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Anmatjere – building an oasis in the desert

Located 200 kilometres north of Alice Springs, Anmatjere Community Government Council is looking forward to an increasingly prosperous future.

“We have achieved a fair bit but there is still much more to be done,” said Jasper Haines, Council President.

In many ways the forerunner of a regional approach to Local Government in the Territory, Anmatjere Community Government was established in 1993 bringing together people from two Indigenous language groups and eight separate clan groups.

The new Council offices, opened in 2002, are centrally located in Ti Tree on the Stuart Highway. Funding for this was provided by Council, the Northern Territory Government and ATSIC.

Council comprises 10 areas or wards but has large areas of unincorporated land separating these areas. Recent expansion of agricultural land has provided a major boost for the Ti Tree township. Located above the frost line, with good soil and an abundant subterranean water supply, the area is currently producing table grapes and mangos to the value of $26 million per annum.

Plans are in place for the release of three additional land parcels that will greatly expand agricultural activities and provide additional local employment. Anmatjere not only produces top quality table grapes but has the market advantage of harvesting its fruit earlier than any other region in Australia, and a climate that allows for two crops per year.

Doubling the agricultural land will bring more workers into Ti Tree enabling it to grow a service hub. Plans for a supermarket, Rural Transaction Centre and expanded library are in the pipeline.

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