Getting people into work is the challenge for the remote community of Balgo
In one of Australia's most remote communities, leaders are desperately trying to get more people into work to tackle widespread feuding and substance abuse. They're looking to the Federal Government as it prepares to roll out its latest remote work program to create economic opportunities for Indigenous people.
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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.