The East Arnhem Regional Development Board (EARDB) recently visited far north Queensland to examine the work of development organisations in the Cape York and Torres Strait regions. Discussions were held with the Torres Strait Regional Authority, the Torres Shire Council, Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships, the Cape York Peninsula Development Association and Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation.
EARDB board members appreciated the opportunity to exchange ideas with their counterparts in north Queensland, a region facing similar challenges in regard to social and economic development. The EARDB is presently formulating a discussion paper for distribution to local communities. This paper aims to generate ideas and proposals to assist in the formulation of a Regional Development Plan. Individual community plans are being developed in conjunction with stakeholder groups and key government agencies.
Local Government bodies in the region have also initiated resource sharing of key services and are developing sub-regional alliances, such as in the Groote Eylandt archipelago and Western Miwatj.
The Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT) is assisting local communities develop appropriate information and accounting systems through a program known as IT Connect. This project has been funded through the Networking the Nation Program and allows for web based access to major council information systems as well as software products to assist in maintaining data and other relevant information.
Hardware and equipment, help desk facilities and data warehousing are also being provided as part of the package.
