Excavator
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Roller
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Ute.
NLC have provided Demed with a fantastic opportunity through this grant by growing our machinery fleet which will improve services on homelands and provide valuable opportunities to train and upskill our Indigenous work force.
The prime mover will reduce the cost of crawling our machinery to homelands, with the benefit of savings being injected back into homelands services. The other machinery will be used across a variety of projects.
Grading
Demed and Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) have entered into a sub-contractor agreement to grade the road from Cahill's Crossing to Three-ways (Coburg Turnoff) and parts of Cobourg Peninsula.
This agreement between two Indigenous corporations ensures that local residents are part of and guide improvements within their own communities while gaining job opportunities.
Demed has also entered into an sub-contractor agreement with West Arnhem Regional Council (WARC) to complete a maintenance grade on Murganella Road which leads into Cobourg Peninsula, commencing in June 2021.
This work is made possible by the support of the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) who approved an Aboriginal Benefit Account (ABA) to purchase a new grader and tipper truck with contribution from Demed. Feedback received so far regarding the quality of work has been very positive and a compliment to our Indigenous workforce who completed 100% of the machinery operations.
Images below are from the first grade of Cahill's crossing to Three-ways with the new grader.
Leader of the Opposition- Tidy Towns
We had the pleasure of receiving a letter of congratulations from the leader of the opposition, Lia Finocchiaro MLA, in relation to the 2020 Territory Tidy Towns Sustainable Community Awards for Araru Point.
This acknowledgement recognizes that a strong and reliable partnership between homelands and the service providers can produce amazing outcomes.