Supporting the communities of Tjarubalan
With work on Tanami Road ramping up, we’re continuing our commitment to find and support Aboriginal workers from communities along the road.
Published: 28 August 2024, Updated: 28 August 2024
Upgrades to 41km of the road are well underway and, with two new positions for roller operators available, Project Manager Neville Walters set about developing a site orientation for workers from the Tjarubalan Communities.
Local worker Ricky Tchooga, from Tjarubalan’s Ringer Soak community, came up with the idea to invite locals to visit the worker’s camp, to see if the camp and its location is good for them, in a cultural way. Sometimes a camp can make a local person feel no good due to its location, or spiritual factors which can be unknown or unseen to others.
Ricky’s idea came to life in early August, with seven men from Balgo, and one from Bililuna, visiting the Tanami Road Project to familiarise themselves with the work camp and work site.
L-R: Dean Brown, Rob Christophers, Winston Manson, Trevor Mudji, Danny Calwyn, Ainsley Medgedell, Darren Mudgedell, Donald Lynch, Keith Njamee, Brian Darkie and John Spain
The men were welcomed by office staff and camp crew on arrival, before being given an induction of the worker’s camp and their accommodation for the two-night stay.
On day two, all eight men enjoyed breakfast and made their lunch before joining the 5.30am pre-start meeting - showing their readiness for work.
They then participated in a site induction, followed by discussions about shared responsibilities, work expectations, work life balance, earning money and settling into work.
During the morning session the crew were joined by a reporter from the local ABC Studio, on site to cover the Tanami Road Upgrade Project and continue a story about remote jobs. The journalist interviewed Keith Njamee from Balgo who shared his interest to “start a new life and get some money.”
Following lunch, the group went to site and were introduced to Aboriginal business owners and operators who shared their stories and gave advice on managing common issues faced by Aboriginal workers such as cultural obligations, jealousies, and hum bug.
Local Halls Creek man Danny Calwyn, a grader owner and operator, advised the men “have a go and stick to it ” before loader operator and owner, Kevin Long encouraged them to “stay out of trouble, don’t worry about what people think, and grab the opportunity (to work)."
Hearing advice from Danny Calwyn, long time business owner and operator
Darren Mudgedell and Keith Njamee listening to Kevin Long in the material pit
Hearing about the work being done and stories from the culvert crew
The men were able to see various activities and hear about how they all come together to build the road, while also learning some site lingo and how to communicate using the two-way radio.
The end of day two provided an opportunity for each of the men to talk about their interests, experience and training while also finalising on-boarding requirements such as licence renewals and birth certificates.
In an invaluable twist of fate, the orientation visit to Halls Creek coincided with the local Open Day, where various agencies visit Kimberley towns and communities to help locals with things like licences, birth certificates and fines. As part of the visit, two of the local men sorted licence renewals, one knows more about how to get his birth certificate, and another was able to set up a payment plan for his fines.
By the end of the two days, we were able to see that the men had a good feeling about the work, and camp location. They’re excited, keen and ready – able to see themselves working on site and the potential for this to change their lives. Visiting the worksite gave these local men the chance to see other countrymen working, people they know. It gave them confidence and made them feel wanted.
Balgo local Donald Lynch said “we weren’t treated like we didn’t belong."
With the orientation proving a huge success, our Project team now has a pool of potential workers to select and train workers from. The two new roller positions will ultimately provide a pathway for some of these local men to develop their skills so they have the opportunity to be employed by contractors on the Tanami Road project. This, in turn, opens more roles for local Aboriginal workers.
Congratulations to everyone who made the Orientation possible, and welcome to our new crew.
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