Engagement and trust established with the general community

The department has continued  to engage and develop trust  with the community through participating and partnering  with the training and education sector,  promoting public awareness and  understanding of the NT’s industries and demonstrating transparency in processes,  decision making and communications.

During the year, the department:

• delivered 28  specific key messages and promotions to community  stakeholders through the NT Government  Facebook page (@NTgovernment),  which has over 14,000 direct followers. These posts  reached over 115,000 people
• contributed news  articles to the NT Government internal eNewsletter, The Pulse, content across several NT Government Facebook channels, and industry newsletters, including the NT Farmers newsletter  and the NT Seafood Council newsletter
• supported news article content for the NT News NT  Business Review feature and concerning  the 24 Hydraulic Fracturing Inquiry  Implementation community bulletins released.

Fisheries

• Finalised and published  the Fisheries Division  2019‑2022 Strategic Plan.
• Reached 8,000  followers of the Fisheries NT Facebook  page (@FisheriesNT) used to communicate key messages to fishing stakeholders and other interested followers.

Resources

• Released a  draft Petroleum Reserved Block (no‑go zone) policy for community  consultation in June 2019.
• Published a  Code of Practice: Onshore Petroleum Activities  developed in collaboration with  CSIRO, which was also released for community consultation as  part of implementing the recommendations  of the Final Report of the Hydraulic Fracturing Inquiry.
• Provided the  community opportunity to comment on amendments to the Petroleum Act 1984 through the Economic Policy Scrutiny Committee of the NT Parliament.
• Published approved environment  management plans for petroleum activities online.
• Launched the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory)  Act 1976 storyboard presentations to remote Aboriginal communities to inform  residents about mineral title applications process and associated opportunities.
• Delivered a discussion paper on the Legacy Mines  Strategic Plan, hosted  a workshop and established an industry working group to contribute  to the development of the strategic  plan.
• Facilitated meetings on the national hydrogen strategy  as part of a visit to Darwin by Australia’s Chief  Scientist Dr Alan Finkel.
• Managed a  scholarship for young Territorians to travel interstate to  study degrees in resource  industry disciplines not offered at  CDU.
• Ensured local  communities, Traditional Owners, land  councils and pastoralists were fully  consulted and informed regarding field‑based geoscience activities.
• Delivered the  AGES 2019 in Alice Springs with a mixture of government and industry presentations showcasing the rich minerals and petroleum potential of the NT.  The event was attended by 250 delegates,  including representatives from exploration companies, as well as government and Aboriginal organisations.

Agricultural

• Developed  communications and stakeholder  engagement plans and activities to promote the importance  of biosecurity, specifically:
  • engagement with key stakeholders for the National Citrus  Canker and Browsing Ant Eradication programs
  • a plant biosecurity communications and stakeholder engagement plan to increase awareness and encourage detection and reporting
  • an African swine fever communications and  stakeholder engagement strategy and awareness‑raising activities.
• Embedded radio, print and  social media communications across the  NT to support the citrus canker response  program in calling for the public to  report their citrus plants for a free plant health inspection.
• Conducted joint  animal welfare visits to remote communities in Central  Australia with the CLC to raise  awareness of animal welfare including management  of feral animals during unseasonably  dry conditions.
• Awarded $200,000 in animal welfare grants to community organisations.
• Led a coordinated animal welfare response as part of Tropical Cyclone Trevor.
• Facilitated effective partnerships to support agriculture in the Northern Territory, including:
  • use  of farm resources by Department of  Education for vocational education and  training (VET) programs
  • hosting higher degree students
  • hosting  Charles Darwin University higher  education and VET students
  • training for  overseas industry staff.
• Promoted  agriculture in the NT through:
  • hosting  and contributing to field days,  regional shows and other public  relation events
  • engaging with students through schools,  VET and higher education
  • participating in  the Science with Schools programs.
• Established the Paddock Power  group under the NT Government Facebook page in June 2019  that now has 66 members.

Regional newsletters

Raised awareness of the department’s  work through regional newsletters. The newsletters  reported regional departmental activities and extension information to stakeholders.  There are over 1,564 online subscribers to the department’s newsletters.

ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 - DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRY AND RESOURCES