The small far north Queensland Aboriginal shire of Wujal Wujal has beaten all comers to win the 2018 National Local Government Award for Excellence for its work on improving its emergency telecommunications network.
The Ngana Muruku Jundjurrjiku Janay Wujal Wujal Emergency Management Network and Community Forum project has allowed the community to access a weather resistant independently solar-powered telecommunications backup ‘hot-spot’ system to use during emergencies such as cyclonic weather.
Local Government Minister John McVeigh announced the award at the Australian Local Government Association’s annual National General Assembly dinner last night.
“This project is a standout in demonstrating innovative use of technology by a small council with limited resources to address an identified local problem,’’ he said.
The council also won the Achieving Big Things in Small Communities category of the awards for a project which provides backup telecommunications in an area notoriously vulnerable to weather-related disasters such as cyclones and floods.
Mayor Desmond Tayley said the award was something he did not expect.
“We are a small council, a population of 683 people. To do something like this which is very innovative will certainly encourage smaller councils that the sky is the limit,” he said.
“If you put your mind to it you could go a long way to achieving something like this".
He thanked the council’s chief executive Eileen Deemal-Hall, saying she had worked tirelessly, as well as the State and Federal Governments for their support.
Mayor Tayley also could not resist repeating the community’s well-known slogan: “Wujal Wujal is so nice you’ve got to say it twice”.