Vista Gold Australia invites local community to have their say

Vista Gold Australia will hold a number of community information sessions regarding the Mt Todd Gold Project, 50 kms north-west of Katherine, starting next week.

Ray Iacono, Managing Director Vista Gold Australia says that the information sessions will enable Vista Gold to update the community on their progress to date and provide opportunities for the public to comment on aspects of the project.

“To date, we have received very positive feedback from the community based on their support for the potential local and regional economic benefits. We encourage the communities of Katherine and Pine Creek to participate in these information sessions so that we have a clear understanding of the issues that are important to them,” Mr Iacono said.

Vista Gold has engaged independent consultant, GHD Pty Ltd, to undertake an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to identify potential environmental, social, transport, accommodation, cultural and economic impacts associated with reopening and operating the gold mine.

“The EIS will recommend ways to reduce or remove potential negative impacts and enhance potential positive impacts from the mine project.”

The community information sessions will be held on:

• Saturday 24 September, 9am – 12 noon, at the Woolworths Shopping centre, Katherine

• Monday 26 September, 6.30pm – 8.30pm, at the Pine Creek Community Hall

• Tuesday 27 September, 7.30am at the Katherine Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast

Since acquiring the Mt Todd project in 2006, Vista Gold has taken an orderly, methodical and conservative approach to determine the future of the site.

In November 2010, The Northern Territory Government renewed its agreement with Vista Gold for the care and maintenance of the site, demonstrating both the Government’s and Vista Gold’s commitment to assessing the feasibility of developing the site.

With an improvement in the gold price, Vista Gold Australia is working towards getting the site back to production, with approvals and permits expected to be in place during 2012.

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Twittercue:

#Vista Gold 2 hold community info sessions in Katherine & Pine Creek re Mt Todd Gold Mine Project #topend  http://www.mttodd.com.au/news

A fresh start for Katherine Youth

Mission Australia is giving young people in Katherine a fresh approach to living healthy with a community garden.

The project aims to reconnect Katherine and surrounding communities’ youth with nature and sustainable food production.

Mission Australia Youth Services Coordinator Ruth Cardier said, “The project provides a positive environment of learning and alternative recreational activities for local youth.

“We created the garden in Mission Australia’s Katherine Office Car Park. We turned a space that was a weed infested wasteland into a vibrant veggie patch.





“There are over 50 youth aged 10 to 16 years who have participated in the project so far. They come in small groups of five to eight a few times a week.”

The community garden started five months ago in collaboration with the Katherine’s Department of Health (DOH) and Katherine High School.

DOH nutritionist Kate Robertson has taught the teenagers in the project ways of living healthy and how to cook food using produce from the garden.

Katherine High School is helping the participants make the step from community garden project to the school’s Horticultural Program by providing space for Mission Australia to extend their program onto the grounds of the High School.

“We are really trying to help more youth re-engage with high school and getting them interested in gardening is just another way,” said Ms Cardier.

“The youth love watering the plants and enjoy planting and eating the garden produce.

“We had our first veggie harvest of eggplants recently, which we cooked up, under the guidance of Kate, in an eggplant and pasta dish.”

Young people in the project are from Katherine, Kalano, Binjari and Rockhole communities.

The Community Garden is growing corn, silverbeet, tomatoes, peas, beans, squash, watermelons, a variety of herbs and lots more.

“We incorporated the ideas from the young people of what they would like us to grow.”

For more information or how to get involved in the project please contact Ruth cardierr@missionaustralia.com.au

@missionaust gives a fresh start to Katherine Youth with a community #garden project http://tiny.cc/sklk4 #topend

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Media Contact: Anita Brabham on 89419169

Photo caption: Rockhole Youth enjoy fruits of Mission Australia’s Community Garden From left to right: Joyce Herbert, Victoria Pamkal, Samantha Brown, Brittany Barroway, Tyronia Miliyan and Nikita Andrews.

Social Media Growth Continues in the NT

Social media participation in the Northern Territory continues to grow, particularly the number of Territorians now connecting via LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has seen a massive 12.4 per cent growth in the two months from 30 June to
31 August, up from 8277 to 9303 members. If this growth rate continues, we could see more than 16,000 members in the NT by this time next year.

Facebook achieved just 3.3 per cent growth over the same period, up from 69,620 members to 71,900.

This growth is mirrored in a recent recruitment campaign we implemented on behalf of a client, which saw a much higher response rate from LinkedIn advertising compared with Facebook.

Twitter remains notoriously difficult to measure but even so appears to have achieved less than 1 per cent growth.

Facebook

Katherine and Batchelor led the growth in Facebook members, up 5.3 and 10.3 per cent respectively. The number of members in Alice Springs actually decreased.

The percentage of population on Facebook is now 32.7 per cent, with a much higher usage in Darwin at 45.2 per cent and Katherine at 46.3 per cent.

	June	July	August
All NT	69,620	70,000	71,900
Darwin	50,240	50,320	51,580
Alice Springs	10,060	10,160	9,840
Katherine	2,640	2,700	2,780
Nhulunbuy	1,280	1,280	1,280
Tennant Creek	780	800	860
Batchelor	NA	NA	60
Other	4,620	4,740	5,560

Source: These statistics were sourced using Facebook’s advertising tool, setting parameters for state and town and includes all age groups. Be aware that while Facebook works hard to understand the true demographics of its users as its advertising model depends on it, it still relies on individual account owners to name their home town. Many users do not.

LinkedIn

Just over 4 per cent of Territorians in major centres are now connected via LinkedIn, with Nhulunbuy continuing to lead the pack with a whopping 12.8 per cent of residents holding an account, up from 11 per cent in June.

	June	July	August
All major centres	8,177	8,768	9,303
Darwin	6,219	6,533	6,923
Alice Springs	1,344	1,415	1513
Katherine	252	269	282
Nhulunbuy	462	486	536
Batchelor	NA	65	49

Source: These figures were prepared by using LinkedIn’s advanced search tool. We searched for accounts within 80km of each major centre in the Northern Territory. Tennant Creek is not shown in this table, as our search did not reveal any users. Again, we need to remember that account holders self-identify their location and research shows a large number of people never visit their profile again after the initial rush of excitement.

Twitter

Twitter remains difficult to measure, and our analysis showed less than 1 per cent growth over the two-month period.

	June	July	August
Estimated users	598*	612	642

Please note we have adjusted our estimate downward for the month of June based on using a more advanced search process through TweetAdder.

New partnership to help Indigenous job seekers check into the hospitality industry

Leading Australian employment service Mission Australia is teaming up with IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) on an innovative new program to help boost Indigenous employment in Australia’s hospitality industry.

Mission Australia Employment Solutions Project Manager Natalie Therese said the new joint Indigenous Employment Program (IEP) aims to help tackle Indigenous unemployment by placing 60 Indigenous job seekers in roles within IHG’s InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels across Australia within the next twelve months.

There are four IHG hotels participating in the Northern Territory: the Holiday Inn Esplanade Darwin, Holiday Inn Darwin, Crowne Plaza Darwin and Crowne Plaza Alice Springs.

The initiative funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations is the first nation-wide IEP partnership Mission Australia has entered into, following the success of a number of local IEPs in individual states.

“This partnership is about opening doors and creating opportunities for Indigenous Australians to get a start in the hospitality industry,” Ms Therese said.

“According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate among Indigenous Australians last year was more than three times higher than that of non-Indigenous Australians.

“Across the country right now, Mission Australia has more than 3,700 Indigenous people registered as active job seekers.

“We see this nation-wide IEP as a step in the right direction towards tackling Indigenous unemployment right across Australia and we’re delighted to be working with one of the world’s leading hotel chains to do so.”

According to IHG chief operating officer Australasia, Bruce McKenzie, the Mission Australia initiative sets an example of the level of commitment required to create more education, employment and career opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

“We set a clear target of ensuring at least three percent of our Australian workforce is made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within three years, when we introduced the hospitality industry’s first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) late last year. Our partnership with Mission Australia will help us make tangible progress toward realising that commitment.

“We know from experience that the real impact in closing the gap in opportunities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians happens at a community level. Working alongside Mission Australia, we’ll be providing sustainable training, education, employment and career opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and their communities across the Country.

“It’s initiatives like this that will make the strongest impact in the ongoing call for sustainable opportunities for indigenous Australians. We can’t wait to get started,” Bruce said.

Ms Therese said Mission Australia will be working with IHG’s hotels to help place the right people in the right roles – targeting both job seekers registered with Mission Australia Employment Solutions services, as well as those who express an interest through their local community.

“Mission Australia will screen potential candidates and provide them with work ready training ahead of an interview with the local hotel,” she said.

“Successful candidates will then be signed up for a traineeship with IHG to achieve a Certificate III in Hospitality Operations, with training to be provided by leading training organisation Untamed Group.

“Mentors will also be assigned to the candidates to help them succeed in their new job and manage the challenges of their traineeship.

“This is about providing lasting employment opportunities for Indigenous job seekers, and helping to build a fairer Australia.”


Mission Australia Employment Solutions’ Nathalie Therese is in the NT until Friday, 9 September and is available for interview.


Mission Australia Employment Solutions is one of Australia’s largest providers of the Federal Government’s Job Services Australia (JSA) program, and in 2010 assisted more than 50,000 Australians into long-term employment.


For further information on the IEP and Mission Australia Employment Solutions, please contact Mission Australia on 13 11 24.



Media Contacts:

Mission Australia: Jeannette Button (08) 8941 9169 or 0407 727 080

IHG: Nicole Campbell (02) 9264 4411 or 0423 965 025

Special week raises literacy and numeracy awareness

This week has been declared National Literacy and Numeracy Week by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.


Scott Wassman, Katherine Regional Service Manager of Mission Australia says the week highlights how central literacy and numeracy is to be successful in everyday life.

“Poor literacy and numeracy skills are one of the many barriers to jobseekers in finding long term employment,” Mr Wassman said.

Mission Australia operates the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program in Katherine. It provides training in speaking, listening, reading and maths to adult students to help them achieve their goals whether it is pathways to sustainable employment, further study or even the skills to obtain their drivers license.

“We currently have over 30 students in Katherine participating in the program” he said.

“The program is individually tailored to each student’s need. We assist them in making a plan that helps them achieve their goals of employment, further education or overcoming other challenges affecting learning outcomes that they may face,” he said.

“For example, we noticed about three weeks ago one of our newest students Moses fiercely squinting in class. We quickly got him a consultation with a local optometrist who fitted him with his first ever prescription glasses”.

Local Member Willem Westra Van Holthe said this type of program was vital to the community.

“Reading and writing are often taken for granted but unfortunately these essential skills are not shared. These skills form the foundation from which so many aspects of our lives are formed,” said Mr Westra Van Holthe.

Mission Australia is one of the national leading providers of support services and training to jobseekers. Nationally Mission Australia has helped 1847 participants through the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program to equip them with the fundamental literacy and numeracy skills they need for life.

The program is available through Mission Australia in New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia and is free to all eligible students.

The initiative is in partnership with Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

Twittercue: @missionaust highlights #Katherine #topend program during National Literacy and Numeracy week http://tiny.cc/8m42x #nlnw2011
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Media Contact: Anita Brabham 89419169

Call for Mt Todd Environmental Impact Statement

Vista Gold Corp. welcomes the release of the Draft Guidelines for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Mt Todd Gold Project.

Company President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr Frederick Earnest said the release of the guidelines was a major milestone in the process of their assessment of the site as a producing gold mine.

“We are encouraged by the potential of the Mt Todd site and are currently conducting a definitive feasibility study to determine if the property can be re-opened.”

The “brownfield” site is located approximately 50km north of Katherine and 250 km south of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. The mine tenement is approximately 160,800ha.

Over the past five years, Vista Gold has taken an orderly, methodical and conservative approach to determine the future of the site.

In November 2010, The Northern Territory Government renewed its agreement with Vista Gold for the care and maintenance of the site, demonstrating both the Government’s and Vista Gold’s commitment to assessing the feasibility of developing the site.

The Northern Territory Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage, Karl Hampton MLA recently determined the requirement for an EIS under the Environmental Assessment Act.

The Draft EIS Guidelines will be available from Saturday, 27 August 2011 for public comment until Monday, 12 September 2011 from:

http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/environment/assessment/register/index.html

Members of the public wishing to gain more information on the site may contact Vista Gold through the Mt Todd project website at mttodd.com.au

“We are working closely with authorities and are committed to managing this site in an environmentally sound manner,” Mr Earnest said.


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Twittercue: Vista #Gold Corp. welcomes release of Draft EIS Guidelines for the Mt Todd Gold Project. #mining #resources #topend http://bit.ly/qahfLD


Media enquiries: Jeannette Button +618 89419169, +61 407 727 080

Mission Australia Employer Awards recognise commitment to local job seekers

Employers in the Palmerston and Casuarina areas are being encouraged to enter Mission Australia Employment Solutions’ inaugural Employer Awards aimed at recognising businesses for their contribution to transforming lives by giving someone a job.

The awards are open to all local employers using Mission Australia Employment Solutions services and who have placed a Mission Australia job seeker in the last 12 months.

Mission Australia Employment Solutions has sites in Palmerston and Casuarina.

The Palmerston and Casuarina area winners will be announced in October and will qualify for the national award to be announced in November. The national winner will be recognised at a gala dinner and will receive a $5000 prize to be used for business development.

Mission Australia Employment Solutions’ spokesperson, Janine Ashmore, said the awards were about recognising businesses that had helped local job seekers overcome unemployment by giving them a start on the path to a permanent career.


“Any employer who gives an unemployed person a chance – particularly someone who’s been out of work for a while – deserves an award,” said Ms Ashmore.

“But some employers have really gone to amazing lengths to give our job seekers a start and we want to recognise those efforts through our 2011 Employer Awards.

“The more significant a contribution to tackling unemployment – the stronger the commitment to helping a job seeker or job seekers turn their lives around – the better chance an employer has of taking away the local prize and going through to the national finals.

“We live in uncertain economic times. The costs of doing business seem to be spiralling upwards. Demonstrating the ability to think long-term and employ local job seekers in order to grow your business and support the community – despite the challenges – takes a lot of commitment. We want to recognise those efforts through our award,” said Ms Ashmore.

To enter the awards, businesses must have used the services of Mission Australia Employment Solutions and placed a Mission Australia job seeker in a position in the last 12 months.

Employers can nominate themselves or be entered by a third party. Applications for the awards can either be obtained from a local Mission Australia Employment Solutions office or via: http://www.employmentsolutions.com.au/. Nominations close Friday, 30 September.

Does ur work use @missionaust #employment solutions and are u in #darNT Enter in the Employer Awards http://tiny.cc/0t6dy #topend

Media contact:

Jeannette Button (08) 8941969 or 0407 727 080

Timor-Leste takes to the skies

The President of Timor-Leste, His Excellency Dr. Jose Ramos Horta, announced today the launch of the island nation’s own international airline Timor Air.

“It gives me the greatest of pleasure to launch our own airline and, with it, the commencement of daily full service international flights between Timor-Leste and Australia,” the President said.

“These flights will fulfil a long-held desire of the Timorese people to have broader travel options and, more importantly, a choice of airlines which now includes our own carrier.”

The Timor Air daily flights will operate between the Timor-Leste capital Dili and Darwin in Australia.

The new airline is the initiative of Jeremias (Jerry) Desousa, a Timorese refugee from Timor-Leste during the civil war of 1975, in collaboration with well-established New Zealand and Australian carrier Vincent Aviation.

The President said that the establishment of the new airline and its contribution to his nation’s economy could not be overstated.

“The benefits to our commerce, trade, industry and indeed, the pride in our social development are immeasurable,” the President said.

“The creation of Timor Air provides national brand recognition vital to the promotion of our position within the international community. It is an all important ingredient in stimulating the development of our economy, society and national identity.”

The administration headquarters of the airline will be based in Dili with Vincent Aviation providing the technical expertise and training to ensure ongoing employment, self-sufficiency and, above all, the development of a viable tourism industry where profits will remain with the East Timorese people.

Timor Air already employs Timorese cabin crew, customer relations and ground staff, and will provide ongoing and expanding training and employment opportunities for Timorese people interested in the aviation and travel sectors.

Timor Air will operate Saab 340 aircraft, with the first service between Darwin and Dili return scheduled for 25th July 2011.

Bookings can be made on the Timor Air and Vincent Aviation websites, through Harvey World Travel and Flight Centre in Australia, or with GSA Sagres Travel in Dili.


Media enquiries: Domonique Young on 8941 9169 or 0433 447 255

Twittercue: #TimorLeste takes to the skies as Pres. Jose Ramos Horta announced the launch of Timor Air in #DarwinNT today http://tiny.cc/4zu10 #topend

Weatherman part of Craft Fair fun

Crafty and creative stallholders will take over the Darwin Waterfront this Friday when it welcomes over 2300 passengers from across the country and New Zealand. The Sun Princess Cruise Passenger Ship will dock at Fort Hill Wharf after travelling from Perth, Bali and the Kimberley Coast.

The Waterfront is holding a Craft Fair that will kick off at 9am along the Wharf 1 podium off Kitchener Drive.

The Fair will display handmade wares of local designers from jewellery, to leather accessories and organic skin care products to children’s clothes.

Television personality Monte Dwyer, The Today Show's ex-weatherman turned author, videographer and musician, will be in on the action too. Dwyer will be offering his range of Red in the Centre travel books and DVDs, which showcase stories and characters from right across the country.

“My books are about the people I meet as I travel the country as a working journalist, from the nutters and nudists to the sinners and saints, and all the usual suspects in-between. 

“I started my television career in Darwin and it's always been supportive of creativity, so I’m delighted to be part of the Craft Fair.”

The Craft Fair will start at 9am on Friday 22 July and wrap up at 2pm.

Twittercue: Craft Fair @Darwinwaterfront Fri 22 July 9am to 2pm. Come explore the creative talents of #Topend #DarwinNT designers and artists

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Media enquiries: Jeannette Button on 89419169

Alice Springs residents urged to save water with new plan

A new water plan urging residents to save water is being launched today for the desert town of Alice Springs.

Alice Water Smart was launched by Senator Don Farrell, Parliamentary Secretary for Urban Water & Sustainability.

The plan aims to reduce Alice Springs’ water use by 1600 million litres per year, equivalent to two months average water supply.

Power and Water Corporation General Manager Water Services Steve McKenzie said the plan is unique to Australia.

"Alice Water Smart is a comprehensive water saving program that gets individuals, homes and businesses to work in tandem to establish a water wise future"

"Everyone, from individuals to big business is being asked to reduce their water."

"Over the last 40 years more than half the volume of the Sydney Harbour (250,000 million litres) has been extracted from the Alice Springs bore field."

"Per household, Alice Springs residents use approximately 1,500 litres per day, which is the equivalent of 166 buckets of water."

"For the future sustainability of our groundwater supply we must preserve our water, and we are asking Alice Springs residents to become more aware of their water use and to develop water wise habits."

"In Alice approximately 65 per cent of household water use goes on to gardens, that is about 1,000 litres per day."

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

The $15 million Alice Water Smart Plan will include projects like home and business water audits, an expanded rebate scheme, smart irrigation for parks and ovals, improved water management and increased recycling, and installation of smart meters to allow homes and businesses to monitor water use, as outlined below:

• Reuse: Existing water reuse infrastructure will receive a $6.5 million upgraded to improve quality and increase quantity of treated wastewater to offset the use of potable water for irrigation, allowing some large water users to use recycled water for irrigation and horticulture.

• Rebates and retrofits: Funding for rebates on water-saving household items will increase from $200,000 to $1.5m. This includes water efficient shower heads, toilets, washing machines, pool covers and efficient garden products.

• Reticulation: Water pressure varies with topographical variability in Alice Springs, this, combined with the desert climatic extremes, places water infrastructure under demand so $2 million will be used to facilitate a system of better pressure management.

• Metering: Smart water meters, which allow customers to monitor their water use and help identify leaks and high water use activities, will be rolled out.

• Parks and ovals: With $1.2 million Alice Springs Town Council will install more of the telemetric irrigation control systems, which monitor weather conditions such as rainfall and humidity to irrigate efficiently. The systems can also detect leaks and shut off supply to the affected line.

• Accommodation: With $210,000 through Tourism NT, accommodation providers will be offered water audits to identify water savings. Visitors to Alice are increasingly motivated by being environmentally aware and responsible. This will aid decision making to visit by those responsible travellers and also improve experience in terms of their environmental footprint.

• Homes and Businesses: A range of household and businesses water audits to provide them with more choice in developing appropriate water saving options.

Funding of $7.5 million is being provided under the National Water Security Plan for Cities and Towns, a key component of the Australian Government’s long-term Water for the Future initiative.

This was matched by Power and Water Corporation with contributions from consortium members.

For more information visit http://www.alicewatersmart.com.au/

Twittercue: @AliceWaterSmart launch today, the new plan urges #alicesprings to save water http://tiny.cc/awslaunch #aws #green

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Media enquiries:

Laurelle Halford from Creative Territory on 0417 222 211 or

Lorraine Hook from Power and Water Corporation on 0401 117 599