T I W I T I M E S

T i w i I s l a n d s T r a i n i n g a n d E m p l o y m e n t B o a r d

Quote

of the

Month

“ The greatest

pleasure in life is

doing what people

say you can’t do”

36 New Tiwi Apprentices for the Tiwi Islands

Feral Pig Control

2

Tiwi Land Council

Private School 3

Fishing Tour

Operators

3

14 Forestry

Apprentices

4

Port Melville and

Log Exports

4

I n s i d e

T h i s

I s s u e

The Tiwi Islands Training and

Employment Board has negotiated a further

36 apprenticeship positions with the

Department of Employment and Workplace

Relations. This will enable our

apprenticeship training to continue. The

approval of this new contract means that

TITEB will receive funding from the

Commonwealth Government to top up

wages for apprentices for the next 3 years.

The contract will commence on the 1st

July. All apprentices who complete level 3

courses will be employed on award wages

and will shift off CDEP.

Apprentices will be trained in: Automotive

at Pirlangimpi and Milikapiti, Business at

Milikapiti, Nguiu and Pirlangimpi, Retail

Baking at Pirlangimpi, Forestry at

Milikapiti and Pirlangimpi, Essential

Services Operations at Nguiu and

Milikapiti, Sport and Recreation at Nguiu,

Milikapiti and Pirlangimpi. All of the

apprentices will be trained using both on

and off the job training methods. All

apprentices will be trained by TITEB apart

from Sport and Recreation, Batchelor

Institute and Baking, Charles Darwin

University. Training will be supplemented

by the apprentice’s workplace supervisor

and a mentor. The Tiwi times will feature

a regular article on the apprentices progress

for the rest of the year. Three of the

business apprentices feature in this edition.

Maxine Kerinaiua works in the CDEP

office at Nguiu. Maxine will study the

Certificate III in Business. Kerry Argent is

Maxine’s immediate supervisor.

Robert Scrymgour is the Nguiu CDEP

coordinator. Robert will be studying the

Certificate III in Business with electives in

front line management. This program is

more in line with his position. Kerry

Argent is also Robert’s immediate

supervisor.

Bonaventure Timaepatua works in the

office administration area of Tiwi Design at

Nguiu and is new to the training program.

BJ is looking forward to his training and

his aim is to assist in the management of

Tiwi Design and when qualified assume a

higher position within the organisation. BJ,

as a new student will be studying

Certificate III in Business. Ms Caroline

Hunter is BJ’s immediate supervisor.

D e s i g n a n d P u b l i c a t i o n © 2 0 0 3 T i w i I s l a n d s T r a i n i n g & E m p l o y m e n t B o a r d

June 2004

Tiwi Land Council Environment News

Page 2

June 2004 Tiwi Times

Feral Pig Control On Melville Island Last year we reported the confirmed sighting of

feral pigs at Rangini on Melville Island. This was

very disappointing news because Melville Island

had always been free of feral pigs. And we know

the problems that feral pigs cause – from eating

native food such as turtle eggs to destroying

swamps and causing soil erosion. Although pigs

can be good eating, they can also carry diseases

that affect humans, and the meat must be cooked

really well to be safe.

Because of the problems pigs can cause, land-

owners agreed last year that we should try to get

rid of them from Melville Island. Since then we

have been working with Parks and Wildlife to

develop a pig control programme for Rangini ar-

ea.

It was decided that the safest way to do this was

by trapping. Trapping involves setting up steel

mesh traps in areas where the pigs move around.

Feed is placed in the traps, and when the pigs

come in to take the feed, a gate closes

behind them. The pigs can then be shot in the

trap.

Marine Ranger Jack Long and Mick Burns

from Pirlangimpi CMB have been working to

open up tracks into the Rangini area so that

the traps can be put in, and Patrick

Puruntatameri went up in a helicopter with

Parks and Wildlife to work out where to put

the traps. Parks and Wildlife have ordered

the mesh to make the traps, and they will be

put in later this year in consultation with Pat-

rick and Pirlangimpi residents.

Once the traps are put in they need to be

checked every day, so it is going to be a busy

time. The traps may also need to be kept in

place for several years, otherwise any pigs

that are missed will just breed up again. We

hope, however, that this project will eventual-

ly protect Rangini and the rest of Melville

Island from the damaging impacts of feral

pigs.

Page 3

June 2004

Tiwi Land Council Private School

Tiwi Times

The Tiwi Landowners determina-

tion to build a private boarding

School has been endorsed by the

Tiwi Land Council at its June

meeting. The Tiwi Land Council

approved the proposal from one of

the foremost educators in Australia,

who has undertaken similar studies

before and who is now managing

special education nationally, to

conduct a “Feasibility Study for the

establishment of a Private School

on Tiwi Land.”

The final report should be available

for presentation to the Tiwi Land

Council by 1st October 2004. It will

be expensive as only the best peo-

ple will be engaged in conducting

the study. It will provide the Tiwi

people with a clear understanding

of what can and cannot be done

educationally for their future lead-

ers and generation.

The Tiwi Land Council has agreed

to spend money from the forestry

project on education at the request

of the Tiwi Leaders. This has been

supported by the people as a whole.

The idea of a Tiwi private boarding

school is receiving good support in

many quarters, particularly from

the Commonwealth Department of

Education Science and Training.

Fishing Tour Operators

Frederick Mungatopi, Chairman of the Tiwi Land Council, has written to the Minister for Fisheries calling for

constraints to be placed on Fishing Tour Operators. These people are entering Tiwi rivers without permission

from the Land Council or the land owners.

The Tiwi believe that rivers and other waters on their islands belong to them the same as the land belongs to them.

It is felt very strongly by the Tiwi people that Fishing Tour Operators must at least obtain approval from the Land

Council before entering Tiwi rivers.

The Chairman has also written to the officer in charge of the island based police. He has requested that the police

assist in ensuring that only the designated locations are used for camping by approved visitors. Too often the

rangers are finding people camping in spots other than those approved and cannot contact island police to have

them removed or charged.

The Arafura Pearl which will soon be operating between Darwin and Nguiu on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

June 2004 Tiwi Times

Page 4

14 Forestry Apprentices Tiwi Islands Training

& Employment Board

Lot 2162 Armidale Street

Stuart Park NT 0820

Phone: 89415988

Fax: 89410778

Email: tiwitimes@titeb.com

Website address:

www.octa4.net.au/titeb/

Tiwi

Times

Circulating throughout Melville

and Bathurst Islands which

include the Communities of

Pirlangimpi, Milikapiti, Nguiu

& Wurankuwu

The Tiwi Islands Training and

Employment Board has negotiated

a new contract to employ 14

apprentices on the Forestry project.

TITEB and Sylvatech assisted by

the Tiwi Land Council have agreed

that the apprentices will be

employed by Sylvatech and be

placed on the Sylvatech payroll.

This program has the support of

both the Federal and Territory

governments with wages and

mentor support being funded by the

Department of Employment and

Workplace Relations and the

training being funded by the NT

Department of Education

Employment and Training.

It is envisaged that they will be

transported to and from Garden

Point and Milikapiti each day until

it becomes possible for them to be

accommodated at the Maxwell

Creek camp.

At the request of the Tiwi Land

Council and community managers,

TITEB and Sylvatech have agreed

to employ Kelvin Stewart as a

mentor to work with the

apprentices. It is hoped that the

engagement of new apprentices, the

continuation of existing apprentices

and the employment of Kelvin

Stewart as mentor, the

apprenticeship program will have

real substance and gain momentum,

not only in the Forestry industry but

in other areas where employment

opportunities exist. Sylvatech will

receive money from CDEP (Via

TILG) and from the NT

Government (via TITEB) to assist

with apprentice and mentor wages.

The Mentor system can have

widespread and beneficial effects

provided that the mentors know and

can work with Tiwi and the Tiwi

know and can work with the

mentors. In Kelvin's case there is

mutual respect and it should work

well. The mentoring roles will

expand to include all

apprenticeships over the next 2

months. In the future it may well

include industries such as trepang,

mud crabs, tropical mushrooms,

fish fertilizer or similar schemes as

opportunities are presented.

Articles For The Tiwi

Times

If you have any articles that you

would like to go into the July Tiwi

Times please email them to us at

tiwitimes@titeb.com

We try our hardest to get your Tiwi

Times out by the end of each month

and it would be appreciated if you

could have your articles to us by

22nd July.

Port Melville and Log Exports

The TLC members visited the new port and were briefed by staff on the

construction and operation of the facility. Despite the difficulties encoun-

tered during the construction, Sylvatech is confident that the first barge will

arrive in the first week of July and 7,000 tonnes of logs will be loaded and

sent overseas.

There is about 26,000 tonnes of logs stockpiled at Port Melville and it is

expected that most of this timber will be sent to South East Asia before

Christmas.

The port will be owned by the Tiwi and leased back to Sylvatech to manage

and operate.