Barkly

Regional Profile

Situated in the eastern central region of the Northern Territory, the Barkly region is the largest Local Government Area in the Northern Territory.

Known as the golden heart of Australia, the township of Tennant Creek is the primary service and supplier hub for the Barkly, with an approx population of 3,500 persons. The region features many iconic, panoramic landscapes that can be accessed from Tennant Creek.

The Region is rich in rugged beauty of the Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve and Iytwelepenty / Davenport Ranges National Park, extending to the savannah wetlands and a bird watchers paradise of Lake Woods Conservation Covenant.

The Barkly region encompasses 2 regional towns Tennant Creek and Elliott and 5 major remote communities of Alpurrurulam, Canteen Creek, Wutunugurra, Ampilatwatja, and Ali Curung; 7 minor communities and 75 registered homelands, is an area of over 320,000km2. The 2021 Census estimated the Barkly Region population to be 6,316, 71% of whom identified as Aboriginal.

Major industries in the region include government services, agriculture, construction, and mining. The Barkly and Tennant Creek pastoral district accounts for a substantial proportion of the Territory’s cattle industry.

The Territory Government is also investing to develop Tennant Creek as a mining and mineral services centre.

Territory Regional Growth Barkly Economic Growth and Workforce Development

Additional information on each of the Key Goals can be found in the soon to be released 2024 Barkly Business Plan.

The Barkly Regional Economic Growth and Workforce Development plans combine the vision, purpose and values of the Regional Economic Growth and Workforce Development Partnership Group.  This group functions as the Barkly Region’s Economic Growth Committee and is representative of the three tiers of government, leading Aboriginal Corporations and private Industry developers.

The Barkly Economic Growth Strategy 2030 and Barkly Regional Workforce Strategy 2030 were released in 2023

These Plans express and promote a collaborative vision for growth that is aligned to the Territory’s overall growth strategy, to support government decision making and private sector investment decisions.

Guiding principles

The following six guiding principles are applied through the Economic Growth Strategy:

  • Cultural safety
    Strengthen employer, business and industry respect for Aboriginal culture, land, and people of the region.
  • Equity and inclusion
    Regional economic growth requires focus on creating equity, to enable inclusive participation and collaboration, using strengths-based approaches and respectful listening.
  • Engagement
    Implementing the Strategy should allow for everyone to understand the process in a way that respects individual choices and perspectives at all times.
  • Regional benefit
    All investment must ensure the aspirations and needs of the region’s communities are understood, and that lasting regional benefit beyond the life of the projects and investment is the outcome for all projects, to create long term sustainable growth
  • Shared measurement
    Actions supporting the Economic Growth Targets should be developed collaboratively, and their measurement and monitoring shared over the life of the Strategy; also the actions for each target should be updated annually (at a minimum) as the region grows.
  • Accessibility
    Updates of progress on implementing the Strategy should be accessible enough to enable people to access information and get involved to help achieve targets and actions

Acknowledgement of Country

The Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet acknowledges the traditional owners of the Warumungu, Mudberra, Jingili, Wakaya, Wambaya, Waanyi, Walpiri, Warlmanpa, Alyawarr, Anmatyerre and Kaytetye country on which we live and work on and recognise their ongoing connection to lands, waters and culture.  We pay our respects to the ancestors and elders of these lands in all aspects of past, present and emerging.

May we continue to work together to deliver sustainable outcomes through a process based on mutual respect and understanding.

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