Reducing energy use, climate change risks and waste; conserving water and protecting the natural environment; and planning for sustainable development are just some of the ways the City of Karratha works toward a thriving and sustainable natural and built environment.

The Northern Hub is one of eight national Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs created as an initiative of the Future Drought Fund. The consortium of regional partners is committed to building the resilience and sustainable prosperity of rural industries and communities across the region.

The Hub will transform the drought resilience of farmers, traditional owners and communities in the Northern Territory and Northern Western Australian tropical top end and rangelands. This will be achieved by focusing on pastoral, broadacre, horticulture and forestry systems and water management.

Here in Kimberley, arts and culture lie in the heart of our community. Our vibrant music scene, festivals and events, artisans and galleries all add something special to every stay.

Though Centre 64 is our undisputed hub for all things arts and culture, you’ll find our creative spirit sprinkled all throughout town. Find amazing blown glass and functional art, unique jewellery pieces, and hand-crafted artisan creations.

The cultures of the East Kimberley are as diverse as the landscape itself. The Aboriginal influence in the area dates back to over 40,000 years and the link from the Miriwoong people of today back through to their ancestors is still very strong traditionally evidenced through the examples of rock art dotted throughout the region. The traditional beliefs of the local aboriginal people are very much alive in their art work of today, in their dancing, their ceremonial and spiritual rites and in the strong family ties.

The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. The diverse population is made up of 50% Aboriginal people representing over 30 traditional language groups. Over 91% of the land in the region has been determined under Native Title and comes under the control or influence of those indigenous people.
The Kimberley region is one of the most remote and untouched ancient landscapes on earth, which features remarkable coastal and inland environment, and is home to many unique birds, mammals, reptiles and marine life. The major regional industries are mining, tourism and agriculture.

Broome is situated along the coastline, in the semi-arid margin of the canning Basin. With a population of 17,000 people, Broome is a recognised pearling and tourist port town, and a hub servicing the pastoral and resources industries.

Derby is located 200km north of Broome. Derby is on Salt-Water country and boasts the second largest tidal movements in the world and is the gateway to the thousand islands of the Dampier Peninsula.

Fitzroy Crossing is located on the banks of the Fitzroy River. With a range of fertile soil types, the area is used extensively for livestock and horticulture production.

Halls Creek comprises of desert country and pastoral grazing land with a number of unique natural attractions such as the World heritage Listed Purnululu National Park and Wolf Creek Crater forming the basis of a tourism industry.

Kununurra sits just 37km west of the Northern Territory border and is a hub for tourism, mining and agriculture including the world heritage listed Purnululu National Park – Bungle Bungle Ranges, the Ord River Irrigation Project and the massive man-made Lake Argyle.

Wyndham is located at the point at which five rivers flow into the Cambridge Gulf and was established in 1886 as a port town which was the principal point of entry during the gold rush. Today, its port services the growing pastoral and agriculture industries of the region.

The Kimberley region offers a range of education and training opportunities from the early school years through to further education and training after school. Choosing to stay in the Kimberley region provides a lifestyle and work balance, without having to compromise on career employment possibilities and personal growth.

The University of Notre Dame and the CQUniversity both have campuses and hubs based on the ground in the region, as well as the increasing number of online courses which can be studied via distance education options.

The University of Notre Dame is located in Broome, and is home to the Nulungu Research Institute with a focus on core researching Education, Health and Wellbeing, and Caring for Country.

Powered by the Ord Irrigation Area (ORIA), the region has 24,000 hectares under irrigation producing a range of tropical fruit, vegetable, fodder, grain and seed crops. The west Kimberley is seeing development of mosaic irrigated lands for fodder production, however there is significant room for further expansion and integration to value add to the pastoral sector
The ORIA produces mango, citrus, watermelon, rockmelon, pumpkin, chickpea, sunflower, sorghum, maize, sandalwood and other crops for Australian consumers and export markets.

Aquaculture
Main industry sectors are pearling and barramundi farming in the west Kimberley, with opportunity for large scale farmed prawns in the east Kimberley.

Pastoral
There are 92 Pastoral leases spanning across 21.2 million hectares including 32% Indigenous leases which are generally underperforming. Just over three percent of pastoral leases are under foreign ownership and are managed remotely. The industry is characterised by rangeland grazing with growing potential for irrigated fodder production to expand productivity.

The recently opened Kimberley Meat Company’s abattoir currently processes 35,000 head of cattle annually (with infrastructure capacity that can process 60,000 head annually) which has established new processed and boxed beef opportunities.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted? If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it
The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Make renting more Sustainable. Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

Build to Rent
The Build to Rent property sector is growing in Australia – this new class of housing is focused on providing high quality purpose designed and built rental stock, creating an additional housing choice for Australian renters with greater security and service.

Build to Rent developments are typically owned by institutional investors for the long term and the owner could be the developer/ongoing building manager. The format provides tenants with the flexibility of renting with the security of home ownership.

Build-to-Rent developments are usually large-scale residential properties specifically designed, built and managed for long-term ownership and rental.

Social Housing
In the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 the percentage of all Australian households living in social housing (i.e. state owned and managed public housing or community managed housing) has ranged from 4.9 per cent in 1981 to 3.8 per cent in 2021. Such a drop in the proportion of social housing raises the question of has Australia achieved the balance right, and also just what is the right level of social housing for Australia?

In 2018 Statistics Canada said 628,700 Canadian households, more than one in ten renter households nationally (13.5% of 4,652,500), were living in social and affordable housing.
In New Zealand, as of 30 June 2021, there were 74,337 public housing households. This equates to 4.0% of households living in social housing.

In England (in 2018) 17% of households (3.9 million) lived in social housing, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes that 1.2 million households live in public housing, which is 0.98 per cent of all housing.

The mining and resource sectors have been historically defined by low volume products of gold and diamonds along with small volumes of iron ore. However, it on the cusp of significant developments as new and proposed projects are diversifying the extractive mining sector to include mineral sands, nickel, copper, rare earths and crude oil.

The region is well placed to capitalise on increased global demand for clean energy and rare earths. There is significant opportunity for development of potash, mineral sands and tight shale oil in the region.

The Kimberley is famous for world class diamonds and makes up the entire Western Australian diamond output. Recent exploratory drilling has identified new prospects and is considered a significant discovery.

The region has a history of gold mining dating back to the short-lived Halls Creek gold rush in 1885. Today, there are several small working mines and proposed tenements under exploration and development.

Australia’s first heavy rare earth mine ‘Brown’s Range’ dysprosium mine is located south east of Halls Creek. This mine is expected to scale up from pilot to full operations. A globally significant deposit, the Northern Minerals Browns Range project aims to be the next significant dysprosium producer outside of China.

Major resource companies have invested heavily in Western Australia to increase production of liquefied natural gas from the Browse Basin. However, due to environmental and community concerns all gas processing is conducted in the Northern Territory or on floating LNG vessels. However, servicing of offshore rigs infrastructure and labour force transfer requirements contribute significantly to the local economy.

Iron ore bodies offer Australia’s highest-grade hematite Ore reserves. The Sheffield Resources Thunderbird Project is a proposed large-scale, long-life mineral sands mining and processing project located in West Kimberley. Agrimin’s proposed potash mine has reportedly the largest deposits of sulphate of potash in the world.

The North-West Mobile Force (Norforce) Kimberley Squadron is headquartered in Broome with troops and facilities across the region. These units are part of a high priority team responsible for Army reconnaissance and surveillance in remote areas.

Norforce is a culturally diverse unit, recruiting its mostly Reserve soldiers from communities throughout the Northern Territory and the Kimberley Region of Western Australia

The Kimberley is an iconic holiday destination. The tourism industry represents 10% of gross revenue generated by 500 businesses and directly employs 12% of workforce, with many other indirect flow-on benefits across the region.

The pristine wilderness and natural environment, along with authentic Indigenous cultural experiences are the main visitor drawcards, attracting 400,000 visitors annually - 91% domestic and 9% international. However, there has been minimal growth in these numbers over the last 5 years.

The regions monsoon climate dictates high seasonal fluctuation in visitation – many businesses slow down or shut for up to five months of the year.

The Kimberley is renowned for the pristine environment and immense, diverse landscape of majestic rivers and floodplains, ancient cave systems, spectacular gorges and thundering waterfalls along with world-class beaches and rugged island archipelagos.

The Kimberley Regional Waste Management Plan focuses on capitalising on the benefits of collaboration within the region and includes an action plan, project costings, timetable for implementation and risk assessment. The action plan is aimed at increasing recycling and the operational life of the Council’s landfills.

The Mid West region has abundant renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, wave, geothermal and biomass. A number of renewable energy projects operate in the region and several more are in planning. The region’s renewable energy potential is constrained until the 330kV line (stage 2) is developed, enabling new projects to feed power into the SWIS.

Storage and the commercial realities of renewable energy in comparison to conventional sources also constrains further development of the local industry.

The Mid West hosts a rich diversity of industry and opportunity for investors. Join in this growing economy that comprises mining, tourism, fishing, agriculture industries and a wide array of mineral wealth comprising iron ore, mineral sands, talc, energy deposits, natural gas, silver, nickel and copper.

The Gascoyne showcases a diverse economy with tourism playing the key role in wealth creation in conjunction with fishing, horticultural, mining and pastoralism. The strong growth of the tourism sector, good water resources and management of natural environment, encourages economic and social development in this region.

The Geraldton Universities Centre (GUC) works in partnership with universities across Australia to support tertiary education delivery that meets Mid West student and industry needs. GUC's community-based model, the first of its kind in Australia, has drawn attention from regional communities throughout Australia with some now replicating the model.

The Durack Institute of Technology (Durack) offers more than 250 qualifications from Certificate 1 to Advanced Diploma level and was recently allocated RfR funding to develop a Centre for Training in the Resources Sector at the proposed Geraldton airport technology park, and a Health Sciences and Community Services facility and Aboriginal Learning Centre at the Fitzgerald Street campus in Geraldton.

The Mid West is one of the largest agricultural regions in WA. The region’s mainstay broad acre crops are wheat, canola and lupins. Cattle and sheep are the region’s dominant livestock, with poultry, pigs and goats also produced.

It is also host to the State's largest fishing sector with a dominant rock lobster industry, and an emerging aquaculture sector, including finfish and oysters. The region produces approximately one- third of Western Australia’s fishery.

Pearl aquaculture is well established in the Abrolhos Islands. Other aquaculture is developing in the region with several trials already undertaken or planned. Species trialled include yellow tail kingfish (YTK), snapper, mulloway, seahorse, octopus and ornamental fish at various scales.

The Gascoyne is known as a key food bowl. The Carnarvon Horticulture District is considered one of the best-managed irrigation districts in Australia and contributes 99.5 per cent of the total production value of Western Australian bananas.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted? If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it
The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Make renting more Sustainable. Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

Build to Rent
The Build to Rent property sector is growing in Australia – this new class of housing is focused on providing high quality purpose designed and built rental stock, creating an additional housing choice for Australian renters with greater security and service.

Build to Rent developments are typically owned by institutional investors for the long term and the owner could be the developer/ongoing building manager. The format provides tenants with the flexibility of renting with the security of home ownership.

Build-to-Rent developments are usually large-scale residential properties specifically designed, built and managed for long-term ownership and rental.

Social Housing
In the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 the percentage of all Australian households living in social housing (i.e. state owned and managed public housing or community managed housing) has ranged from 4.9 per cent in 1981 to 3.8 per cent in 2021. Such a drop in the proportion of social housing raises the question of has Australia achieved the balance right, and also just what is the right level of social housing for Australia?

In 2018 Statistics Canada said 628,700 Canadian households, more than one in ten renter households nationally (13.5% of 4,652,500), were living in social and affordable housing.
In New Zealand, as of 30 June 2021, there were 74,337 public housing households. This equates to 4.0% of households living in social housing.

In England (in 2018) 17% of households (3.9 million) lived in social housing, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes that 1.2 million households live in public housing, which is 0.98 per cent of all housing.

The Mid West has a diverse range of minerals and is also highly prospective for wind, wave, geothermal and biomass energy production and is increasingly recognised as having a role as a future energy hub including renewable hydrogen.

One of Australia's most diverse mining provinces that includes talc, gold, lead, tin, tantalum, zinc, heavy mineral sands, iron ore, copper, clays, pigments, nickel, vanadium, titanium, gypsum, chromite, platinoids, limestone, limesands and manganese ore.
Australia's first lead mine at Galena (Geraldine Lead Mine, 1849).

Home to the first iron ore mine in WA (Koolanooka, 1966).

Mount Magnet is the longest surviving gold mining settlement in WA.

The oldest and most productive talc mine in the southern hemisphere (second most productive in the world) is located in Three Springs.

Wilgie Mia near Cue is the oldest known mining operation in the world with excavations of ochre occurring for at least 40,000 years.

The world’s oldest rocks are located in the Mid West (in the Murchison subregion).

The significant radio quietness of the Murchison area was a key to Australia attracting part of the $2 billion (Euro) international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project (hosted jointly with South Africa).

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Astronomy and Space Science (CASS) has a presence in the Mid West through the $152 million Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO). The MRO will be a base for part of the SKA (the largest radio astronomy project ever developed) and a pre-eminent site for radio astronomy research and development.

CSIRO also operates the MRO Support Facility (MSF) in Geraldton.

The MSF provides support for CSIRO’s radio astronomy projects at the MRO. The MSF has access to super computer facilities at the Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre in Perth.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is also located at the MRO. Led by Curtin University, the MWA is an international collaboration between institutions in the US, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Both the existing ASKAP and MWA projects will be expanded from Australia's component of the SKA (stage 1).

The WA Space Centre near Mingenew was Australia’s first satellite park. The facility is owned and operated by Space Australia, a subsidiary of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).

There is so much to discover in the diverse Mid West region. A wealth of resources and natural beauty takes you on a journey through a range of industries. Here are a few examples:
• Closer to the coast, you will find the City of Greater Geraldton, Dongara, Kalbarri and the newly named national park, the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.
• The broad-acre farming land of the North Midlands awakens in spring with vibrant cascades of wildflowers across the breakaway country. These host one of the biggest open gardens in the world!
• The pristine coastline of the Batavia Coast and its rich coastal bounty includes the Western Rock Lobster of the Indian Ocean. A treasure of marine stories opens, full of courage and mutiny, to thrill all who dare discover them. A diverse culture of people and activities guarantees enjoyment to all who visit this region.

The Gascoyne region stretches across some 600km of pristine, postcard-perfect coastline that borders the Indian Ocean. This includes:
• The breathtaking, World Heritage area of Shark Bay. It is well known for its pearling history, sensational shell beaches, stromatolites and the dolphins at Monkey Mia.
• The Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park showcases the world’s largest fringing reef bursting with marine life including the breathtaking whale sharks.
• The rich ochre reds of the desert country. The vast outback of the Upper Gascoyne leads to Mt Augustus, the largest monolith in the world, and the awe-inspiring Kennedy Ranges which are part of the Kennedy Range National Park.
• Carnarvon is a sub-tropical coastal town that sits on the banks of the powerful Gascoyne River. This fresh water river system enables the successful growth of a diverse agriculture industry, recognised as the ‘food bowl’ of Western Australia and is a regional hub for many outlining pastoralists. Carnarvon gained world recognition for playing a part as integral support with its Tracking Station, ensuring man landed successfully on the moon. Now a space museum is a major attraction in town.

The Meru Waste Disposal Facility (MWDF) in Geraldton is the only Class III landfill north of Perth and services a number of Mid West local governments. The City of Greater Geraldton's proposed Community Reuse and Recycling Centre also supports Geraldton and parts of the wider region. Significant further investment in facilities such as the MWDF is required to meet State recycling targets.

A priority for the region must be to optimise the use of regional waste as a resource, with a number of innovative solutions available. Achieving economies of scale remains a significant challenge for the region in regard to management of waste.

In the Peel region the Western Australian Food Innovation Precinct (WAFIP) is being developed to support Western Australia in building a robust and vibrant food and beverage manufacturing sector.

Specialised equipment and research and production capabilities will ensure the Precinct offers a substantial variety of technologies and processing methods, aimed at scientifically proving nutrition and traceability, and the development of high-value food with extended shelf life.

The Precinct will create an enabling environment for Western Australian, Australian and global entrepreneurs, food companies and agri-enterprises to cost-effectively network, research, develop, prototype and market-test new value-added food products derived from Western Australia primary produce.