Central Desert Regional Council’s (CDRC) team in the Australasian Local Government Management Challenge NT division have returned home with the trophy.

This is the second time CDRC has won the competition with Central Dust Devils winning in 2021. Desert Think Tank are looking to bring home the Australasian trophy when they compete in Adelaide in August. This has never been won by an NT team before, and Desert Think Tank are confident they can give the opposition from all Australian states and New Zealand a run for their money.

“Even though winning is great, it’s really about the learning and experience that is gained, which we can use to increase the quality of services that we deliver to our residents,” said two time winner, Andrew Cook.

“The Management Challenge was a fantastic experience, one I got to share with awesome team mates. Winning was an added bonus!” said Ashlee Fuller.

“It is a great learning experience, and I recommend it to anyone that has an opportunity to join in,” said Abhaya Sharma.

“It was with pride that I mentored such a strong, resilient, calm and professional team. From the preparation tasks, the Pre-Challenge task to the final day the team demonstrated their ability to come together from across the Council and work as an extremely professional and collaborative team. They supported each other every step of the way and very importantly stayed on task throughout the day even when “angry customers and agitated employees” in role plays tried to throw them off task. It was a great opportunity to support the learning of the team around Local Government concepts and report writing skills. I look forward to the next stages of the competition,” said mentor Rachel Wilson, Director Corporate Services.

The Desert Think Tank team members were (in second photo): Abhaya Sharma, Ashlee Fuller, Patchouli Cross, Andrew Cook, Marijhan Samy, mentor Rachel Wilson, and Daniel Shane.

Central Desert Regional Council (CDRC) entered Yuendumu in the Top Tiny Tourism Town Award it has been declared the Northern Territory winner! 

This also means Yuendumu will be the Northern Territory finalist in this category of the Australian Top Tourism Awards.

The Top Tourism Town Awards recognise the value of tourism to towns and communities across Australia and celebrates the diversity and outstanding regional destinations of our country.

The winning entry video.

Painting at Warlukurlangu Art Centre Yuendumu           Yuendumu Landscape