Business bulletin: 10 August 2023

The Territory’s clean energy future, defence capabilities, sustainable businesses and industries and culture were at the top of the agenda at Facing North last week.

Facing North is an important cultural, business and economic event jointly led by the Northern Territory Government and the Darwin Major Business Group.

Held in Canberra at the Australian Parliament House, Facing North showcases the Territory as a modern and diverse economy whilst providing a unique opportunity to connect key government and business decision-makers.

A 200 strong delegation of Territory businesses, industry leaders and government representatives participated in this year’s event to showcase the enormous potential the Territory has to offer.

The event included four forum sessions focusing on:

• the Territory’s clean energy future with Middle Arm, Beetaloo Basin and pipeline of critical minerals projects
• the Territory’s role in Australia’s national reliance in relations to its defence, humanitarian and disaster response capabilities
• the Territory’s commercial prosperity exploring sustainable businesses and new industry
• the Territory’s cultural heart covering projects such as the National Art Gallery and Larrakia Cultural Centre.

The inaugural event was held in September 2017 and following its success, Facing North was held annually from 2017 to 2019 prior to the global pandemic. The collaboration demonstrates how Territory business, industry and government work together to accelerate the development of the Northern Territory.

Territory business, Wild Barra Fisheries has opened a brand new processing facility in Darwin providing a boost to the local industry and Territory economy.

The facility located at East Arm fillets, weighs and packages fish including barramundi, king threadfin, jewfish, queen fish, javelin fish, blue salmon and triple tail snapper. The facility has the capacity to store 35 tonnes of frozen product and 15 tonnes of fresh product.

Cameron Berryman, Wild Barra Fisheries Director said “until now we were processing on board our vessels out at sea.”

“We’ve made some significant investment here to focus on our seafood. We catch here in the Northern Territory, value add to it and, make it more readily available to consumers in the Territory.”

Wild Barra aim to utilise 100% of fish product that comes through the facility ranging from products fit for human consumption, dried pet treats, barramundi leather and fertiliser.

Local restaurants and Territorians also have the opportunity to buy fresh fish direct from the facility. Wild Barra supports sustainable fishing practices and will only sell wild caught seafood.

Last month the NT Seafood Council released a report highlighting the significant opportunities to develop seafood processing capabilities and capacity within the Territory.

Chief Executive Officer Katherine Winchester said “The NT seafood industry has the potential to contribute to real economic growth and value-add by transforming the way NT seafood is processed, benefitting both the Territory and Australia.”

Processing locally creates local jobs, support the growth of the business, maximises the value of Territory seafood and improves access to other markets.

At full capacity Wild Barra will be sorting through 3 tonnes of seafood per day and see their workforce grow from 6 to 14 staff.

The Territory Government is seeking applications from suitably qualified Territory organisations to operate its workforce advisory organisation for the next 5 years.

The Workforce Advisory Grant is a competitive grant program that will provide $3 million per annum for a Territory organisation to deliver the services that support development of a skilled workforce.

The workforce advisory organisation will support government and industry and help inform policy, programs and investment decisions. The organisation will:

• engage with peak industry bodies, industry and the training sector to understand the Territory’s workforce and skills needs
• provide information and advice to government identifying priority skills, workforce gaps and challenges and opportunities
• connect and broker relationships and solutions between government, industry, the community and the skills system
• work with national stakeholders and bodies to represent Territory workforce and skills needs including in the development of new training products.

Delivery of functions under the workforce advisory organisation will help identify and address skills gaps in the workforce, facilitate more Territorians take up training opportunities and provide advice to government, industry and the community.

The Workforce Advisory Grant will ensure the successful organisation can continue to carry out this pivotal role.

An industry briefing on the Workforce Advisory Grant will be held on Friday, 18 August at 2pm in the Territory Conference Room at Development House, Darwin City.

Applications close on Friday, 18 September 2023.

The successful applicant is expected to be notified in January 2024 with the new services to commence on 1, July 2024.

For more information and to register for the industry briefing go to Grants NT.

The Northern Territory Government continues to foster and develop important relationships and friendships with Vietnam with the signing of a 5-year implementation plan between Khanh Hoa Province and the Northern Territory.

Last month, the Northern Territory welcomed a Vietnamese Government and trade delegation led by His Excellency, Mr Nguyen Tan Tuan, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam to Darwin for the signing.

The two jurisdictions first agreed to cooperate in 1998. After a temporary pause in official relations due to COVID-19, both parties have committed to renewing bilateral relations.

The arrangement develops a foundation for both parties to cooperate and collaborate in the areas of investment and trade promotions, agribusiness, blue economy inclusive of sustainable aquaculture, and high tech fishing, education, tourism, arts, sport and culture.

Khanh Hoa province is the focus of a special economic push from Vietnam’s national government. This has resulted in increased investment, which Khanh Hoa has capitalised on to become one of Vietnam’s fastest growing provincial economies.

The Northern Territory Government’s International Engagement Strategy 2022-26 identifies Vietnam as one of six high priority markets for increased trade, investment and diplomatic engagements. Vietnam is an important market for Northern Territory agribusiness, education and training sectors.

The Northern Territory is well placed to cooperate with Vietnam in the areas of agricultural and aquaculture practices, given the similar climatic conditions between the Top End and Southern Vietnam. This represents opportunities for Territory businesses, industry associations, research institutions and education providers.

A mango harvesting solution designed to ease labour challenges in the agriculture sector has taken out Croc Pitch 2023 with Agricultural Robotics also receiving $1 million investment from Paspalis Innovation Investment Fund.

Now in its 5th year, Croc Pitch is Northern Australia premier pitching competition for start-ups and is run by the Darwin Innovation Hub. This year eight finalists from around the world pitched for their chance to win up to $1 million in venture capital.

Agricultural Robotics winning pitch included an auto-harvester solution that leverages robotics and vision systems to streamline the mango harvesting process. The solution has multiple arms that can pick fruit at five seconds per arm, with a 76% success rate.

The solution is versatile and has the potential to be used in other soft tree fruit industries. It was developed in conjunction with the mango industry and Territory-based mango growers NiceforoFarms and had already received financial support from the Federal Governments Accelerating Commercialisation Program.

Founding Director of Agricultural Robotics, Doctor Amanda White said, “this product emerges out of a four year R&D phase through Central Queensland University supported by Hort Innovation and the R&D4Profit scheme. It is great to see this product be part of Croc Pitch 2023.”

Paspalis Chief Executive Officer, Harley Paroulakis said “seeing Amanda bring this harvesting robotic hand to large mango farms in the NT is absolutely fantastic. We think this patented technology has a huge future for local manufacturing and global exports.”

Croc Pitch 2023 runners up included:

• AusNorth Trading who are focused on establishing a micro business in North Australia and southeast Asia specialising in growing and fattening mud crabs for export
• Eden Towers who are a sustainable future food company that utilises vertical farming technology to grow high quality fresh produce and non-food crops.

Previous Croc Pitch winners with investment by the Paspalis Innovation Investment Fund include: Atomionics with $1,080,000, Amphibian Aerospace Industries with $1,500,000 and Corrosion Instruments with $950,000.

Make sure your ABN details and business location are correct on the Australian Business Register (ABR).

This information is used by emergency services and government agencies to identify businesses who might need help or support during and after a disaster. If your ABN details are out of date, your business is at risk of missing out on important information, support or financial assistance such as government grants.

It is important emergency services know where your business is located. Your main business address on the ABR should be the physical street address of your business or organisation, not a post office box or tax or BAS agent address (unless you are a tax or BAS agent business).  This is not publicly available.

Your ABN details must be updated on the ABR within 28 days of becoming aware of changes. If you haven’t updated your ABN details for some time, check and update your ABN details today.