ROAD PARTY

ageing plant and equipment

The road party maintains the access roads to the BAC outstations on an ongoing basis and undertakes other road works as awarded by contract. Contract work this year included the completion of the realignment of the Darwin road, and roadside slashing and maintenance of the Darwin and Ramingining roads.

The maintenance of roads within the region continues to be a major priority for BAC members who increasingly own their own vehicles and need to be able to travel between Maningrida and their homelands.

Over the last few years the road party has run at a substantial loss, mainly due to the extremely high costs of repairing the old machinery. An investment in new machinery is required for the unit to remain viable but BAC has not at this stage been able to source funding for this purpose. However, the road party remains a significant employer of Aboriginal people, paying some $93,000 in top up (wages above CDEP) this year, an increase of over 20% on the previous year. Finding a solution to this dilemma is a challenge, especially at a time when existing funding is under threat.