Teens to battle for a Mark Holden 'touch down'

Twenty teens as young as eleven will battle for a top ten finish at the Urban Quest semi final at Casuarina Square next week.

 

The singers hope to impress guest judge Mark Holden and local celebrity radio host Amanda Pernechele for a spot in the Urban Quest Finals Concert on 2 April.

 

The acts include a brother duo from Wagaman, Palmerston hip hop pair and two singers from Katherine.

 

The event, sponsored by Mission Australia, hopes to raise awareness of youth homelessness in the Top End.

 

The Urban Quest semi final gets underway at 3:30pm at Casuarina Square on Tuesday, 29 March. The public are encouraged to attend.

 

The semi finalists are:

 

Kaiyah Chadwich, 11, Leanyer 

Peter Rautoke, 17, Palmerston

Casey Glennon, 16, Malak                           

Shaine Hawke, 13, Stuart Park

Taylor Fishlock, 18, Katherine                    

Rebekah Ainslie, 16, Darwin

Kimberly Harding, 16 Darwin                      

Jason Woodward, 15, Palmerston

Gabrielle Wright, 16, Palmerston             

Jianynne Anastacio, 16, Katherine

Tevita Moala, 16, Darwin                             

Kane Bishop, 15, Darwin

Veronica Maxwell, 17, Palmerston          

Jessica Pickworth, 18, Litchfield Park

Leighton Kay-Mick, 13, Karama                 

Katheryn Pickworth, 18, Stuart Park

John Micairan, 18 Palmerston & Flyod McDonald, 18, Karama

Sam & Jack Weaver, 17 & 14, Wagaman

 

For more on each of the performers visit facebook.com/MissionAust.

 

Desert water plan to save water in Alice Springs

The desert town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory will soon lead the way in water conservation.
Alice residents are being urged to cut water use through a $15 million plan that aims to drive smarter, more efficient use of water in homes, businesses, parks and gardens.

The Alice Water Plan project involves education, audits and infrastructure development to cut water use by 1600 million litres per year.

The Alice Water Plan consortium, led by Power and Water Corporation, comprises Arid Lands Environment Centre, COOLMob, Alice Springs Town Council, Tourism NT and the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport (NRETAS).

Power and Water Corporation project sponsor Alan Whyte said the aim is to harness the environmental consciousness already shown by Alice Springs residents through Alice Solar City.

“The people of Alice Springs have already shown they are energy champions. We now want to add water to their environmental efforts,” Mr Whyte said.

“Reducing our water consumption through small achievable measures will help conserve this precious resource and allow our town to grow in a sustainable manner.”

The program will increase water recycling, provide additional rebates and retrofits for customers and encourage the installation of smart water meters to allow Alice residents to monitor their water use.

Funding of $7.5 million was provided by the Australian Government’s long-term Water for the Future initiative, through National Water Security Plan for Cities and Towns.

This was matched by the NT Government through Power and Water Corporation and additional funding from Tourism NT, $100 000, Alice Springs Town Council $ 300 000 and NRETAS.

The $15 million project has been put together by the consortium and includes:

• Water audits for homes and businesses

• Smart meters that help people understand their own water use and make changes

• An $8.5 million infrastructure project that would allow some large water users to use recycled water

• A $2 million project to regulate water pressure and reduce leaks

• A $1.2 million project to reduce water use in parks and gardens using smart technologies, and

• A program to reduce water use in hotels and other tourist accommodation.

The project is expected to be officially launched in May.

Top End talent hunt begins

Top End talent hunt begins

The hunt for the Top End’s best young talent will get underway today with the heats of Mission Australia’s Urban Quest.

Urban Quest kicks off at schools across Palmerston and Tiwi Islands at 3:30pm for artists under 19 years across vocal, street, rap and beatboxing categories. 

The competition will raise much needed funds for Mission Australia to develop accommodation for homeless young Territorians.

The heats are the first step for contestants vying for a spot in the Urban Quest Finals Concert, which opens National Youth Week in Darwin.

Australian pop idols Mark Holden and Deni Hines will team up with local celebrity radio host Amanda Pernechele to judge the Finals Concert on 2 April at the Darwin Entertainment Centre.  

Ten acts will go through to the finals concert and experience a workshop with Holden ahead of the big night. 

The concert includes a guest performance by Deni Hines and local hip hop group DT3.

Competition details:

·         9 March heats at Tiwi Island College, Sanderson Middle School, Palmerston Library at 3:30pm

·         10 March heats at CDU Training Centre, Katherine at 3:30pm

·         11 March heats at Maningrida Community

·         19 March heats at Malak Theatre, Palmerston Library and Browns Mart Theatre at 2pm

·         29 March semi finals at Casuarina Square at 3:30pm

·         2 April Urban Quest Finals Concert at Darwin Entertainment Centre at 7pm

For more information, entry forms or to donate visit www.missionaustralia.com.au or facebook.com/missionaust.  

 

2000 Energy Audits to mark Alice Solar City birthday

Two thousand homeowners in Alice Springs have now undertaken a home energy audit, just as Alice Solar City celebrates its third birthday tomorrow.


Senior auditor with Alice Solar City, Lyndon Hodges, recently completed the 2000th energy audit in an uncanny coincidence as the project turns three.

“Alice Springs residents and business owners should be recognised and congratulated for their contribution to reducing the town’s energy use over the past three years”, says Brian Elmer, General Manager of Alice Solar City.

Since the project’s launch in March 2008, just over 2000 local residents and over 100 local businesses have joined the program, each receiving an energy audit, tailored advice and access to financial incentives to reduce their consumption and lower their bills.

Over 400 solar power systems have been installed on homes and businesses, and almost 600 solar hot water systems have been installed.

Just under $5 million in funding has been provided to homes and business to assist with the cost of installation measures to cut down their energy use.

“With Alice Solar City reaching the half way point of its scheduled life, our particular focus for 2011 will be on working with our existing residential and commercial participants to assess what actual savings and changes in behaviour they have been able to achieve”, said Brian Elmer.

“As part of that process, we will shortly be offering follow-up audits for our customers, which will help them to better understand their energy consumption patterns and find out other ways to reduce their bills.”

“By the end of the project we will have a good understanding of just how much energy the town has saved.”

Also completed as part of the Solar City project are two large iconic projects at Crowne Plaza and Alice Springs Airport, with two more underway at the new Alice Springs Aquatic Centre and the Uterne Solar Farm on the southern outskirts of town.

For media enquiries please contact Laurelle Halford from Creative Territory on 0417 222 211 or (08) 8952 9412 or laurelle@creativeterritory.com


About Alice Solar City: The Alice Springs Solar City Consortium is led by the Alice Springs Town Council and includes broad community support from the Northern Territory Government, Power and Water Corporation, Tangentyere Council, the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce, the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre and the Arid Lands Environment Centre. Funding sources include the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government, Power and Water Corporation, and Alice Springs Town Council.

Singers will battle to help the homeless

Mark Holden and Deni Hines will touch down in the Top End in a bid to get a roof over homeless young people’s heads in Darwin and Palmerston.

The Australian pop idols will be in town to guest judge Mission Australia’s Urban Quest, a fundraising talent competition that aims to increase awareness about local youth homelessness. 

Holden and Hines will team up with local celebrity radio host Amanda Pernechele to judge the finals concert on 2 April at the Darwin Entertainment Centre.  

Mission Australia Operations Manager Brad McIver said the event will address an emerging problem in Darwin and Palmerston.

“The majority of young homeless people are fending for themselves and sleep out in improvised dwellings or shack in with friends, acquaintances and really anywhere they can,” Mr McIver said.

“Urban Quest will help generate funds to support the development of accommodation for them through event participation, public donation and finals concert tickets.”

In the Territory, up to 5000 people are homeless and more than one quarter are young people aged between 12 and 18 years.

Urban Quest is open to solo acts and groups aged between 10 and 19 years across vocal, street, rap and beatboxing categories. 

Heats will be held at schools in Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and the Tiwi Islands with Mark Holden to judge the semi finals at Casuarina Square on 29 March.

Ten acts will go through to the finals concert and experience a workshop with Holden ahead of the big night at the Darwin Entertainment Centre on 2 April. 

The concert opens National Youth Week in Darwin and includes a guest performance by Deni Hines.

Competition details:

·         Entry closes 1 March

·         Heats at Tiwi Island College on 9 March

Maningrida Community 11 March

Darwin High School, Sanderson Middle School, Palmerston Library and Katherine High School on 9 March at 3:30pm

Malak Theatre, Palmerston Library and Browns Mart Theatre on 19 March at 2pm

·         Semi finals at Casuarina Square on 29 March  at 3:30pm

·         Urban Quest finals concert at Darwin Entertainment Centre on 2 April at 7pm

For more information, entry forms and to donate visit www.missionaustralia.com.au or facebook.com/missionaust.

 

Darwin Symphony Orchestra launches into 2011

The great masters, Australian composers and pop rock are just some of the treats Darwin Symphony Orchestra will be offering in its push to entice the broader community to sample its musical delicacies in 2011.


DSO Chief Conductor, Dr Leif Sundstrup says that the 2011 program promises to deliver a vibrant and engaging program which will resonate with audiences across the Territory.

“We would love all Territorians to be part of the DSO experience. Be it the ‘classics’ of orchestral repertoire, creative collaborations between the orchestra and local artists or our first ever pop rock concert. We will open the wonders of our musical mastery to the broader Territory community,” said Dr Sundstrup.

DSO Chairman, Kevin Davis AM said he is equally excited about the DSO season.

“It is wonderful to see the DSO performing another free outdoor concert in the Amphitheatre. In 2006, the DSO performed with the Australian Ballet to over 9,000 people.”

“The orchestra will also tour to Alice Springs in September, stage a number of fun and affordable family concerts and the much loved Masters Series of classical works,” Mr Davis said.

The DSO is comprised of more than 60 volunteer players, a professional concertmaster and other principal players. The pro-am community orchestra is recognised for taking its music to isolated communities in the Territory which rarely have the opportunity to experience a live symphony orchestra as well regular concert appearances in Darwin.

“This year’s program has been developed to connect with our audiences and challenge our musicians. All Australian works have been carefully selected or commissioned with both the orchestral musicians and community audiences in mind.”

“We want to nurture the relationship between local and remote audiences and Australian composers. All Master Series performances, Darwin Festival collaborations and our NT tour will include works written by Australian composers. We want to offer something for everyone,” said Dr Sundstrup.

The DSO 2011 program is available at www.dso.org.au

The Northern Territory’s iconic Darwin Symphony Orchestra will launch its 2011 program this afternoon at 5.30pm at a function hosted by the Minister for the Arts, Gerry McCarthy at Parliament House.

Media enquiries:
Jeannette Button 8941 9169

Local TIO staff and consultants assessing cyclone damage

TIO has deployed a team of local staff and consultants to help assess cyclone and flood damage from Cyclone Carlos.


CEO Richard Harding said extra help has been brought in from local experts to field the large number of potential claims.

“It’s important that we get people to the damage spots as quickly as possible, but it’s even more important that people secure their homes and belongings,” Mr Harding said.

“People will not be jeopardising their insurance cover if they take action to protect their homes and safety before assessors can get to them.

“We’ve had a large number of calls from customers, so we are asking people to be patient as we quickly work through all claims.”

To 3pm today about 200 claims have been lodged for damage valued at around $1 million, but it is still early days. Most claims have been for damage to buildings and contents while a small number have been for vehicles.

"We know a number of customers have had flood damage and I want to assure them that their TIO policy does cover them,” Mr Harding said.

“At TIO flood cover means flood cover.”

This is the text of a media release from TIO
For further information please contact:
Chris Thiel Head of Corporate Relations,
Telephone: 8946 2651, Mobile: 0407216650

TIO Working to Assess Cyclone and Flood Damage

Media release from TIO

TIO assessors are working in the community to assess claims as ex-Cyclone Carlos moves away from Darwin.

Chief Executive Richard Harding said the full picture on damage is not yet clear as calls continue to come into the claims centre.

"We've obviously had a high volume of calls, so we are asking our customers to be patient as we work through the claims," he said.

"The good news is that we have not seen widespread severe damage to personal property across the city and rural areas.

“As at 11am this morning, we have received around 140 claims at an estimated value of $700 000, but it is still early days and we expect to hear from more customers.

“Around 95 per cent of the claims have been for damage to building and contents, with the remaining being for vehicle damage.

"We know a number of customers have had flood damage and I want to assure them that their TIO policy does cover them. At TIO flood cover means flood cover.

"We have also seen some damage to cars and other property from fallen trees as well as water damage.

hope to have more information later today about the number of claims and the extent of the damage."

For further information please contact:
Chris Thiel Head of Corporate Relations
Telephone: 8946 2651
Mobile: 0407216650

Follow Cyclone Carlos Progress With Us

Creative Territory is making it easier for clients and friends to find out what is happening in Darwin as Tropical Cyclone Carlos lashes our city and its surrounds.

Our home page features a live feed of Twitter posts about the cyclone while are consultants have been busy twittering their own experiences of the cyclone.

We also established the hashtag #NTcyclones2011 to help sort through the twitter feed, which was the leading source for information leading up to the naming of the cyclone this morning.

Our team has been out and about taking photos and gathering stories from people around the city, and we'll post them here as they become available.

To follow our coverage of Cyclone Carlos, visit our website. 

Creative Territory specialises is crisis and recovery communication. As well as providing strategic counsel to executives in times of crisis, we undertake crisis planning for organisations and have developed a a crisis communication training package featuring real scenarios on iPad consoles.

Read more about our workshop and how to book in for one here.

TIO says Top Enders should prepare for cyclone threat

Territorians have been reminded that it is too late to buy or update insurance policies for the current cyclone threat, but it is not too late to take other precautions.

TIO General Manager Insurance Michael Hoare said most insurers required cover or policy changes to be in place at least 72 hours before an extreme weather event.

Mr Hoare said TIO’s call centre had been busy with calls from people in the Top End looking to update their cover.

“Unfortunately, we are not able to do so for this event, although people have been taking the opportunity to update their cover for future events,” Mr Hoare said.

“Customers are also seeking reassurance that they are covered for cyclone, flood and storm surge. In the case of TIO, they are automatically covered but people insured elsewhere should check their policies carefully.”

Mr Hoare advised Territorians to prepare their homes and families by:

• Having a personal disaster plan for their family, including where to go and what to do in the case of storm surge or flooding
• Preparing an emergency kit with portable radio, fresh batteries, nonperishable food, water and enclosed footwear. Don’t forget special medical or baby needs.
• Secure loose items and plan how to protect personal belongings, photographs and documents.
• Care for friends and neighbours.

For further information please contact:

Chris Thiel, TIO Head of Corporate Relations

Telephone: 8946 2651 Mobile: 0407216650