00:00Rain has brought life to the desert surrounding Balgo in the East Kimberley.
00:07It's a good time for hunting.
00:12It's the modern version of traditional hunting.
00:15These hunters are also the community's municipal workers,
00:19proud to have jobs in a place with a 66% Indigenous unemployment rate.
00:26We need more people to work, young fellas, young women.
00:31Violent feuding is a big problem here.
00:34Getting more people into work is one of the most effective solutions to that challenge.
00:40If you work, keep on working, everything will just change.
00:44It'll make you feel, ah, leave that thing, I'll just do my job.
00:48These guys ended up, when the fighting started,
00:51they were actually out there trying to stop the fighting from each different camp.
00:54Really, really good.
00:55But in Balgo, outsiders often have the best jobs.
00:58Housing is run down and overcrowded, fuelling a cycle of poverty.
01:03And there are concerns about young people getting caught up in substance abuse.
01:08They're spending all their money on ganja instead of finding a new job.
01:12And we're old people, they give us stress.
01:15The Federal Government is rolling out a new program to get more Aboriginal people into work,
01:21aimed at creating 3,000 jobs over three years in communities.
01:27Jaru woman Danita Stretch teaches skills to children
01:31and wants to see more people offered jobs like hers.
01:34I love my job because I'm proud of what I'm doing here,
01:38being here for the kids and showing them an example of what to be
01:43and what to become when they grow up.
01:46When I grow up, I'm going to be a model.
01:50Maybe I'm going to work here when I go ring the police station.
01:54The ceiling of the Tanami Road over the next decade
01:57is expected to bring more people here, along with more job opportunities.
02:02Keith Nami is one of several Balgo men lining up to become a roller driver.
02:07Start a new life and provide money for my family.
02:13Keith is definitely one of those guys who, once you give them an opportunity,
02:18you will see them flourish and grow.
02:20And just by being on site, they're being around other men who work,
02:24and this project has got 50% Aboriginal participation.
02:28There are still people in Balgo who remember living in a traditional way,
02:32cut off from Western culture.
02:34But now, many older people insist residents here must adapt to modern ways of living.
02:40But importantly, not at the expense of their own culture,
02:44deeply connected to this country.
02:47This hunter takes solace cooking a kangaroo in the traditional way.
02:52I don't want to lose my culture doing other things.
02:55A community preserving ancient ways with an eye to preparing for progress.
Comments