Pop icon to launch Private Pop exhibition

International singer-songwriter, Leo Sayer will launch an exhibition of prints and ephemera from the sixties and seventies in Darwin this week.

The exhibition showcases the personal art collection of locally-based artist Geoff Todd and includes prints by Andy Warhol and Sydney Nolan, an original painting that became a Leo Sayer Album Cover 'Just a Boy', pop memorabilia and his own works.

The catalogue for the “Private Pop” exhibition is based around a discussion recorded in Bali between Geoff Todd and Leo Sayer Leo about art, fans and idols and living through the sixties to the eighties with "art awareness".

Having met in 2006, the two artists now consider themselves to be close friends who share an intellectual connection and understanding of what art is about.

Todd says that he and Sayer were similarly art trained, the same age and seemed to share the same interests over their lives, “we seemed to connect”.

“Together we have worked on lots of things and shared ideas and compared life notes and influences. One of the outcomes has been the exhibition "Private Pop" which happily has found its way to Darwin.”

The collection is not for sale however the limited edition collectors book can be bought and signed by Sayer and Todd.

“Private Pop” will be on exhibition until 31 May at the Vault Gallery, 51 Smith Street from 10am - 4pm weekdays.

Soulful seventeen year old takes out Urban Quest title

Seventeen year old Gabby Wright has won the 2012 Mission Australia Urban Quest youth talent competition.

Gabby stole the show with a soulful rendition of Adele’s “Make you feel my love”. The Palmerston student has been singing since the age of five and plans to pursue a career in music after finishing year twelve.

Urban Quest judges Mark Holden, Deni Hines and Paul Costa were captivated by the talent of all of the young contestants at the Sunday night grand final.

Mark Holden awarded his famous “touchdown” to four of the performers, while Deni and Paul created their own special “touchdown” for ten year old rap sensation Monique Chong of Alice Springs.

Mission Australia Operations Manager Jillian Smith said she was amazed with the wealth of talent they had discovered through the Urban Quest program.

“This has been a wonderful opportunity for Mission Australia to work with young people in Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and Alice Springs and help them achieve their potential. Be it the heats, mentoring sessions or the finals, they have all had a chance to put themselves forward and grow through the experience.”

In what was a truly hard job for the judges, second place was awarded to Monique Chong for “Hit ‘em high” and third went to 14 year old Shiane Hawke with a heartfelt performance of Whitney Houston’s “I will always love you”.

This is the second year Mission Australia has run the Urban Quest competition. Winners receive $1000 from Bendigo Community Bank Nightcliff for first place, and $250 and $150 from Amity Community Services for second and third.

During the Urban Quest events Mission Australia also raised funds towards a program against Cyber Bullying, with all donations collected at the finals going towards the two-week self-esteem program.

Urban Quest is proudly supported by Quest Serviced Apartments Parap, Argus Apartments Darwin, Bendigo Community Bank Nightcliff, Amity Community Services, Independent Grocers, Coca Cola, Local hirers subsidy, Dream Media, Casuarina Square and the Darwin Entertainment Centre.

For more information on Urban Quest go to www.missionaustralia.com or http://www.facebook.com/#!/MissionAust

Judges make tough call on Urban Quest finalists

For two years running the judges of Mission Australia's Urban Quest have been faced with the near impossible task of choosing the Top End finalists for the youth talent competition.
Once again breaking the rules, they have selected nine finalists instead of the required eight.
Performances at the Casuarina Square semi finals last night displayed a wealth of talent, creativity and inspiration. Songs performed included classic numbers from the stage and theatre, country ballads, soul, pop and original rap tunes.
The Urban Quest Top End finalists will be joined by Alice Springs finalists at the Darwin Entertainment Centre this Sunday night as the young performers strive for the 2012 Urban Quest title and $1000 prize money from Bendigo Bank.

Sunday night's finalists are:

First Name	Last Name	Age	School
Andrea	Carvolth	17	Darwin High School
Brandon	Folino-Driver	15	Darwin High School
Charlee	Mullins	13	Taminmin College
Gabby	Wright	17	Palmerston Senior College
Jayde	Schluter	15	Darwin High School
Jenaya	Allen	13	St Phillips College
Karina	Williams	16	Darwin High School
Kaiyah	Chadwick	12
Monique	Chong	10	Ross Park Primary School
Shiane	Hawke	14	Dripstone Middle School
VJ	Bumanlag	16	Marrara Christian College

Urban Quest is judged by Australian  by Australian music idols Mark Holden, Deni Hines and Paul Costa. Deni, Paul and last year’s Urban Quest winner, Tevita Moala, will also perform at Sunday’s finals.
The singing competition celebrates young talent, music and community and aims to help young Territorians build self-­‐esteem and confidence.
The event is proudly supported by Bendigo Bank, Amity, Argus Apartments Darwin, Quest Serviced Apartments Parap, Independent Grocers and Coca Cola.
The Urban Quest Finals will be held at the Darwin Entertainment Centre at 7pm, tickets are available from the box office.

6 Facebook tips to protect your reputation

By Tracy Jones

Facebook can be a booby trap for people in the public eye. And you don’t have to be famous to get caught out. I’ve seen public servants, senior executives, front-line staff and company representatives all find themselves in hot water with a simple slip of the mouse.

1.       Check your security settings regularly. Facebook is constantly changing its security settings. You need to stay on top of what you are and are not allowing others to see. Pay particular attention to the Timeline and Tagging settings, which control the level of privacy on what others are saying about you.

2.       Ditch the funny profile photo. I know of a case where two men were killed in a tragic accident. The media sourced photos of them from their Facebook profiles and plastered them all over the news – one posing in his uniform and the other obviously taken during a long Sunday-afternoon session with the boys.

3.       Be careful what you Like. Yep. That new Facebook page “I think the Government sucks and should be thrown out at the next election” was really funny. It’s just a shame you’re a public servant and your boss doesn’t agree. You might also want to think twice before Liking “I’m not an alcoholic – I’m Australian” or “If I could punch you without getting in trouble, believe me, I would”.

4.     Keep track of your friends. Remember your second cousin’s ex-girlfriend who befriended you on Facebook a few years back? She now works as a journalist for the local newspaper.

5.     Your friends have other friends. It’s a great lark when you and your friends share a “private” joke about what you got up to on the weekend. Just be aware that they have other friends who may not see the funny side. You particularly need to watch for this one if you missed point number 1.

6.     Don’t drink and drive. Don’t drive a car, a keyboard or a mouse.

Local contractors ready to take on construction of Meat Processing Project

A trade night in Darwin this week attracted more than 100 people looking to win work at Australian Agricultural Company’s (AAco) proposed meat processing facility at Livingstone Valley.

AAco General Manager Northern Australia Beef Stewart Cruden said the information night was the opportunity for local contractors to register their interest to work on the project, which is going through final approvals and Government Funding Requirements .

Around 60 companies registered for potential work on the project in a range of trades and services including building, fencing, roading, electrical, concrete, panel installation, sheet metal work, engineering, painting, landscaping and plumbing.

Mr Cruden said he was happy with the level of interest from local suppliers.

“It was evidence that local contractors have the capacity to deliver this project for Territorians,” Mr Cruden said.

“They are looking for projects to work on now and ready to meet the challenge. Some of them can’t afford to wait for other major projects to come on line.”

AAco has submitted planning and environmental approvals with the Northern Territory Government for the project, which will provide jobs for 230 people during construction and 270 once operational.

It is also seeking Government support to bring forward investment in off-site infrastructure services including roading, port, power, gas and water.ustralian Agricultural Company’s (AAco) proposed meat processing facility at Livingstone Valley.

Sherwin Iron welcomes certainty from Limmen National Park announcement

Sherwin Iron Executive Chairman Barry Coulter has welcomed the Northern Territory Government’s decision on the establishment of the Limmen National Park in the Roper River region.

“We welcome the certainty this decision brings to our operations in the area,” Mr Coulter said.

“Sherwin has a number of smaller tenements within the Park boundary and we understand these will require a higher level of scrutiny should we proceed to develop these in the future.

“In the meantime this decision gives us the confidence to take our exciting project forward.”

Sherwin Iron is exploring and developing the Roper River Iron Ore Project, which covers 4000 sq km, 500km south east of Darwin. The project has a current resource of 488 million tonnes.

twittercue: Sherwin Iron welcomes certainty from Limmen National Park announcement http://bit.ly/yUiaqW

Territory talent hunt begins in Central Australia

Young singers will have the chance to win a weeks’ mentoring with Australian pop idol Mark Holden in Darwin when Mission Australia’s Urban Quest gets underway tomorrow.

The hunt for the Territory’s best young talent kicks off at the Youth Hub in Alice followed by heats in Darwin and Katherine over the coming weeks.

The competition, which aims to help young people build self esteem and confidence, is open to singers, rappers, beatboxers and groups under 19 years. 

Now in its second year, it’s the first time Urban Quest will be held in Alice Springs.  

Two acts from an Alice Springs semi final, to be held in March, will go through to the Urban Quest finals concert in Darwin during April.

Flights and accommodation will be provided for the winning acts with mentoring provided by Mark Holden in the week leading up to the big night.

The former Australian Idol judge and ‘touchdown’ king will then team up with Deni Hines and Mission Australia Ambassador and country singer Paul Costa to judge the finals concert on 15 April at the Darwin Entertainment Centre.  

The ten Urban Quest finalists will each perform their best song on the night to win cash and prizes.

The finals concert also includes a guest performance by Deni Hines and 2011 Urban Quest winner Tevita Moala.

Competition details:

24 Feb                   Alice Springs heats, Youth Hub, 10am

25 Feb                   Alice Springs heats, Youth Hub, 9am

10 March               Alice Springs semi finals, Youth Hub, 4pm

Urban Quest finals concert at Darwin Entertainment Centre on 15 April at 7pm

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

Darwin still preferred option for AAco abattoir

Following the release today of a feasibility study into a proposed new abattoir in North West Queensland, AAco Managing Director David Farley said his company remained committed to their proposed new meat processing facility near Darwin.


Mr Farley said Darwin remains the preferred option for AAco at this time for several reasons including location – just 50km from an international seaport for exporting meat to key Asian markets and close to a major capital city to attract and retain workers and other support services needed for the proposed facility.

“In addition, the Darwin proposal also offers very significant savings in cattle transport, animal welfare and carbon benefits.”

“AAco has been actively pursuing the Darwin option and is currently working through the public environmental assessment and development application process with the Territory Government and other stakeholders.”

“AAco has also received assurances of support from both the Territory and Federal Governments but are still awaiting formal public funding commitments for the essential public infrastructure required, including power, water and gas connections to the site as well as road, rail and port upgrades.”

Mr Farley said the Board of AAco is yet to make its Final Investment Decision on the Darwin abattoir, which is contingent on completing the necessary approvals and securing Territory and Federal Government funding commitments for the key public infrastructure required.

“However, until that final investment decision is made, we would not rule out Cloncurry or other possible options,” he said.

Twitterque: Darwin preferred option for AAco abattoir http://aacont.com.au/?q=news/darwin-preferred-option-aaco-abattoir

Share your cyclone experience with us

How do people access information during severe weather events in the Top End? And has this changed since Cyclone Carlos last year? We’re trying to find out.

Creative Territory is encouraging people to tell us about their experiences during the recent cyclone and floods so we can find the best ways to communicate in the future.

This survey follows a similar one undertaken after Cyclone Carlos battered Darwin in February 2011, flooding properties and bringing down thousands of trees. That survey showed a growing reliance on the internet and social media as a means of accessing information. (You can see the results from that survey here)

This survey will help us understand if the trend has continued.

You can access this new survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z9DQN7Z

We will publish the results of the survey along with an analysis of how information access has changed since Cyclone Carlos in February 2011 based on the survey we conducted then.

NT Facebook membership up 20% in six months

Facebook membership across the Territory has grown by more than 20 per cent over the past six months, according to the latest statistics compiled by Creative Territory.

There are now almost 85,000 Facebook users who list the Territory as their home, including 64,860 in Darwin and 12,920 in Alice Springs.

The raw data, drawn from Facebook’s advertising tool, shows more substantial increases in smaller centres such as Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek. However, this is likely to be the result of more accurate data collection as the number of Territorians listed in “unknown” towns as dropped considerably since Creative Territory first started collating this data.

Facebook membership	Jun 11	Sept 11	Dec 11	Six-month Growth %
Total NT	69,620	72,420	84,580	21.49
Darwin	50,240	52,020	64,860	29.10
Alice Springs	10,060	10,260	12,920	28.43
Katherine	2,640	2,780	3,360	27.27
Nhulunbuy	1,280	1,380	1,960	53.13
Tennant Creek	780	880	1,160	48.72

Facebook usage is highest among Territorians in their 20s with almost 30,000 members. But don’t think that Facebook is not an effective means to reach older Territorians – there are still more than 10,000 Territorian members aged over 50.

While both men and women use Facebook at around the same rate while they are younger, women are more likely to be members as they age.

While LinkedIn continues to enjoy stronger growth than Facebook in the Territory, it has a long way to go before it catches up. At 31 December it boasted 11,091 Territorian members, about one-eighth the following.

LinkedIn Membership	Jun 11	Sep 11	Dec 11	Six-month Growth %
All major centres	8,177	9,494	11,091	35.64
Darwin	6,219	7,214	8,254	32.72
Alice Springs	1,344	1617	1845	37.28
Katherine	252	308	367	45.63
Nhulunbuy	462	555	625	35.28