Alice Springs becomes first Australian town to adopt voluntary water use guidelines

A new water use Guide, which lists the top six actions to help Alice Springs residents save water will be launched today on World Water Day at a free community breakfast, 7-9am on the Town Council lawns.

The Alice Water Smart Guide is a culmination of local knowledge, the results of almost 1000 professional Water Efficiency Consultations by Alice Water Smart and input and feedback from the Alice Springs community. A volunteer Citizens’ Advisory Panel helped pull it all together.

“It has been developed for locals, by locals”, says Alice Water Smart Homes and Business Manager Liz Locksley.

“The top six actions have been chosen as they will have the biggest impact on water savings, but at the same time, very little impact on the great lifestyle that Alice people have come to love – beautiful gardens, outdoor BBQs and a dip in the pool.”

“The Guide offers advice and ideas for saving water, including choosing the correct irrigation, when and how long to water gardens and different plants types, and how to detect hidden leaks.”

“Implementing the Actions is completely voluntary for residents and businesses, but if they do they will be rewarded at the hip pocket.”

“If we all do just a couple of Actions in the Guide we will be playing our part to make Alice water smart for the long term and helping to make the town’s non-renewable water supply last longer.”

“Five of the six actions focus on gardens and leaks, as this is where more than 75% of water is wasted in homes and businesses. That surprises a lot of people.”

“The Actions describe the way we use water in Alice Springs, and include:

1. Use efficient irrigation and adjust watering times seasonally

2. Water between 8pm-8am

3. Schedule watering

4. Fix leaks quickly

5. Find hidden leaks

6. Encourage others to be water smart
Northern Territory Minister for Land Resource Management and Essential Services, Willem Westra van Holthe said the Alice Water Smart Guide is timely, when residents are looking for ways to reduce their water use.

“It’s great to see the Alice Springs community taking the initiative on this vitally important program,” Mr Westra van Holthe said.
“Water reserves, particularly in the arid zone, are our most precious asset. We all have a part to play in the responsible management of this resource.”

Copies of the Alice Water Smart Guide are available from the Alice Springs Town Council, Power and Water in the Alice Plaza and various sites around town or can be downloaded from www.alicewatersmart.com.au

Alice Water Smart is supported by the Australian Government through the Water for the Future initiative.

Adam Giles new Chief Minister for the Northern Territory

The Country Liberals Party chairman has confirmed Adam Giles as the new Chief Minister for the Northern Territory, becoming the first Aboriginal state or territory leader in Australia.

The following background information on Adam Giles has been confirmed from a number of sources.

Key Points
·        First Aboriginal leader of a State or Territory in Australia
·        Elected to Parliament in 2008 as Member for Braitling
·        Lives in Alice Springs with wife and daughter
·        40 years old

Short Biography
(Source – Country Liberal Party website)

Adam was born in the Blue Mountains, NSW and began his working life in a bakery at the age of 12.

After high school he studied accounting and then real estate, working in property management before moving into public housing management for ATSIC.

He then moved to Canberra to work as a social and economic policy advisor for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. As a member of the NT’s Indigenous Economic Taskforce, Adam travelled and worked throughout the Territory before settling in Alice Springs.

It was after working for the Department of Employment and Workplace relations that Adam became frustrated with Labor’s welfare policy for Indigenous people and decided to run for the Federal seat of Lingiari for the CLP.

He lost but was elected to the Alice Springs seat of Braitling in 2008.

Adam believes in giving back to the community and is committed to securing a more prosperous Alice Springs.

He lives in Alice Springs with his wife, Tamara and has a daughter.

Social Media

·        Twitter: http://twitter.com/adamgiles
·        Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/adam.giles.9693

Batman water treatment program delivers excellent results

Vista Gold Australia announced today that its water treatment program for Mt Todd’s Batman Pit had delivered excellent results with 97% of all metals in the top 15 metres of the water having been taken out.

Brent Murdoch, Vista Gold General Manager said that the in-situ water treatment program had produced an outstanding improvement on the quality of the water in Batman Pit.

“Vista Gold has invested $9 million into this water treatment program. We have added 10,000 tonnes of finely ground limestone and 2,000 tonnes of quicklime to the water and it is paying off.”

“Just as the scientists said it would, the limestone has caused a chemical reaction in the water, increased the pH level and caused the metals to precipitate to the bottom.”

Since October last year the pH level in Batman Pit has increased from an acidic 3.3 to a pH level of 7.5.

Recent reports have raised concerns about the level of cadmium in the water, which Mr Murdoch says is one of the slowest metals to drop out.

“79% of the cadmium has already gone from the top 15 metres, or pumping zone, and we expect it to continue to reduce as the metal responds to the treatment,” he said.

Vista Gold was recently issued a Waste Discharge Licence by the Northern Territory Government for the release of water from the mine site into the Edith River. It has not however, discharged any water from Batman Pit this wet season.

Batman Pit currently holds 10.3 gigalitres of treated water. Vista Gold will only release the water when the quality of the water and the flow of the Edith River meet specific environmental protection levels.

Under the terms of the Waste Discharge Licence, Vista Gold is required to publish water monitoring results on its website when it discharges water. The company has made a commitment to the community beyond this and is already publishing weekly water treatment results on www.mttodd.com.au.

A table showing all of the metal values in Batman Pit is also now available on the website.

“Vista Gold is committed to ensuring that the water in the Edith River meets the Australia Drinking Water Guidelines for Health,” he said. “This is our commitment to the community.”

For more information on the RP3 Water Treatment Metal Reductions go to: http://mttodd.com.au/environment

'WATER RULES' ARE OUT SAYS CITIZENS' ADVISORY PANEL

The Citizens’ Advisory Panel that has been guiding the development of the proposed ‘Community Water Rules’ in Alice Springs has responded to the community’s call to change the name.

The new name for the set of voluntary guidelines is the 'Alice Water Smart Guide'.

The Alice Water Smart Guide will include the top six water use actions to help residents become more water efficient, and will be launched on World Water Day, 22 March, at a community breakfast on the Council lawns, 7-9am.

Panel spokesperson Michelle Cooper said “It was a unanimous decision. The name Alice Water Smart Guide is the right fit with our hopes for this initiative. We heard the community’s call for the working title of ‘Community Water Rules,’ to be changed.”

“Our hope is that it helps Alice Springs residents understand how precious our water is, and how we can all play a part in reducing our water use through small simple actions.” said Michelle.

“We are positive that the outcomes of this Guide will be beneficial to the community particularly given the recent water tariff price rises”.

“We’d like the Guide to inspire new ideas and innovation about water – there’s always room for improvement and more to learn. The Guide will be a living document and we welcome feedback on the content when it is launched.”

To decide on the name and content of the Guide, the Panel considered feedback from public surveys and workshops conducted by Alice Water Smart, as well as from more than 850 Water Efficiency Consultations conducted in Alice Springs homes.

It will be widely distributed to everyone in town, including new residents, through real estate agents, cafes, hotels and as a magnet for everyone’s fridge door.

“We’d even like it included in tours of Alice Springs so visitors learn how we value water here in our desert oasis” says Ms Cooper.

Alice Water Smart is a comprehensive set of projects helping Alice Springs residents to save 1600 million litres of water over two years - equivalent to two months average water supply.

To ‘learn more about the Alice Water Smart Guide visit www.alicewatersmart.com.au

Alice Water Smart is supported by the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative.

Honourable mentions for Creative Territory in CSR Awrds

Creative Territory has received two honourable mentions in PR Daily's Corporate Social Responsibility Awards announced today.

Our work during and after Cyclone Carlos in 2011 was honoured in the categories of Grand Prize CSR Campaign of the Year and CSR on a Shoestring.


Managing director Tracy Jones said it was an honour for the whole Creative Territory team to be selected among the world’s top public relations campaigns for CSR.


Entries come from a wide range of industries and organisations, from multi-national corporations, local governmental agencies and communication companies in industries as broad as energy, finance, entertainment, insurance, mining and healthcare.

PR Daily is a web-based publication read by more than 800,000 communication professionals in every country in the world.

More information is available on PR Daily's website.

Bird's eye study of Alice Springs reveals solar potential

The first ever aerial study of Alice Springs’ solar and energy efficiency status reveals significant renewable energy achievements in the town, as well as opportunities for future policy and planning.

The study revealed the number of substantial buildings, white painted roofs, swimming pools, solar hot water and solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations.

“An analysis of the available space on Alice Springs roofs reveals there is space for around 48 MW of solar PV, even allowing for Power and Water size guidelines”, says Alice Solar City General Manager Sam Latz.

“This represents 33% of Alice Springs energy needs, so there’s lots of potential for rooftop solar yet.”

“However past a certain point, we will need additional investment in the network to support the export of surplus energy from where it’s generated to where it’s needed.”

The research was conducted by CAT Projects as part of a broader study that is investigating the implications of increasing solar power in Alice Springs, and was supported by Alice Solar City and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

 “We have been able to extract information that is useful for future planning, such as the potential space for more rooftop PV installations and potential electricity savings if more energy efficiency measures were undertaken.”

“This sort of bird’s eye view of Alice Springs allows us to see how far we have come, but perhaps more importantly, where we go in the future”, said Mr Latz

“Since Alice Springs became a Solar City in March 2008 the number of solar PV installations has increased from just two, to over 700, with Alice Solar City helping to fund two thirds of the current installed capacity of 4 Megawatts (MW), of which 2.6 MW is on rooftops.”

Also revealed in the study were further opportunities for large-scale electricity savings when looking at the number of solar hot water installations and roof colour.

There are over 4,700 existing solar hot water systems on household roofs, meaning around 55% of dwellings are using the sun for their hot water needs.

“Properly maintained and operated, these have the potential to save households a combined $3M per annum, and 7,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to using electric hot water systems.”

“Installing solar or heat pump hot water systems on the remaining dwellings would save an additional $2.4M per annum and 5,900 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, a saving of 4% of our total annual consumption.”

The study also looked at the number of white roofs in Alice Springs. A white roof reflects more of the sun’s energy, reducing inside temperatures and so reducing the need to run airconditioners as much.

 “We found that white roofs make up 21% of all residential roofs, however there are just as many dark roofs so there is still plenty of opportunity. Further, only 8% of commercial properties have a white roof. Given the high air conditioning loads during the day and limited use of roof insulation in the commercial sector, white roofs for businesses represents a great opportunity for straight forward energy savings.”

If the remaining houses and businesses had their roofs painted white, we would conservatively save a further $0.6M and 1,400 tonnes of emissions per annum.

Households and businesses can still contact Alice Solar City or visit the website for free advice and information on how they can go solar and on other energy efficiency measures.

Commercial program wraps up for Alice Solar City

After more than four and half years, almost 200 free energy surveys and $1.5M of funding support, Alice Solar City’s commercial program is coming to an end.

This coincides with the departure of Commercial Services Manager Craig Hanicek this Friday, who is leaving Alice Springs for a new renewable energy role in the ACT.

Throughout his 18 months in the job, Mr Hanicek provided energy surveys and advice to more than 65 of the 200 or so businesses participating in the program, whose combined energy consumption is equivalent to 4,700 average Alice Springs houses.

"It's been a rewarding experience assisting such a diverse range of operators across the private and public sectors in this incredibly demanding climate” says Mr Hanicek.

“Highlights for me have included the installation of a number of energy efficient technologies not previously trialed in Alice Springs, and helping several businesses go 100% solar with a combination of solar PV and energy efficiency."

The end of the Commercial Program comes four months short of the end of Alice Solar City’s current funding agreements in June 2013.

Customer and business owner of Easy Carwash, Andrew Ballestrin says that Alice Solar City provides a benchmark for what similar energy and water saving programs should be like.

“They made it so easy for us to save on our energy bills. Since installing energy efficient lighting at the carwash we are saving $500 per month, which is especially good in light of the recent power price rise.”

The commercial program launched in May 2008, and since that time it has:

• Attracted 217 customers who together represent over 38% of the Alice Springs commercial sector’s energy consumption.

• Supported a wide range of businesses from small to large, including Easy Carwash and the Crowne Plaza Alice Springs.

• Provided 193 customised energy surveys and funded 5 large-scale energy audits.

• Supported 39 solar PV installs, totalling 411kW of capacity with $1.1M of funding. These systems are generating around 700,000 kWh per annum, saving businesses over $200,000 per annum.

• Provided over $370,000 in funding for energy efficiency measures such as lighting upgrades, white roofs, solar and heat pump hot water, refrigeration upgrades and much more.

• Estimated savings from the supported energy efficiency measures are over 2,300,000 kWh per annum, saving participants $667,000 per annum.

• In total, carbon emission savings are estimated at over 2000 tonnes per annum.

Alice Solar City’s existing commercial customers will continue to receive access to information on their ongoing energy consumption, and businesses can still contact Alice Solar City for localised information on what other programs are available to support them in reducing energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.

Commercial Case studies and a full list of incentive recipients can be found on the Alice Solar City website at www.alicesolarcity.com.au/business-case-studies

Details of the solar PV projects funded by Alice Solar City are also available at www.alicesolarcity.com.au/commercialpv

Affordable house and land sold at Johnston Ridge

The first six ‘affordable house and land packages’ in Johnston Ridge were sold on Friday.

They are the first house and land packages to be sold in the Palmerston suburb, as part of the Northern Territory Government’s Home Buyer Initiative.

The highly sought after packages, priced from $368 000 to $460 000, were released to approved purchasers in the initiative and sold on a first in, first served basis.

Derreck Gepp, who was the first successful purchaser, said it was life changing.

“It was a nervous wait to see if I was one of the lucky six – I did a bit of dance when I found out,” he said.

“Being first meant that I could choose from the lots. It had to fit a boat and quad in it and I liked that Johnston Ridge has decent sized blocks, a good layout and a nice feel with the surrounding bush.”

Urbex General Manager Wayne Rex said the company had worked closely with government and local builders on generating affordable house and land packages.

“Urbex is committed to providing a range of affordable home options for Territorians and seeing them fulfil their dream of home ownership,” Mr Rex said.

“A successful community allows for diversity and we, along with the government and local builders, have worked hard to deliver a range of quality house and land packages at very affordable price points.”

The house and land packages included home designs by Abode New Homes, About Homes NT, Beare Homes, the Bendella Group, Habitat, Kassiou Constructions, Killarney Homes, NIMM Constructions, The Total Group, Tropical Lifestyle Homes and Vanguard Homes.

To be eligible for the initiative, buyers must meet eligibility criteria including income limits and have finance approval in-principle.

Mr Gepp, will build with Vanguard Homes, said he’d done his research over the last three months.

When complete Johnston Ridge will feature 284 mixed lots of single and multiple dwelling homes with single dwelling lots ranging from 607sqm to more than 1900sqm.

More than eight hectares of the suburb is dedicated to parklands and conservation of the natural environment.

Territorians looking to buy land in Johnston Ridge are able to view the scaled model, development plans and the vision for Johnston Ridge at the Urbex Realty, Sales and Information Centre at 18 Cavenagh Street, Darwin.

For further information visit www.johnstonridge.com.au or call Janzey Pratt on 1300 556 950.

For more information on the Home Buyer initiative in the NT visit www.housing.nt.gov.au/.

First homes to be built at Johnston Ridge

Forty Territory families can start construction on their dream homes at Johnston Ridge after their lots of land settled recently.

The homes will be the first built in the new Johnston Ridge development, nestled between Rosebery and the Stuart Highway.

The Northern Territory Government issued titles for the lots in January marking the final step for soon-to-be residents to start construction.

For Casey McDonnell and Kelly Hedger it marks the start of a new chapter in their lives.

“We’ve always wanted to build,” Mr McDonnell said.

“Kelly’s an architect so we’ve designed many dream homes in our heads, drawing ideas from holidays in Asia, and now we can really pursue it with our new block.”

Mr McDonnell and Miss Hedger purchased a 1020 square metre block as part of the Freeman release in May 2012.

The Moulden couple, who plan to start construction in April, were sold on the land sizes at Johnston Ridge and its proximity to the centre of Palmerston and Stuart Highway.

Urbex General Manager Wayne Rex said it’s a momentous step forward for the project.

“Our team has worked diligently to see these 40 Territory families get their titles on time as promised and on the road to building their new homes,” he said.

“It’s a significant milestone for the project, as these families foster the Johnston Ridge community and fulfil our vision of a neighbourhood with flexibility, diversity and room for growth.”

When complete Johnston Ridge will feature 284 mixed lots of single and multiple dwelling homes with single dwelling lots ranging from 607sqm to more than 1900sqm.

More than eight hectares of the suburb is dedicated to parklands and conservation of the natural environment.

Territorians looking to buy land in Johnston Ridge are able to view the scaled model, development plans and the vision for Johnston Ridge at the Urbex Realty, Sales and Information Centre at 18 Cavenagh Street, Darwin.

For further information visit www.johnstonridge.com.au or call Janzey Pratt on 1300 556 950.

A leading Darwin legal practice will officially open its doors in Winnellie today

With a new team in place, the latest technology and a modern office fit out, George Roussos is ready to open his door to the Darwin business community.

Roussos Legal Advisory draws on more than twenty years’ experience and will offer practical and workable solutions to businesses, insurers and government.

Located in Darwin’s industrial suburb of Winnellie, Roussos Legal Advisory offers services in commercial matters, business litigation, dispute management, workers compensation and occupational health and safety.

When asked about his location, George said the answer was simple, “this is business land”.

“Our firm is designed around business and serving business clients. We sought to make a statement by locating among our peers.

“We offer a convenient and flexible service with the cost savings that arise from dealing with someone who understands the customers’ business.

“The Territory market for legal advice is small, but it is still sophisticated and demands the skills and knowledge businesses require everywhere.

“Businesses demand specialised legal advice, they want it quickly and at an affordable cost, the skill comes from being able to deliver that advice commensurate with the legal and business issue at hand,” he said.

George’s experience includes advising and conducting litigation for clients in a number of industries, such as insurance, mining and resources, electricity, construction and property and tourism.

He understands firsthand the pressures, challenges and responsibilities that face executive teams and boards.

As a business manager and owner, George’s perspective and counsel is built along strong legal, commercial, strategic and management lines.

He has served on many committees and business associations, including four years as President of the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce (2007 – 2011).

For a new business, 2013 is looking good. Roussos Legal Advisory has already been selected by Darwin City Council for its legal panel.

George has assembled a quality team, selecting people to work with him for their ability to understand the needs and requirements of business.

The firm has also been involved in some significant legal matters including representing a business in a coronial inquiry involving mining, defending the Northern Territory’s first prosecution of environmental nuisance on a construction site (under the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act) and defending a marine business arising out of an incident in the harbour.

In 2012 the practice was involved in the settlement of one of Australia's largest workers compensation claims.

“We have exceeded expectations and we are grateful for the support our clients have provided us. Establishing strong working relationships is essential to providing business services no matter how big or small that business may be.”