12 June 2009:

Update from the Chair

Dear all

As Chair of the NRM Board I was invited along to the 2009 Indigenous Land and Sea Management Ranger conference, held last week at Wilam Camp Ground at Waminari Bay in Western Arnhem Land. The Namunidjbuk traditional Aboriginal land owners were supported by the Northern Land Council and Mardbalk and Garngi Rangers in hosting the event.

The conference provided a forum for rangers to come together and discuss issues, share experiences, learn new skills and showcase their successes. I was privileged to have the opportunity to attend, listen and learn, and to enjoy camping in such a beautiful place. I was intrigued by the examples of first contact rock art we visited with the traditional owners.

It  was impressive to see the diversity of work that the rangers are undertaking, from coastal surveillance for illegal fishing and ghost nets, through participation in research, to weed and feral management, including biocontrol. The growing fire management work is an example of how traditional knowledge is coming together with technology (such as choppers and incendiary devices) to manage country for cultural and environmental outcomes, along with greenhouse gas emission reduction.

The number of ranger groups, women and men, is growing, as is the amount of country that they are covering.  More jobs are being created and further services are being provided to the Australian and Northern Territory Governments. Hearing directly from rangers about the work they are doing on country was inspiring, and emphasised to me the importance of the NRM Board supporting, in what ways it can, the work of Indigenous rangers across the NT.”

Regards
Kate

P.S.

The online survey seeking feedback on the Caring for our Country business plan, the targets and the application process is now live on the web site and can be accessed from: http://www.nrm.gov.au/index.html.

I would like to encourage everyone to take some time to respond to the survey to ensure that there is the opportunity for the Australian Government to adapt CFOC in response to our specific regional characteristics, experiences and needs.

15 May 2009:

 

Update from the Chair

“Dear all

The NRMB has been working closely with the Australian Government over the last few weeks to finalise the regional allocation bid and ensure that it meets the requirements of the Caring for Our Country business plan and targets, while recognising the priorities of the NT.

We have also been wrapping up the Regional Investment Strategies and I would like to thank everyone for getting their final reports in. We do also require financial acquittals for those funded projects and I’d like to urge organisations to get those in to us so that we can finalise our own contractual obligations to the NT Government and Australian Government.

It has been a hard year so far for the NRMB team who have been working long hours and under stressful conditions to achieve the above. We are nearly there and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.

We held a Board meeting in Katherine last week and heard from some of the local groups. I really enjoyed being able to learn more from them and appreciated the effort people made to join us in Katherine. I’m looking forward to getting out more with the Board members and hearing more directly from all of you.

Regards
Kate Andrews
Chair NRMB NT”

 

 

07 November 2008:

Media release in relation to the appointment of new Chair and Director on Natural Resource Management Board.

Read more in media release

07 November 2008:

There have recently been some significant changes to the
composition of the Board of Directors of NRMB (NT). Ian
Munro recently resigned from the Board due to increasing work commitments. Ian has been on the board since its inception in October 2005, and has been a passionate advocate for the Northern Territory environment and remote communities. John Gilmour is also leaving the Board as he is retiring from the Northern Territory Government and is moving back to Queensland. John was also an inaugural director, and has provided very strong support to Board staff both as a very involved and efficient director as well as being the NRETAS delegate for our Human Resources needs. We thank Ian and John for their service to the Board and wish them both well in the future.

Read more in weekly update

17 October 2008:

The NRMB has commissioned a review of its organisational structure, governance arrangements and stakeholder relationships. The review is being conducted by Sinclair, Knight, and Merz. The review team is visiting Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs from 13-17 October, and will talk to a large number of NRM stakeholders and land managers.

This is a good opportunity for the board to take stock of our organisation and strengthen it where necessary to meet the challenges associated with delivering Natural Resource Management in the Northern Territory.

Read more in weekly update

26 September 2008:

There have been changes in the NRMB staff and board. Yesterday was Cathy Mylrea’s last day with the NRMB. Cathy is off to work for the South West Queensland NRM regional body. Cathy played a major role in establishing and managing many strategic projects and consultancies for the NRMB and we wish her well for the future. Ian Munro has resigned as a board director due to work commitments. Ian’s technical and regional perspective insights have been highly valued, and we thank him for his contribution to the board. Expressions of interest for new board positions will be called for this weekend in NT local newspapers.

Many scoping and planning projects commissioned by the NRMB are now fully underway, and some of the recent workshops associated with these projects attracting large numbers of participants. Five asset-level program logic development workshops with key stakeholders were held 25 – 29 August 2008 in Palmerston. More than 60 participants attended at least one of the workshops. A wide range of stakeholders were represented, from industry associations to NGO’s to all levels of government. Draft logics for each asset were circulated to participants and those who were unable to attend, so that extra input or comments could be incorporated. It is hoped that the workshops will help in the formation of strong partnerships among NRM stakeholders, and that the logics developed during these workshops, will contribute to the development of future funding proposals for NRM activities in the territory.

Read more in weekly update

05 September 2008:

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BOARD COMMUNIQUE
27th NRM Board Meeting - Tuesday 22 July 2008

The Caring for Our Country program succeeded NHT as the primary Australian Government funding source for NRM as of 1 July 2008.

Much of the discussion at this Board meeting enabled the Directors to be updated on the latest details of the Caring for our Country initiative, also to further discuss the role the NRMB should play into the future to achieve the best NRM outcomes, and gave the Directors the opportunity to approve the activities undertaken by Board staff to develop potential future funding programs.

Read more in weekly update