The Coober Pedy News is published fortnightly

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Outback Tourism Product Development Officer Report

As a member of the Cross Border Outback Tourism Steering Committee and the Project Management Committee, the OTPDO is pleased to announce that the Cross Border Development of Outback Tourism Strategy is in its final stages of completion. The consultation period, from May through to September, included a workshop in Coober Pedy for interested persons. The draft document was made available for public comment in late September.

It is likely that the Strategy will be launched by the Federal Minister for Tourism, The Hon Fran Bailey MP on 7 December in Canberra. 

The OTPDO has been working closely with Council’s Visitor Information Officer to sell the remaining VIC panels. The OTPDO is please to announce that the entire 58 panels have been sold to a variety of local and regional businesses. The OTPDO is continuing to work with Country Wide Tourist Promotions and Council to ensure that the panels are produced and installed in a timely manner.

The OTPDO convened a information/workshop in association with Mark Gill, Senior Industry Development Advisor, South Australian Tourism Commission on 20th October for tourism operators involved in the proposed Coober Pedy Opal Adventure Tour. As a result of this workshop the OTPDO is working with operators to produce a product manual for the proposed tour for distribution to potential coach companies.

The OTPDO has been working closely with Meg Barker, Regional Marketing Manager (RMM) and local operators in the production of an itinerary for the familiarisation of the SATC’s International Marketing Unit from 17-19 November. The group will be spending 1 full day and 2 nights in Coober Pedy then continuing on to Wirraminna and then Port Augusta. The group consists of representatives from the UK, Italy, Germany, North America, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Sydney and Adelaide. It is the first time the Unit has visited Coober Pedy so it is a good opportunity for Coober Pedy to showcase the best that we offer. The RMM in association with the OTPDO will be hosting the group during their stay.

Steve Staines

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Closure of Council Office over Christmas / New Year Period

It is traditional for most country Councils to close the office over the Christmas/New Year period with skeleton outside staff to perform minimal functions.

In line with Council Policy 1.12 it is proposed that the District Council of Coober Pedy offices be closed from Saturday 24th December 2005 to Monday 2nd January 2006, both dates inclusive. The Council office will re-open at 8.30 am on Tuesday 3 rd January 2006. Furthermore, employees are to take this time off as Annual Leave or accrued RDO’s. An advertisement will be placed in the Coober Pedy Regional Times notifying residents of the office closure and the relevant emergency contact numbers.

Trevor McLeod, CEO

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Archived copy

Remembrance Day 2005

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

From DCCP November Agenda

MAYOR'S REPORT

We have been advised by Aboriginal Air that due to constraints on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority the start date for services into Coober Pedy will now be the 1st February next year. Aboriginal Air will be operating the aircraft on the Coober Pedy route for route familiarization and ground handling training on the 9th January and then again on the 12th and 13th January for check and training approvals.

If anyone would like to have a preview of the new EMB110 bandit, January 9th would be a good time to check out the Coober Pedy airport.

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I have noticed that a large number of properties in Coober Pedy have an increasing amount of rubbish accumulating in their yards.

A large amount of this rubbish is old building materials etc that could cause significant damage if blown around during a storm. In an attempt to address this problem I am  proposing that Council make available two skip bins that residents can use on a weekend  free of charge. I propose that people put their name on a list in the Council office and that Council drop the bins off on a Friday and pick them up on a Monday. I hope that if Council make these bins available to residents free of charge for the next twelve months, people    will avail themselves of this opportunity and we will see a significant reduction of rubbish in town. It also gives Council the opportunity to help out our residents by giving something  back to them.

Steve Baines, Mayor

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Three outages this month – One was caused by the neutral screen being burnt out in Brewster Street causing two customers to be without supply for about one hour.

The second one was due to a lightning strike blowing out H.V. fuses in Catacomb Road leaving a customer without supply for one and a half hours.

The third, a service pit was burnt after filling with water from the rain, leaving one   customer without supply for 3 hours until repaired.

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• PIRSA has now completed geophysical prospecting trials - results are very encouraging.

• Approaching 600 holes now drilled.

• Have introduced new opal buyers to the town, and am currently preparing for a visit by buyers from Dubai.

• With Austrade and the Department of Trade, the FNEDO is developing a strategy for raising awareness of Opal in China. This is aimed at delivering low quality opal into that market.

• The FNEDO continues to get strong interest from local individuals, businesses and businesses from elsewhere about the project.

• The new Business Manager for Prominent Hill familiarised himself with the town in September, and met with the majority of the community leaders.

• Continue to pressure TAFE to expand its activities in Coober Pedy.

The FNEDO is continuing to develop an information pack aimed at attracting businesses to the town. However this has now become a part of a larger information pack which is being developed by the Northern Regional Development Board aimed at marketing the Boards region to businesses. 

The Coober Pedy segment of this pack will be able to be extracted and used specifically for Coober Pedy, when this is necessary.

 Coober Pedy Regional Times

Ross Sawers

"$600 is a bargain," the vet explained. "$50 for me and only $550 for the cat scan and lab work."