Closing the Gap - Equality of Health for Indigenous People

Closing the gap is about pushing for equality of health for both indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Close the Gap Website say that at a, 'meeting in late November 2008, the Federal government committed an additional $806 million over 4 years, with the states and territories also contributing matched funds of $772 million totalling $1.6 billion. The Federal and state governments' announcement constitutes the biggest single injection of new funding by a government to improve Indigenous health outcomes.'

Here's the bottom line. Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have a life expectancy 17 years lower than non-indinegous Australians. That's why we need to close the gap!

Palmerston is not immune to this kind of inequality. How can we close the gap? How can we increase the life expectancy, and health of fellow Aborigines in Palmerston? Maybe you have a program that is achieving this. Why not let us know, comment here, or email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

Check out Oxfam's Website for more on 'Closing the Gap':
http://www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/indigenous-health/news/

Waterpark in Palmerston - Budget Allocation Needed

National Youth Week in Palmerston went off well on Saturday. Goyder Square was pumping with music on stage, and marquees, BBQ, Rockclimbing wall (I want to get one in my backyard), giant swing and other attractions. Thanks to the organisers for such a great event. It was great to see Mayor Robert Macleod having a chat to youth during the night.
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Palmerston needs infrastructure for young people. What about a local Waterpark for Palmerston? Has the Territory Government even put this in the budget yet? The Waterpark in Leanyer is great... for those in Darwin, or those who are able to drive. Palmerston is asking nicely for a Waterpark of our own. (What do you think?!). Budget Allocation Needed.
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Do you feel safe in Palmerston? I was speaking with some friends recently of stories of people being bashed, hassled for money and the like. The top end needs to be a safe place. Thanks for organisations like Neighbourhood Watch and others, that work to make Palmerston a safe place.
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Have your say!

NTCOSS - Advocate for the marginalized

I've been interested in reading some of what the peak body NTCOSS produces (Northern Territory Council of Social Service). Click on the image for their website. NTCOSS is an effective avocate for social justice on behalf of the marginalized of the Northern Territory Community. They advocate to Government on things like Alcoholic consumption in the NT, equality for infrastructure that supports all Territorians, including the eldery, indigenous neighbours, low income earners, amongst others. NTCOSS have a somewhat prophetic voice in the life of the NT, and the policies and decisions made by both local and federal Governments.
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Hope they figure out the argument between the Palmerston City Council and the Palmerston Markets. I'm looking forward to the markets, and I wouldn't want a dunny can to stop me from my Friday market shopping!
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NT Police have been urging locals to drive safer. Over 50 people were nabbed for drink driving in the last 24 hours. Wow! Do Territorians have a drinking problem?
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Have your say here, or email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org with any news.

Palmerston Shopping Centre - Anti-Social Behaviour?

Tommi Husband (in the NTNews) from Stuart Park complained about the new Chief Minister's representative in the Palmerston office. He then went on to say, 'What the Palmerston Shopping Centre needs is the Police shopfront manned seven days a week to combat the anti-social behaviour that is rife within this centre, not another highly paid spin doctor'

I shop and eat at the Palmerston Shopping Centre quite often and I rarely see anti-social behaviour. I'm sure it happens, but the idea of having a Police shopfront, because there is hooligans around, I think is exaggerating.

There is a need though for more things for young people to do. You can see this at Casaurina after school time; youth just hanging around with nothing else to do. It's positive to have the National Youth Week activities this week (Sat 28th) which provides young people with some entertainment and support.

I encourage the local services in Palmerston to consider what they could be doing to accomodate young people in their programs/services, etc. What could we be doing to provide an environment where youth feel needed, appreciated and respected.

Palmerston Markets Are On Soon!

Palmerston Markets are starting soon. The first night for the markets is Friday April 17th. Check out http://www.palmerstonmarkets.org.au/ for more info. Maybe you could run a stall to sell some products or raise awareness for your community group, charity, etc, etc.

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Palmerston from the air (picture @ left). Palmerston is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia. Maybe it's the laid back lifestyle, the crocodiles, or the Darwin wharf area with the nice restaraunts. Maybe it's an escape from the busyness of life; an easy getaway from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane. Either way, it's the place people are moving to!

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My thoughts go out to those who are struggling financially at the moment. High mortgages, hospital bills, petrol prices, the cost of fruit and veg; the list goes on. Hopefully the family payment from the Rudd Government eases the burden a little at this time. Hey, apparently, Centrelink can take some money out of your account towards your Power & Water bill every fortnight. This might ease the squeeze!

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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Have your say, comment below, or email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

National Youth Week in Palmerston NT

4pm - 8pm Goyder Square. Thanks to those who have worked hard to organise this event. Hope to see heaps of people there!

Street Violence in Palmerston

Palmerston needs more police because of street violence? Ouch! Who would think we could drive down Temple Terrace and be set upon by a bunch of youths. What are the root issues here?
Is it:
* Lack of infrastucture to entertain, occupy, educate young people?
* Lack of community engagement with young people?
* Unstable family homes?
* Low self esteem?
* Family financial stress?
We don't want Palmerston to be an unsafe place. In the NT, the weather is balmy, and people want a relaxed lifestyle. We want to walk down the street at night, do our shopping and relax at home. Street violence in Palmerston is unacceptable.

Let's work together to build a safer, growing community, in which youth feel connected and supported.

Housing in the NT

Well here it is. The Palmerston house that sold for $1 Million!
NT News says this: "The NT Government has released land for the development of the city's latest suburb, Bellamack.
About 1700 new homes are needed every year to keep up with population growth.
The Government recent housing measures include:
STEPPING up land releases;
STARTING planning for the new township of Weddell;
BUILDSTART - a $7000 grant, on top of the Federal Government's $14,000 grant, to build a new property; and
ALLOCATING a proportion of "affordable housing" within new estates."
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Related to housing. Has anyone noticed the abundance of junk mail in the letterboxes from different companies asking whether we want to sell our house? Sell your house, ring us. People want to buy, ring us. There is one company who says one of their workers is a full-time real estate agent for Woodroffe. Gee! You must be selling a few houses if for one small suburb you have a full time real estate job.
Anyway, if you're thinking of selling, I'm sure you'll ring the number on that flier in the mail.
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Any stories, email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

Tourism in the NT and Palmerston

NTNews says, 'More than 92,000 backpackers visited the Territory last year, up 7 per cent on the previous year, bringing $54 million to the economy.' How much of this economy is supporting the Palmerston community? How much of it is being spent to improve the economic viability of Palmerston? We need more and more infrastructure and recreational facilities that not only cater for residents but also tourists. We want Palmerston to be a place where tourism is booming, and the local community is benefiting from it.
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Went to the Library Cafe recently, and by 5 minutes to 10am, there was a big line of young mums and bubs and others waiting to enter the library. Not hard to see the demongraphics of Palmerston. Any chance of the library opening from 9am each day?
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Heard of Army soldiers being asked to not drink and drive and be responsible with alcohol, but then once a soldier was lost in battle, Army soldiers were taken to the pub and encouraged to drink freely. Sure, it must be tough, and I don't pretend to even imagine the pain and grief associated with this, especially if you lose a close mate, but maybe there is some other way to deal with grief. Just a thought. Comment here.

National Youth Week in Palmerston NT!

National Youth Week is coming real soon, and in the top end of the NT, Palmerston has some things happening.
On Saturday 28th March there will be a big event happening in Goyder square and around the library, from 4pm - 8pm. Bungee trampoline, Rock climbing, Gladiator Battling castle, Live music including "Push" and "The Neo", Chicken burgers, a Chill out Room, info stalls and loads more. Should be worth checkin' out!
* National Youth Week in Palmerston - It's gonna be good!
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For a global perspective. I just signed on to 'Stop the Traffik' recently and they sent an email. They sent ideas to help promote the eradication of both the trafficking of sex slaves, and the unjust payments of farmers in the chocolate industry. For more information check out: www.stopthetraffik.org. Some ideas:
* Sign a Stop the Traffik declaration found at their website (click above)
* Put a Stop the Traffik banner on your website.
* Run a Freedom Day to raise awareness about people being trafficked.
* Raise money for Stop the Traffik
Did you know recently Cadbury in the UK promised to have their Cadbury Dairy Milk Fairtrade certified by Summer. This means their Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate will be guaraunteed to have farmers paid a decent wage for their farming of cocoa beans. Good start Cadbury. Still a fair way to go though, not to mention Mars and Nestle.
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Any local Palmerston news, let us know, email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

Senior's Forum in Palmerson

From a Senior's Forum in Palmerston recently, some issues where discussed:
Related to transport:
1. Direct bus, from Palmerston, to the Royal Darwin Hospitalneeded.
2. Parking at the Royal Darwin Hospital does not contain enough Disabled Parks, and the parks are too far away, and similarly at the new Palmerston Super Health Clinic.
3. More bus shelters are needed in Palmerston (especially when it's raining!)
Related to housing:
1. Older residents expressed a desire to live longer in their properties than moving to Retirement villages, yet the services needed for this are inadequate.
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What's with TAB now opening their doors on Good Friday? Their excuse was, there's demand from their customer base for it, and online gambling is available on Good Friday, so why can't we?! How pathetic. Have some morals and stop just trying to make money. And if customers are ticked off that they can't gamble on Good Friday (for one day), then maybe they have a gambling addiction, and you need to refer them to some counselling. Good Friday is a day of reflection and a significant day on the Christian calendar. Maybe a little respect would be great. Just a thought.
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Our thoughts go out to the family who lost their 11 year old girl from a Croc attack. God bring peace...
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Have your say: comment here.

Justice in Palmerston and Darwin - When is justice served?

Prison Chaplain Gary Taylor points out that convicted killer Daniel Heiss has served his time. Heiss who was convicted of murder from an 1989 incident had been sentenced to 20 years jail. News has it that now politicians want to extend the sentence. Sounds like a nice gesture, and people can sit back and say, 'Ah well, he deserves it', but I ask, 'When is justice served?' When is enough, enough? When does punishment end and rehabilitation begin?

It's not good enough to simply lock people up and throw away the key. No matter what we may think of an individual, we need to balance the need for justice and punishment, with the rehabilitation of the person.

Palmerston, Darwin and the NT have been criticized for being too heavy handed with criminals in the past. We seem to seek out law inforcement, without considering the overall improvement of the individual. The NT has an issue with lawlessness, sure, but we need to consider strongly ways to build community, to curb drinking, to get teenagers off the streets, to give armed robbers a sense of purpose in life, etc, etc and not just throw people in the cells.

Well, if you've got an opinion, comment below.
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices.

Shave for a Cure

Was sitting in the Palmerston Shopping Centre recently, and I looked up and saw the Mayor Robert Macleod and some others collecting for the 'Shave for a Cure'. People were dipping in their pockets, supporting the charity. It was great to see the Council workers with bright coloured hair, having a lot of fun connecting with the community.
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A Cane Toad hopped right past me last night, minding his own business. I said a quick, 'hello' and it kept on going.
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Looks like Virgin Blue Airlines will be starting flights from Darwin to Perth, and Darwin straight to Melbourne, from April 28th. Hopefully the flights are cheaper than current flights. With the closing of Tiger Airways in Darwin, some of these flights are more costly now.
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The Economic Financail Crisis is crazy. I keep hearing about people losing jobs, or their full-time work becoming part-time, or the news telling us another 400 workers have lost their jobs. Chief Minister Paul Henderson sent out some advertising to local businesses recently, with stickers saying, 'Buy Territory: Territory Jobs First - Live it, Love it, Support it.' The Territory Government will be slightly more inclined to beat the financial crisis if Territorians support the local Territorian economy. When in Palmerston, buy in Palmerston!
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Comment here or email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

NT: Not today, Not tomorrow...

That new school primary school in Rosebery will cost an additional $10 million to what was originally planned. Ouch! Hope the school is top of the range!
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I find myself buying the occassional item from ebay or amazon. Chief Minister Paul Henderson said we should buy local to support the local NT economy. I'll need to get out of the habit then of buying online! The concept is good. Buy from Palmerston, to support Palmerston. Support local
businesses and therefore we support local jobs.
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NT: Not Today, Not Tomorrow, Not Tuesday, Not Thursday, Next Train, Next Truck. It's good for a laugh. But the culture that phrases like these create is less than something funny. I don't want to be known as being slow, or behind the times, or lazy, lethargic, apathetic. The NT culture is one of going with the flow, fine, but lets not encourage this 'slow and lazy' culture, because it's to our detriment. What do you think?
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Palmerston Daily. Comment here. Or Email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

Toads, Prison and Power

Have you seen an increase in toads recently? (Not nice looking frogs like the one shown!). How do we deal with this toad issue? The public deal with it by driving over them late at night. Then the roads are full of blood and guts...
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Thanks to some of the guys from the Berrimah prison, who recently came and mowed the lawns of our property. Gave them all a Pepsi Max. Thanks again to Correctional services.
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National Youth Week is coming up. End of March (28th) there are youth events happening near the Palmerston Library.
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Darwin Power Crisis: That's what NT News call it. Underground piping was recently installed in Millner. Apparently most of new Palmerston suburbs have underground power. Should not ALL the suburbs be or have been installed with underground power? Tropical weather, high winds, falling palm branches, etc, etc. It would lower the risk of blackouts in the suburbs. I don't want to lose my freezer full of meat!
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Any comments - Comment here? Or Email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

Disadvantage of a Disability

A recent NTCOSS Document says, 'In the NT, Indigenous Australians, people living with disability, people with drug and alcohol problems, and people with mental health issues, are among those currently missing out. Barriers to inclusion such as remoteness, poor health, lack of transport, and limited education must be tackled if all Territorians are to be enabled to make their full contribution'.

I was speaking with a mother who has a daughter in a wheelchair with a disability. She struggles to find proper medical help here in the NT, so she flies to Brisbane for her daughter to receive the medical assistance needed. Imagine the cost?! I heard that since she is simply the mother of the child, she receives way less financial assistance, than if she was a carer looking after a child full-time. Crazy irony. How do we help a family like this that needs to find $20,000 to upgrade their shower and toilet to be suitable for their daughter?

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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Any news/events, email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

Traffic Lights Needed

Does anyone think Traffic Lights are needed at the corner of Temple Terrace and Chung Wa Terrance? I was at the roundabout intersection at 5pm the other day, and i could barely get across the intersection. I wonder how many accidents have occurred near this roundabout? As Palmerston continues to expand, we will need lights at this intersection.
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I read about the Palmerston Festival coming up on Sunday 31st May. Will be there. Hope to see you!
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Just a naive thought: Why are bananas so expensive if they are grown in tropical areas? Maybe there's a simple explanation or are we getting ripped off at the checkout?
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A NTCOSS document recently said that the biggest social issues in the NT, are the level of alcohol consumption, Indigineous inequality and Affordable housing. I think we can see evidence of this in Palmerston and the rest of the NT.
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Any events, news or thoughts, either comment here or email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org

Affordable Housing - NT Government's response

Most of us know of the affordable housing crisis in Australia. We need only look locally at Palmerston and you hear the stories of stress and pain in trying to pay the rent, or the mortgage. The prices for rental properties in the NT is ridiculous. Amazingly it doesn't curb the growth of Darwin and Palmerston; people still move here. They enjoy the lifestyle, or they can find a well paid job up here... everyone has their story.

The NT Government announced yesterday that it would invest some time into helping with the affordable housing crisis. Paul Henderson said, "This is about providing a third way, a government step into the market where there has been market failure."

I was speaking to the office of the Chief Minister, and they spoke of building affordable housing in Emery Avenue, Palmerston. Sounds good to me. We all know it won't be enough though. The need for affordable housing is great, and the time to act is now!

Where do we turn for help? Would someone please hold someone accountable for the price of rent in Palmerston and Darwin!
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Have your say: Comment here. Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org with any Palmo news...

NT Government and Palmerston Council - Do they talk?

Palmerston City Council Mayor Robert Macleod was annoyed recently, with the lack of communication and consultation the NT Goverment was giving over its new proposed school in Palmerston.
Roseberry is the suburb set to witness the building of a new $59 million school. Financially the original amount budgeted for the school has since increased, and the Government seems to be lacking in consultation with the Palmerston Council.
Opposition Leader Terry Mills mentioned having "gross concerns" about levels of engagement with the Palmerston community. Lack of 'communication' and 'consultation' seem to be the key issues that come to mind.

What do you think of the new proposed school in Roseberry? Will Palmerston still be lacking in school facilities, even with this new school building? What infrastructure do you think Palmerston is most lacking?
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Why don't you comment, or email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org with any pertinent stories, issues or events.

Palmerston, Northern Territory: Information - Where is it? What is it like?

See the red dot? That's Palmerston in the NT. Geographically, it's 25 minutes south of Darwin City, and is the fastest growing suburb in the Northern Territory, and one of the fastest growing in Australia. The climate is hot, humid and with two seasons: the wet season and the dry season. Palmerston is like suburbia in the bushes, and with a short drive you can reach National Parks that display amazing wildlife/birdlife. Palmerston NT, is a family filled town, with a developing infrastructure, and a friendly, local atmosphere.

If you live in Australia, why not fly up and say hello? You might love the culture, weather and community so much, you stay.

Palmerston, NT, is a great town within the Northern Territory, and is developing into an influential, important part of the top end.

Thank God for Palmerston and the 27,000 or so residents who live here. For more information on local news, issues and events from Palmerston, NT, read this blog: www.palmerstondaily.blogspot.com.

'Council blames grubby soldiers for mess'?

In the searing hot sun of a Sunday afternoon in Palmerston, my wife and I helped clean some litter off the side of the road. We helped out for Clean Up Australia Day, and tried to do our part to clean the streets. I spoke a little with Plaxy Purich, a Litchfield Councillor, and she was disappointed with the spin the NT News recently put on an article (Sat 28th Feb) written to encourage people to help clean the streets.
Undoubtedly Plaxy is passionate about doing something in the community, to 'Clean up Australia', and to spin the article in such a way as to be condemning the local Army Barracks (Robertson Barracks), for their grubbiness is appalling.
We all know that a minute 'few' are the ones who spread rubbish around our towns. I was not impressed with this NT News article, and its blatant attempt to impress readers with catchy slogans that become divise within the community. Not good enough!

Thanks to Plaxy and others that spared time to help 'Clean up Palmerston'! Well done!
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Palmerston Daily: Local News, Local Issues, Local Voices. Email: peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org for any stories, news, events, etc.