Business bulletin: 24 February 2022

Darwin has been selected as the base for Qantas’ new Embraer 190 (E190) aircraft.

Up to 200 jobs are expected to be created under the 30 month agreement including pilots, cabin crew and aircraft maintenance positions. The Territory Government will invest up to $3.6 million in training marketing, promotion as well as incentives to attract workers to be based here in the Territory.

In addition to the economic benefits of this deal, the E190 base will deliver better air access connectivity with new routes and increased flight frequencies.

Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce said, “The E190 is a fantastic aircraft and the new routes and frequencies that have supported means Darwin is better positioned to take advantage of the comeback of domestic tourism and business travel.

“Basing these aircrafts in Darwin means securing more jobs and a stronger local aviation industry.”

Qantas E190 routes are expected to launch by the end of next month and include:

• Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin
• Canberra - Darwin
• Cairns - Darwin
• Townsville - Darwin.

Additional flight routes are expected later this year in line with consumer demand.

Meanwhile, direct daily flights between Darwin and London will continue to operate until the end of June.

To streamline transit arrangements for passengers, Qantas will also continue to operate the Sydney to London flight via Darwin instead of Singapore until June 2022.

In further good news for tourism, the cruise ship industry is set to safely return to Territory waters in a multi-million dollar boost to the local economy.

Based on expert health advice, the Chief Health Officer has updated a direction permitting expedition cruise ships with up to 350 passengers and crew to operate in the Northern Territory.

This is a significant increase on the previous cap of 150 passengers and crew.

The cruise ship industry is a key economic driver and generated an estimated $60 million of annual expenditure within the Territory pre-COVID.

This decision forms part of the staged re-opening of the cruise industry in the Territory, in line with public health advice.

As Australia’s international borders open up, a dedicated working holiday maker campaign is underway to attract hospitality and tourism workers to the Territory.

The campaign will run from early March to 31 July and is designed to help the tourism and hospitality sectors attract workers ahead of this year’s dry season.

The campaign will target the market that is already in Australia as well as new working holiday makers based in the UK and Germany.

Territory businesses looking for workers will be able to advertise their jobs for free on the new Job Shack NT Portal.

As an added incentive, working holiday makers that take up a tourism or hospitality job via Job Shack NT, may be eligible to receive a $500 work perks incentive, which they can spend on a tourism experience in the Northern Territory (NT).

The NT work perks will be redeemable through the Territory’s visitor information centres (Tourism Top End, Tourism Central Australia, Katherine Visitor Information Centre, or Tennant Creek Visitor Information Centre). Terms and conditions apply.

This additional incentive will help support the Territory’s tourism and hospitality sector to attract temporary workers in preparation for our peak tourism season.

For more information, go to the Tourism NT website.

A new national hyperscale digital infrastructure project is set to supercharge the Territory economy and create thousands of local jobs.

HyperOne $1.5 billion project, which has been granted major project status by the Northern Territory Government will create around 10,000 jobs during construction, with 1,000 estimated to be based in the Territory.

HyperOne’s digital infrastructure project will directly connect Darwin to every capital city in Australia for the first time with high-speed world class fibre. The terrestrial fibre network will have capacity to carry 10,000 terabits of data per second.

HyperOne founder, Bevan Slattery, said “With more than 500 million people within 50 milliseconds of Darwin, HyperOne will be transformational for the Territory economy and will make it the digital hub of Northern Australia.”

Around 20,000 kilometres of new high-speed fibre cable will be laid across Australia with 2,200 kilometres installed in the Territory.

The high speed fibre optic cable is expected to follow the Stuart and Barkly Highways, connecting regional centres of Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Katherine.

This will also provide opportunities for connection to remote communities on either side of the highway.

The project will be delivered in stages, with phase one including the Adelaide to Darwin and the Sydney -Melbourne -Adelaide -Perth system.

The Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct has taken the next step towards delivery by referring the project to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA).

The precinct encompasses approximately 1,500 hectares of industrial land and is located in the Middle Arm Peninsula, 13km from Darwin’s CBD. The precinct’s strategic location provides direct access to Darwin harbour, and is connected to the Territory’s logistic network, including road and rail.

Referring this project to the NT EPA enables it to be assessed under the strategic environment assessment provisions of the Environment Protection Act 2019.

This referral signals the commencement of an assessment process to ensure the project reduces, mitigates and offsets potential environmental impacts.

The Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct will centralise and elevate the Territory’s energy industries to become globally competitive, with the sustainable precinct focusing on low emissions, renewable hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and minerals processing.

Other investigations will include determining industry requirements, infrastructure marine geotechnical and services assessments and marine navigation investigations.

A new Training Centre for Aged Care is boosting training for the next generation of Territorian aged care workers.

The centre, which is located at Charles Darwin University Casuarina Campus was supported by a $1.7 million investment by the Northern Territory Government.

The centre will deliver a unique training environment with room for 4 aged care beds and equipment that will mimic an aged care facility for up to 24 students at a time, to aid students learning. It will be used for vocational education and training and high education program and research at the university.

Features include a pan room, kitchen and general-purpose teaching areas as well as showers designed for people with disabilities.

Charles Darwin University Vice Chancellor, Professor Scott Bowman AO said, “The centre will provide training to help our students be better equipped as they enter the workforce, so they can provide better support to staff and the residents they work with in aged care settings.

“We know that support, training and development are essential for the future workforce to ensure safe, high quality aged care is delivered for Territorians.”

The demand for workers in the aged care sector is in the Northern Territory is driven by an aging workforce, with Territorians aged 65 and over expected to increase 242% by 2041.

There are 1,500 aged care workers in the Northern Territory, the majority of them female, with skill shortages exacerbated by staff turnover of 30 to 40%.

The Training Centre for Age Care opens for students from semester one this year.

From 9am on 1 March 2022 customers will be required to book their camping and the most popular multiday walking experiences in the Northern Territory (NT) using the Parks Online Booking system.

The booking system will streamline bookings and offer greater certainty for campers and multi-day trail walkers.

All campsites will require booking and payment using the new system. Multi-day walking experiences on the Jatbula, Larapinta and Table Top tracks will also require booking and payment of a multiday walking fee.

To book, create an account and select either ‘Book a campsite’ or ‘Book a walking trail’.

• If you’re camping, search for a Region or Park, reserve your site.
• If you’re planning a multi-day walk, select your walk, choose your camping option and reserve your experience.
• Continue to book and finalise payment for your NT Parks and Wildlife experience.

The system allows users to view images and maps, and availability of campsites

A customer service team will be available from 8:30am to 4pm, 7 days per week to assist with booking queries. An 1800 number will be widely advertised once the system goes live.

For more information, go to the Northern Territory Government website.