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Supplying food and fresh produce to the remote communities of Ngaanyatjarra Lands isn’t your typical grocery run, it’s a fortnightly process involving ordering, scheduling and a whole lot of driving! The scope and scale of travelling through the Western Desert would be difficult to conceive for your typical city driver who occasionally takes a trip ‘down south’! NATS’s (Ngaanyatjarra Agency and Transport Services) driver, Rod Moiler, a stalwart and icon of the organisation for over three decades, shared some insight into what it looks like to bring supplies into the eleven communities that form the ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ. “For 33 years, my rhythm was a fortnightly run that began on Wednesday with a pick-up of the big order from FAL (now Metcash) in Canning Vale. From there, it would be back to NATS in Welshpool, and on Thursday, we would get deliveries for each community in order, as well as any other supplies that needed to be distributed,” Rod said. “I’d also make sure that I had the truck fully sorted and good to go with other supplies that may be helpful to others along the way—extra water, fresh fruit from my fruit trees at home, puncture kits to help other travellers out of a tight spot, and newspapers for the graders,” “On Friday, I’d haul out of Perth, usually stopping outside of Kalgoorlie,” “By Saturday, all going well with the weather and breakdowns—never a sure thing—I’d be driving in Warburton. It’s never a sure thing because conditions are variable. The Western Desert experiences soaring temperatures that remind you to ensure your air-con is in good working order, but also experiences flash flooding that can get derail even the most experienced driver. “There was a time when I was stuck in Laverton for a week waiting for the road to be drivable, and another when I did a load out to Alice Springs and back because it was impossible to drive west, but the need was desperate, so I headed east,” Rod said. “There were other times where I got stuck in one of the communities because of the weather. I’d end up helping the store owners with some welding or stacking the shelves to fill in the time before I could get back out on the road,” he adds. Rod took the initiative to bring newspapers for the operators of the road graders as well as fresh fruit. He figured out quickly enough that everyone helps each other in these remote places, and he might need some road grading to make a delivery before too long. More than once, those operators drove through the night to clear a path so Rod could make his next delivery. As Rod would make his way out of Warburton on a Sunday, it would be along a route that became increasingly familiar. “As I went from Jameson to Wanarn and on to each of the communities, I’d be delivering as well as backloading,” “There’d be different supplies that needed to head back to Perth—from the Education Department or Police, or even a stranded tourist or their car—they’d be loaded on board as I made my way around the lands,” “By Tuesday, I’d be back in Warburton, backloading anything from there before heading back to Perth on Wednesday morning,” Rod says. “I’d arrive back in Perth late Thursday afternoon and then unload all the backloaded supplies at NATS,” “Then, I’d spend the weekend with my family before spending Monday and Tuesday servicing the truck and getting it ready to do it all again on Wednesday!” Unsurprisingly, Rod has clocked up plenty of kilometres out on the Lands. Over his career, a conservative estimate of 70,000 kilometres each year adds up to nearly 2.5 million kilometres on the road. He speaks fondly of his trucks, favouring Macs above all others across the years. “Five of my seven trucks have been Macs. My last one was six years old when I bought it. By the time I got it, it had already travelled 1.5 million kilometres on a regular Perth to Darwin run. I probably put another 500,000 kilometres on that one,” Rod says. Numbers like this are a healthy reminder of the challenges of remoteness, including the challenge of getting fresh supplies to the lands. It’s certainly not a quick run to the store to get a few things for dinner. There are schedules, orders, forward planning, weather, breakdowns, and setbacks amongst the rich and rewarding long hauls. Rod Moiler was one of the first drivers for NATS. He played a pivotal role in the early days, not only behind the wheel but also mentoring new drivers on the nuances of efficiently packing and navigating the challenging 900 kilometres of dirt road to Warburton and beyond. While Rod retired in 2020, his legacy continues as he shares his invaluable experience with new drivers, ensuring that the quality and reliability of NATS remain strong, sustaining the lands with all the supplies that have become a reliable lifeline.

750 kilometres a day for nearly two weeks in a car on its last legs sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Shitbox Rally first timers, Jocelyn Bennett and Foysal Ahmed, got the job done while raising over $8,000 for cancer research.

Strong homes and strong stories are at the heart of the aspirations of the members of communities on Ngaanyatjarra lands. The last six months have seen a steady stream of engagements and action within these communities as they have co-designed and collaborated on Community Plans to help their communities flourish. These plans have been developed by the communities, for the communities, and for delivery by the community alongside key stakeholders. Importantly, these Community Plans have now been accepted, giving a green light to opportunities, strategies, and activities that can better resource remote communities and provide greater access to services, which we understand need to be improved in many ways. The recent activation programs over the school holidays represented another key outcome of our Community Plans—creating spaces and places for our young people to engage and flourish on country. These programs involved many of our communities, with major hubs at Warburton, Warakurna, and Warnarn. Our Plans reflect our aspirations for Ngurra Rapa, Tjukurrpa Rapa (Strong homes, Strong stories) to fulfil our collective vision of purpose and agency —communities where members are encouraged and supported to thrive. “Our Community Plans provide community-informed guidance to the ongoing activities and investment into the community for members, businesses and government,” said ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ CEP Thomas Williams. There are plenty of opportunities for members of Ngaanyatjarra communities to be engaged in these plans, and we believe there will be significant employment opportunities in some of our communities. “Our vision is to support the Ngaanyatjarra people to live healthy, fulfilled lives on the lands - places of flourishing where the aspirations of Yarnangu are realised as we work together towards strong families, strong stories, and strong futures on the lands,” Thomas said. The intersecting impacts of remoteness, ineffective social support, insufficient social services, and the high cost of living have made our people some of the most disadvantaged in the nation. “One of the major sources of disadvantage has been the changing face of CDP and ‘work for the dole’ policies, which have been punitive and negatively impacted communities,” Thomas said. “Seeing these community plans not only accepted but moving to implementation is a significant milestone in identifying the potential, opportunities and the resourcing of each of our Ngaanyatjarra communities,” Thomas said. “It’s an exciting phase that we now enter as we’re seeing these community aspirations begin to shape and transform communities as stakeholders and government join us in building vibrant spaces on the lands and addressing head-on the genuine challenges and disadvantages that face our people in these remote communities,” Thomas said. The Community Plans will continue to fuel opportunities as each element is activated and the future of living on the lands becomes brighter for many.

As ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ continues to lay strong operational foundations for yarnangu (aboriginals of the Western Desert) to remain strong on country, it has made the vital appointment of Ralph Addis as Executive Director of Operations. Ralph joins the Council with a legacy of experience in the government sector and with traditional owners across Western Australia. Ralph spent twenty years in the East Kimberley, including as founding CEO of Wunan Foundation, an aboriginal development organisation in the East Kimberly region of Western Australia. The diverse dimensions of the Foundation included education reform, housing reform, employment, and economic development. He was driven by a desire to give aboriginal people in the region increasing economic independence and sustainability through a community-led approach. After 12 years with the Foundation, Addis spent two years as the community CEO of Warmun | Turkey Creek, working with the government and NGOs to rebuild the community after it was devastated by floods in 2011. Over the last two decades, Addis was Chair of the Kimberley Development Commission, Director General of Primary Industries and Regional Development WA, and CEO of Lotterywest and Healthway. Ralph’s breadth of oversight and governance experience, combined with a desire to realise Yarnangu's aspirations to stay strong on the lands makes him a strategic fit for the Council’s leadership team. ‘The calibre of the people I worked with in the Kimberleys was outstanding, including my wife, who I met while in Kununurra—in many ways, it’s still home to me,’ Addis said. After a string of rewarding roles in government, Addis’s commitment to indigenous development remained strong. Ultimately, it would draw him back into contexts where he could effect change. ‘I believe the broader commitment and priority of the state to indigenous development remains underdone,’ ‘The lack of priority given by policy-makers was a trigger for understanding that I could be of more value as a catalyst for change from outside of the political system rather than within it,’ ‘The opportunity to work with ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ emerged after some consulting work with the Council,’ Addis said. ‘I can see the trajectory of change and the imperative for change in the Council, and it excites me to be part of helping Yarnangu stay strong on country,’ he added. Appointments like Ralph Addis are significant to assembling a management team that can implement genuine, long-term change for those who desire to lead flourishing lives on Ngaanyatjarra lands.

¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ has appointed Juanita Grillmeier to the newly created role of Chief People Officer, further demonstrating the value of people within the Council and the desire to raise capability and capacity across the group. The role also reflects the desire to elevate prospective employees’ and partners’ awareness of ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ and the opportunities to work both in-office and on-country. While ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ is among the largest Aboriginal Corporations in Australia, public awareness and understanding of the Council’s work has been relatively low, which reverberates in its ability to attract prospective employees. “I see this role as an opportunity to set the foundations across People & Culture,” “Even the new name of our function reflects the broadening of our work beyond recruitment to shaping organisational culture and WH&S, establishing systems and processes of attracting, onboarding, and developing people in impactful and meaningful roles within the organisation,” Juanita said. Juanita wasn’t always working in the HR area. She began with an apprenticeship right out of school. “I started work as an electrician! I sometimes joke that I’m an electrician who does HR,” “I completed a four-year electrical apprenticeship at a remote coal mine after leaving school in Central Queensland—spending one year working on surface infrastructure, two years underground, and one working in the processing plant,” Juanita said. “I quickly learned that while anyone can be a technical expert if you want to be a true leader, you need to understand people,” she added. Juanita understood that, with her skillset, she could make more positive changes in roles that worked with people and helped shape culture. She moved from the coal mine to Brisbane, where she completed a Bachelor of Business at Queensland University of Technology, majoring in Human Resource Management and Management, while continuing working in her trade with Australia Post. Many of Juanita’s roles over a career that has spanned over two decades have been across the HR space as a generalist, and in specialist and organisational development roles. Her roles have been primarily within the mining industry (multi-commodities), while also local government and consulting with a range of organisations, with many of these roles based in rural and remote areas. Prior to taking the role with ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ, Juanita lived in Kalgoorlie for the past two years. “Leadership, organisational culture, employee engagement, and creating safe, inclusive and thriving workplaces are the space I love working in—places where I can help people grow, realise their potential, and impact their work environment in positive ways,” “More than anything, I wanted my next significant career move to be one that gave me the opportunity and freedom to empower, and shape the culture of an organisation that impacts the lives of so many,” Juanita said.  The potential to walk alongside the eleven communities on Ngaanyatjarra lands and see their aspirations to flourish and remain strong on country fuels the desire to unite and lead the organisational culture at ¶¶ÒõÆƽâ°æ.

Flooding and road damage caused by rains in March 2024 continues to thwart supplies to remote communities on Ngaanyatjarra lands. (Pic: Shire of Laverton)

Rod Moiler, known across the lands as ‘Desert Dog’ has been celebrated with bench at Tjukayirla Roadhouse after traversing the lands for 32 years and amassing 2.3 million kilometres!

Ngaanyatjarra Aboriginal Child Health Symposium presents landmark study and casts vision for improved child health outcomes on the lands.

There’s one thing for sure, if you rock up to the Warakurna Community Development Shed at eight in the morning, you’ll be greeted with a hot cup of tea.