Kowanyama Mayor Territa Dick and Weipa Town Authority Chair Jaime Gane used the 2024 Developing Northern Australia Conference in Karratha as an avenue to ensure Cape York and the Torres Strait are not left out of the national Northern Australia conversation: Photo: Supplied.
Two of the region’s council leaders have used the 2024 Developing Northern Australia Conference in Karratha as an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the individual and collective needs of Cape York and Torres Strait communities.
Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Territa Dick and Weipa Town Authority (WTA) Chair Jaime Gane headed to Western Australia for the annual event from 26-28 August representing both their communities and the Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance (TCICA).
Mayor Dick is the chair and Ms Gane the secretary of the advocacy group, which represents all 17 Indigenous local governments in the state, as well as WTA and Cook Shire Council.
Ms Gane said while she believed the region was well represented at the conference, more had to be done to ensure Cape York and Torres Strait were critical pieces in the Northern Australia puzzle.
“It’s important to be able to speak about our communities and the region more broadly at the same time,” she said.
“Cape York was well represented at this conference, which is great because we all back each other, and it reinforces the importance of Cape York in the Northern Australia conversation.
“It feels like the Cape is often an afterthought when people talk about Northern Australia, and that’s why it’s important that we are out there making our presence known at every opportunity.”
Mayor Dick said some of the most significant takeaways from the event for individual communities, especially First Nations ones, included the importance of culture being at the centre of any economic development, investigating ways to address the challenges of infrastructure, particularly roads, transport and digital telecommunications, and the need to consider and prepare for the short- and long-term impacts of climate change.
“There are many initiatives around renewable energy, critical minerals, sustainable agriculture and carbon sequestration, and how to ensure Indigenous communities are at the centre of leading initiatives, ensure that they are strong beneficiaries of any development, and to have inclusive transition with jobs, education, training and equal access to commercial opportunities,” she explained.
“It was good to connect with other First Nations communities and hear the key issues, challenges and positive work Indigenous communities are doing.”
Ms Gane said the conference was the perfect opportunity to promote next year’s Western Cape Futures Symposium in Weipa, adding she believed the township had the capacity to become the undisputed “Capital of the Cape”.
“I’m tagging Weipa as the Capital of the Cape, which is essentially what we already are as the main hub for employment, education, health and other services,” she said.
“One of the best opportunities to start with, in my opinion, is for a freight and logistics hub in Weipa, which would make great use of our deepwater port, and make it easier for new industry to set up shop here; it would also enable the entire Cape to be more resilient during disasters or just the wet season, and would open up direct export opportunities that would link with the sealing of the [Peninsula Developmental Road].”
