Media Release by The Hon Jenny Macklin MP

$2.2 million to upgrade Manthathpe road

Joint Media Release with:

  • Rob Knight MLA, Member For Daly
    Warren Snowdon MP, Member For Lingiari

Residents at the Manthathpe subdivision near Wadeye in the Northern Territory will soon have all-weather road access to Wadeye following the approval of $2.2 million in joint Australian and Northern Territory Government funding.

The Manthathpe Road upgrade will significantly improve access to Wadeye for more than 200 residents who currently live at Manthathpe.

The subdivision is located approximately five kilometres along the Manthathpe Road from Wadeye, the fifth largest town in the Northern Territory.

Thamarrurr Development Corporation will receive funding of almost $1.1 million from the Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA), along with $880,000 from the Northern Territory Government and $250,000 from the Victoria Daly Shire Council to upgrade the road.

The community has been calling for this upgrade, which will greatly improve access to Wadeye and help improve living conditions for Manthathpe residents.

In its current state the road is often impassable during the wet season. The ABA Advisory Committee supported the proposal in recognition of how important fixing this problem is to traditional owners.

Residents at Manthathpe often have to walk up to two kilometres through mud, water and a swollen creek to access services in Wadeye. This severely restricts access to essential services such as the school, health centre, community store and airport during the wet season. It also often prevents people from attending work and employment training at Wadeye.

The road will be upgraded in two phases. Phase one will improve the road surface and drainage and convert the road into an all-weather dirt road and phase two will seal the road with bitumen.

Improving the road will better support the ongoing delivery of new housing to Manthathpe and will alleviate housing pressure on the main community of Wadeye.

The upgrade will consolidate the gains made by the Wadeye community in recent years through the Thamarrurr Development Corporation’s ranger program and other initiatives.

Work on the first phase of the upgrade is expected to commence shortly.

The ABA was established under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (the ALRA Act).

It receives financial compensation from the Commonwealth Government equivalent to the value of royalties paid by mining interests on Aboriginal land.