Rest and Reflection

3
1390

Welcome to the Rest and Reflection period of the year in the Alice Springs News Online. We’ll keep up with the major news but our focus, till the end of January, will be on comment pieces from thoughtful locals, celebrating our town’s strengths and proposing remedies for its weaknesses.
Keep your readers’ comments coming. We moderate them several times a day.
 
 
 

3 COMMENTS

  1. Politically there is great “Sovereign Risk” in the Northern Territory. This is exampled in the “gallery” standoff by the NT Government.
    With the land “OWNERSHIP” … the CLC (lawyers) … and the incompetence of the Resources BUREAUCRACY (?intelligence?) … there is virtually no mining in the NT (compare WA and Qld) … NO GROUP or Company can stand up to 25+ years delay in funding mineral exploration and land access.
    LASSETERS REEF rediscovery is a case in point, where bureaucratic intransigence prevents mineral exploration and development of the FRONTIER TOWN of Alice Springs.
    The GALLERY will go the same usual way. The kiss of death has already been applied.

  2. Rest and Reflection: Posing to reflect on the evolution of the NT I went to my archives to read the Message from the Chief Minister: “There has been a great deal of talk about the tremendous natural resources we have here in the Northern Territory and this, of course, revolves around our mineral, water, fisheries and tourism.
    “However, I firmly believe that our most valuable natural resources is our young people.
    Too often in the past our children have been lost to the Territory.
    “Young people traditionally have high expectations and it would be sad, staid and reactionary world if they did not.
    “My Government hopes that by working closely with young people,we can improve the educational opportunities to such an extent that there is little or no need for Territorians to look South for high school and college educations.
    “With the educational cornerstone of our society firmly in place, we can concentrate on the further economic and social development of the Territory.”
    Paul Everingham, July 1, 1979. He had a dream.

  3. @ Evelyne Roullet (Posted December 28, 2018 at 9:24 am): In the summer of 1978/79 the NT Government (specifically Chief Minister Paul Everingham) directed the Public Service to make vacational employment available specifically for young Territorians during the school holidays (which were eight weeks long at that time – ah, those were the years)!
    A position was made available at the NT Herbarium, then located at AZRI. The head botanist, John Maconochie, approached my father to see if I would be willing to take that position. It was my first job – I didn’t have to look for work, it came looking for me!
    The same applied for the next two summers, on these occasions working as offsider with my father in the CSIRO. Our work was on a project studying grazing effects by cattle on native pasture and buffel grass, mainly in the area now occupied by the suburb of Kilgariff.
    Great days – but long gone. Everingham himself (since at least from Territory Day, 2009) no longer supports the concept of states and territories in Australia.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here