Extra police have been sent to the troubled NT community of Wadeye after four days of
violence. Wadeye has a long history of violence between warring gangs. Hundreds of people
mostly young men armed with machetes knives and spears took to the streets after a long
running family dispute flared into violence. A few years ago Wadeye an Aboriginal community
270 kilometres west of Darwin was in the news for all the wrong reasons. Groups of young
men were rioting in the streets causing chaos for the community and its residents. The antisocial
behaviours was associated with social issues, unemployment and a general lack of direction
for the community. Four years on, Wadeye has come a long way.
The community recognised they had to take control of their own destiny, both social
and financial. The turning point came with the establishment of the Thamarrurr Development
Corporation, or TDC, a business owned by the 20 clan groups in Wadeye. TDC was set up to
foster economic development in the region. Thamarrurr comes from the local language and
means coming together to work as one people. John Berto is the CEO of the TDC and works
closely with the local clan groups establishing a sustainable business.
The whole community owns this corporation at the end of the day. And they own it they
manage it and it's a structure that works and works well and is very focused on the
business at hand. It's focused on developing future plans that allow growth for the corporation
and that growth allows an increase in jobs as well. So that's the main focus at the end
of the day. To date TDC has built 35 houses with plans
to build four a month through their construction arm. They own and run a concrete batching
plant and a tilt slab construction factory which supplies the walls of the constructions
of their houses and provides a source of employment for the community.
I have to make a living for my children. Support my kids and wife. We both work because I hate
being on the dole. There's a real sense of pride within the community
through increased employment opportunities and the construction of new houses.
it means that people can now live normal like normal people anywhere in the Territory or
anywhere in Australia live in a house without overcrowding. And the quality of life and
life expectancy for Aboriginal people is better now because they have a house not a house
with 25 people in the house and it makes life a little easier more comfortable for people.
TDC also runs the local fuel outlet, post office, employment agency and nursery. They've
also expanded into civil construction and successfully tendered for the building of
a major new road. We are now getting into civil construction,
a new business field with a major contract to do a new road. That's now providing more
jobs and different types of jobs as well. So the idea is to get a range of jobs to provide
more opportunity for people to make different choices about what they want to do in life.
The Land and Sea Rangers come under the TDC umbrella. They are responsible for weed eradication
and monitoring and patrolling the coastlines. In this community we are getting change now.
Young ones are going to school during school days. And there is more opportunity for them
to work. And what I see happening in Wadeye is good.
The success of TDC's business endeavours have had a positive influence on the community
of Wadeye. New houses, increased employment opportunities, along with a sound business
plan has enabled Wadeye to embrace a future where they are fully in control of their own
financial destiny. But it doesn't come easy. It's about proving that this corporation will
have the capacity at the end of the day to be able to deliver on all these services and
to maintain those services as well. It's run professionally and more than two years down
the track it's gone from strength to strength and we are still going from strength to strength.
There's a lot more plans to be achieved yet. It's a really good success story for this
community. They have to take the credit they have put the hard work in, there's a long
way to go yet. The success of TDC and Wadeye has come from
within the community itself. They had a strong vision of what they wanted and where they
wanted to be. That vision is coming to fruition enabling Wadeye to determine and control their
own future.