RDA Pilbara regularly compiles a wrap of news that's important to industries and communities in the region and also the highlights of our activities on the ground. Â
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Read on for what's been happening from June 14 to July 18.
 Positive health news for the Shire of Ashburton
There has been good news in the past fortnight for the Shire of Ashburton, with the State Government committing to:
â–ª issue a tender for construction for major redevelopment of the Tom Price and Paraburdoo hospitals
â–ª fast track work on the Tom Price Hospital so that it can start before the end of the year.
The Shire had campaigned publicly about its healthcare needs and an acceleration of these proposed projects will help ensure communities have access to some of the essential health services they require.
Rio Tinto will contribute an additional $20 million through the Resources Community Investment Initiative to make the projects possible.
Access to healthcare is a priority in the Pilbara and an issue RDA Pilbara advocates on in our ongoing discussions with key stakeholders and decision makers.
Read more: https://bit.ly/4601wJ4
Rio partners with Ngarluma People on solar project
In another pleasing development in the Pilbara, Rio Tinto and the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation will progress an 80MW solar farm near Karratha.
The farm will be built next to Rio Tinto’s existing gas-fired Yurralyi Maya Power Station and will support decarbonisation of iron ore operations in the Pilbara.
The project will provide economic opportunities for the Ngarluma People and is expected to be operational in 2027.
Read more: https://bit.ly/4bMFbjA
RDA Pilbara active in the region
As always, it’s been a busy month for RDA Pilbara, highlighted by another successful Pilbara Summit.
The event was again a major crowd-puller and conversation-starter, and its unique format fosters engagement between a truly diverse range of stakeholders: international diplomats, State Ministers, local government, Traditional Owners, industry and start-ups, among others.
Dialogue around the future of the Pilbara - including decarbonisation and partnerships with Indigenous people - will continue long beyond the two days of the event.
RDA Pilbara Regional Development Officer Natalie Drabble and Contract and Project Manager Debbie Johnson were honoured to attend the recent NAIDOC Week flag-raising ceremony hosted by the City of Karratha.
Meanwhile, RDA Pilbara CEO Tony Simpson very much enjoyed this week’s Indigenous Business Tradeshow organised by the Pilbara Indigenous Business Network Group and KDCCI.
It was a great opportunity for local Indigenous businesses to showcase their capabilities in front of industry and local government, and also network with each other.
Keeping cane toads out of the Pilbara
We’re normally big on welcoming newcomers to the Pilbara – but maybe not so much these folks!
ABC Pilbara published a fascinating story this week about a partnership between Traditional Owner groups, pastoralists, scientists and the State Government, and the innovative plans that have been drawn up to keep cane toads out of the Pilbara.
If the project comes together and funding can be arranged, it could keep Pilbara mammals and reptiles off the endangered species list.
Read more: https://ab.co/3xZ2A3t
Venture North comes to the Pilbara
The Pilbara's new "anti-conference" - Venture North – is now less than a week away and will run on July 23, 24 and 27.
The event focuses on innovation, entrepreneurialism, investment and start-ups, and will feature Derek Gerrard from Purpose Ventures, Minister for Innovation Stephen Dawson and Kent Matla and Paula Taylor from First Nations X.
For more details visit: https://bit.ly/3Y48VFq
Pilbara kid kicking goals in the AFL
A month ago, most footy fans around the country had probably never heard of Lawson Humphries – now the Pilbara product is an emerging star of the AFL with the Geelong Cats.
Selected by Geelong with the second last pick (No. 63) of last year’s national draft, Humphries has three straight wins to start his top-level career and was awarded the Rising Star nomination for Round 18.
Heady times for the former Wickham Wolves junior who was playing at reserves level for Swan Districts in the first half of 2023.
The origins of Earth, right here?
Another very interesting story from ABC Pilbara, focussed on a rock collected by chance in the Pilbara's Hamersley Ranges that could hold the oldest known evidence of complex life on earth.
The rock was found in 2013 by University of New South Wales researcher Erica Barlow, who liked the look of it and installed it as a memento on her desk.
But a supervisor suggested she take a closer examination, which revealed a microfossil never seen before.
A decade on, the microfossil is estimated to be 2.4 billion years old, still the subject of research and could be the oldest known evidence of complex life on earth.
Read more: https://ab.co/468x1kl
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