Business bulletin: 6 April 2023

Caption: Russell and Kerry O’Donnell with small business champion, Lisa Johnstone.

Entrepreneurs Russell and Kerry O’Donnell immediately saw a business opportunity when the only ice-making company in Tennant Creek closed.

The husband-and-wife team applied for support under the Territory Government’s Aboriginal Business Development Program, which enabled them to buy two 479kg ice-making machines, storage bins, water filter systems and other essential equipment.

Their company, Ridem, trading as Dexter Barnes Electrical, now supplies 4 service stations, Tennant’s sole supermarket, the Outback Caravan Park, Bluestone Motor Inn, Red Centre Cafe, the Memorial Club and major events on the Barkly, such as the rodeo and campdraft.

Russell worked for Dexter Barnes Electrical as an electrician and refrigeration mechanic for 10 years before buying the business when the owner retired.

He says the grant under the Aboriginal Business Development Program helped the company expand and diversify.

“The program is a great incentive to business,” he says. “It allows businesses to expand and improve their services.

“Without this program we wouldn’t have been able to go into this enterprise and employ a local.”

The Aboriginal Business Development Program helps Aboriginal Territorians interested in starting or expanding an existing business in the Northern Territory.

Grant applicants must demonstrate:

• business growth and sustainability
• creating new enterprises
• increasing the number of Aboriginal owned and operated businesses
• increasing your knowledge and skills
• creating new employment
• developing new skills.

Successful applicants will receive one-on-one support from one of the Territory Government’s highly-rated small business champions.

To find out more, go to the Northern Territory Government website.

Takeaway liquor outlets in the Northern Territory can now access government support to engage crowd control services.

The Crowd Control Assistance Grant has been established to provide immediate financial support to takeaway liquor outlets who are experiencing anti-social behaviour within their premises or have been impacted by crime.

The grant program is designed to:

• reduce the number of anti-social behaviour incidents within takeaway liquor outlets
• ensure takeaway liquor outlet workers feel safe and secure in their place of work
• ensure Territorians feel safe within licensed premises.

Eligible businesses will receive a grant paid in monthly instalments until 30 June 2023 to offset the cost of crowd control services. Businesses must provide evidence they have engaged a suitably qualified crowd controller before they receive grant funding.

The grant covers crowd control services that are engaged during hours of operation where the business is permitted to sell liquor.

An hourly rate of $45 (GST exclusive) is available to businesses to assist with the employment or contract of service for each premise.

The Crowd Control Assistance Grant is part of a suite of measures aimed at improving community safety and the safety of workers in the retail sales sector selling alcoholic beverages.

The grants are available for eligible takeaway liquor outlets, not restaurants or cafe's or special events that sell alcohol with food.

Find out more about the Crowd Control Assistance Grant on the Northern Territory Government website.

Applications close on 23 June 2023.

A project designed to enhance urban planning and maintenance decisions in the Territory will be delivered with support from the Earth Observation for the Northern Territory (EO4NT) grant program.

The Office of Planetary Observations (OPO) will use their EO4NT grant to deliver an earth observation dashboard to provide greening insights to urban planning. The project is designed to support climate change mitigation efforts with near-real time land surface temperature and tree canopy data.

Thomas Gooch, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Planetary Observations Pty Ltd said, “The EO4NT grant program will enable OPO to provide ongoing monitoring of green infrastructure and urban heat island effects, including near-real time impacts of cooling strategies, efficient irrigation and tree maintenance activities”.

OPO will work with CSIRO, the City of Darwin, Greener Spaces Better Places and Territory company, Active Tree Services on the earth observation-derived project.

The EO4NT grant program is delivered in partnership by the Northern Territory (NT) Government and Geoscience Australia.

The EO4NT program is designed to support companies develop earth observation-powered solutions that will enhance business productivity and performance or overcome business challenges.

The 2 other projects funded under the EO4NT program are:

• NT company, Maitec who will use earth observation data to map pastures and measure grass biomass over the NT’s savannah region.
• Charles Darwin University and its North Australia Fire and Rangelands Information Service to create a commercially viable earth observation generating high-resolution burnt area maps to improve planning and operational risk assessments for bushfires.

The 3 projects will demonstrate the benefits of using earth observation technology for everyday decision making and to enhance business performance.

Projects are expected to be completed within 6 months of commencement.

If you’d like to find out more about the Office of Planetary Observations EO4NT project email Thomas Gooch at thomas@opobservations.com.

The inaugural Ag Tech Showcase will feature as part of the 2023 Northern Australia Food Futures Conference. An unmissable event for farmers, producers, policymakers and developers to attend and understand the trends and direction of agriculture in north Australia.

The Ag Tech Showcase will feature an impressive display of agricultural technology and presentations by tech experts, including drone displays, soil sensors, robotic machinery and data analytic apps to name a few.

Held on Tuesday 23 May 2023 at the Darwin Turf Club, the Ag Tech Showcase will provide a platform for exhibitors to market products and to directly engage with farmers from northern Australia.

The Ag Tech Showcase will play an important role in driving adoption of the latest cutting-edge technologies in agriculture. It is widely understood that the future of farming in the north will be led by the uptake of precision agricultural technologies, thanks largely to low orbit satellites providing strong and reliable internet coverage to our most remote farms.

Building upon the exciting range of speakers and workshops that are on offer at the conference, the Ag Tech afternoon provides opportunities for farmers to improve yields, reduce costs and minimize the environmental impacts of farming through technology.

For more information about showcasing your technology in the AgTech Showcase email katie@associatedadvertising.com.au or go to the Northern Australia Food Futures Conference website to download a booking form.

Does your business currently rely on single-use plastics?

We’re seeking feedback on how we can phase out single-use plastics, particularly in local businesses.

Your feedback is valuable and will help create a successful outcome to help protect our environment for all Territorians to enjoy in the future.

Go to the Have Your Say website before 14 April 2023.