Commemorating the attack on Darwin

February 19th marks 70 years since the first attack on Australian soil in 1942. It took place in Darwin and was the beginning of a 21-month raid on Australia's north. It is a day to commemorate, not to celebrate.

The official government death toll was more than 240 with hundreds more casualties. Many others died and were injured in subsequent attacks on Northern Australia over those following 21 months. It was a defining moment in Australia’s history: it highlighted the fortitude of those living in Darwin and the Australian spirit.

The events of 19 February 1942 were calculated  by the enemy, and was as shocking as the attack on Pearl Harbour just weeks before. It brought the war home to a country previously untouched by foreign conflict.

A new World War Two Heritage Park, thirty kilometre south of Darwin will help us remember that dark period of Darwin’s history It is located on land where the US Army 147th Artillery established a base at that time and includes an educational facility.

The Defence of Darwin Experience is an audio visual installation that introduces the war in the north and attack on Darwin. It will become the new entry point to the Military Museum. Let us hope that it helps future generations to understand the horrors and  the futility of war.

This year will be one of the last opportunities to hear first-hand accounts from surviving veterans and civilians who fought for the defence of our country.

To all our friends, family and colleagues who lost loved ones in that terrible period, we send our sincerest and fondest best wishes. Let it never happen again.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.
http://www.woodwards.co/

Housing loans update for the Northern Territory

Australia’s Housing Industry Association reports the number of loans for new homes increased by 19 per cent for first-time homebuyers and 2.9 per cent for those trading up  when comparing the three months leading to November 2010 and 2011.

The Northern Territory has seen the biggest changes. Experts say the end-of-year increase is driven by interest in investing in an established market; but it is pointed out that these gains are likely to decline without the help of a long-term policy reform, a short-term government stimulus plan and  a cut in interest rates.

Over the three months to November 2011 the total number of first home buyer loans was 19 per cent higher when compared to the same period in 2010, while loans for trade up buyers rose by 2.4 per cent.

When seasonally adjusted, the number of loans for new housing (construction and purchase of new homes), increased by 20.9 per cent in the Northern Territory, ahead of 17.5 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory and 13.4 per cent in South Australia, The comparable figures for Queensland and New South Wales were 8.4 per cent and  5.6 per cent respectively.

The number of loans for new housing fell by 8.9 per cent in Tasmania, 8.5 per cent in Victoria and 3.3 per cent in Western Australia.

The continuing recovery in the aggregate number of loans for first time buyers, and to a lesser extent trade up buyers, is encouraging and is being driven by the established market. Keep an eye on the Northern Territory, where the economy will take a boost from the new AUD32 billion Ichthys gas project deal.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.
http://www.woodwards.co/

Multi-billion dollar gas project goes ahead

The deal has been done. The future looks bright. The largest investment in the Northen Territory's history is under way with the long-awaited final decision for the AUD32 billion Ichthys gas project being given the green light.  It signals the start of one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas plants.

The Ichthys gas field is located off Western Australia, 820 kilometres southwest of Darwin. An 890 kilometre gas pipeline will be constructed to transport the LNG to an onshore processing plant at Blaydin Point, at Middle Arm.

The project will produce an estimated 8.4 million tonnes of gas a year with the first 15 years of annual production already sold. This not only secures a vital long-term energy supply to Japan, but will also deliver sustainable economic and social benefits across Australia.

Work at the Blaydin Point site will start within weeks and first production is expected at the end of 2016.

Meanwhile, construction of a 2,700-bed workers' village at Howard Springs is on the way and is expected to be completed by mid-2013. An agreement with the Northern Territory government has ensured many of the contracts being awarded to local companies.

The Northern Territory government had been chasing the project for four years –and it has been hailed to benefit the Territory for more than 40 years. It is expected to add almost 18 per cent to the Northern Territory's gross state product each year.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.
http://www.woodwards.co/

International Indigenous tourism conference for Darwin

The Pacific Asia Indigenous Tourism Conference is being held at the Darwin Convention Centre.from March 28 to 30. It’s the first ever International conference devoted to expanding the profile, perception and scope of Indigenous tourism, particularly in the Pacific Asia Region. Around 300-400 delegates are expected to attend from around the region.

The Organising Committee is working closely with the local Larrakia people who will welcome delegates and especially representatives of Indigenous peoples from around the world.

This conference is not only for Indigenous tourism operators, but also organisations representing Indigenous peoples, governments and government agencies, tourism organisations and operators, sustainable tourism bodies, multi-lateral agencies and NGOs, universities and research bodies as well as the international media.

The Pacific Asia  region has the greatest concentration and variety of Indigenous peoples and cultures in the world.and tourism provides the strongest driver to restore, protect and promote Indigenous cultures.

Most issues affecting the development of Indigenous tourism in individual countries are common throughout the region. For it to be increasingly successful, Indigenous tourism needs to develop beyond its stereotypical and marginal role and to be brought to the mainstream of tourism.

PAITC’s programme will feature several top international speakers, and will be a great an opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge 

The main purpose of the conference will be to establish the role of tourism in Indigenous advancement and cultural preservation and define the role of Indigenous tourism experiences as a vehicle for cultural understanding, tolerance and sustainability.

Find out more at http://www.paitc.com/

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.

http://www.woodwards.co/

The past year predicts the future

With the holidays over, maybe it’s time to take a look back the year 2011 and what it meant for Darwin. When many people outside of the Northern Territory think of Darwi, they conjure up visions of crocodiles, wetlands and cyclones and a transit centre for low-budget adventure tourists.

But in 2011 that image began to change: it was a year when Darwin’s position got the the recognition it deserves – as a truly thriving business centre.

Darwin's proximity to Asia, its relatively good infrastructure and the Northern Territory's enormous natural wealth were just part of it. The Northern Territory has also enjoyed Australia's lowest unemployment rate for two years.

Developments worth billions of dollars are on the agenda for Darwin and house prices, briefly the highest in the nation in 2009, are still holding their own, which is more than can be said about most other major Australian cities.

On the economic front,  the Japanese company Inpex and its French joint venture partner, Total, is expected to give the $29.41 billion Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project the thumbs-up very soon.  Long-term deals to sell gas, potentially worth more than $50 billion, have already been signed from that project alone.

Darwin is growing in geo-political importance too. When US President Barack Obama visited Australia in November last year, Darwin was the only city outside of Canberra he visited – the very first time an American president had set foot in the city. While here, he announced plans for thousands of American troops to be based in Darwin by 2017. Some Territorians are all for this, others not so happy – but for sure it will be a boost for the local economy.

People already talk about Darwin as the capital of ‘Northern Australia’ and say statehood for the Northern Territory may not be far away. The NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson says that, despite strong growth, Darwin will remain a "vibrant, multicultural paradise"

You can still drive only half an hour out of Darwin and catch a metre-long barramundi or throw in a crab pot and take home half a dozen mud crabs for dinner. We hope that remains the case – not just in 2012, but for many more years to come.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/

New air links for Darwin

Good news for Darwin -- Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia have announced new international and domestic routes between Singapore and Darwin.

Singapore Airlines’ regional full service airline, Silk Air, will begin a service between Singapore and Darwin four times weekly beginning March 26 next year; with Virgin Australia complementing these services with daily flights between Darwin and Sydney starting April 2.

Darwin is the gateway to the Northern Territory’s popular tourist destinations and is an increasingly important commercial hub. The new  services offer visitors from Singapore, Asia and Europe the opportunity to visit the Northern Territory and then travel on to Sydney and the East Coast of Australia.

The  services will also be attractive to business travellers who will have the option of a quality business class service from Sydney to Darwin and on to Singapore and beyond.

To accommodate eligible Virgin Australia guests and those of its alliance partners, Virgin Australia also announced that it would open a lounge at Darwin Airport.

Both airlines are expecting to commence codeshare arrangements on each other’s services from early 2012.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/

Obama visits Darwin

It’s interesting that President Obama will be visiting Darwin this month during his first visit to Australia as the leader of the United States. The visit is short: the president is making a two-day trip to Australia between attending the APEC trade meeting in Hawaii and the East Asia Summit in Bali. Some might say it is only a logistic stop. But it will focus world attention on the city at a time when the oil and gas industry is front and foremost in the minds of many businesses.

The oil and gas industry is what will drive the NorthenTerritory economy in the foreseeable future according to analysts, with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of work from servicing the industry being mentioned

It was announced not long ago that the Northern Territory government has chosen a consortium called ShoreASCO as its preferred bidder to build, own and operate a huge oil and gas support base alongside East Arm Wharf.

The consortium includes several giant companies, such as ASCO Holdings, Capella Capital and Macmahon Contractors.

The base will be open to all companies servicing the oil and gas industry; and is expected to offer important benefits in skilled jobs, good wages and work for Territory businesses.Eight floating gas platforms are expected to be operating off the Territory coast within the next decade, say some analysts.

Shell has confirmed that it will use Darwin as the maintenance centre for the floating Prelude platform. And Darwin is almost certain to service the GDF Suez and Advent fields in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/