Media Release - Barkly Regional Council Honoured for Lifesaving Commitment While Advocating for Crucial Pool Infrastructure
Barkly Regional Council was honoured on Monday night, receiving the distinguished Royal Life Saving Society NT President’s Award, at the 2025 Administrator’s Medal Awards at Government House, Darwin. This recognition comes as the future of the Tennant Creek Public Pool faces uncertainty.
The event, hosted by Administrator to the Northern Territory, His Honour Professor the Honourable Hugh Heggie AO PSM, and Ms Ruth Jones, celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the Royal Life Saving Northern Territory, honouring six decades of commitment to water safety across the Territory.
The Award received by the Council was in recognition of outstanding service to water safety and drowning prevention in the Barkly region.
“A huge congratulations to our incredible pool team. Your hard work, passion, and community-first approach is deeply appreciated and now formally recognised.” said Mayor Sid Vashist.
Despite this moment of celebration, the Council reflected on the critical challenge of ensuring the continued provision of this essential aquatic service for the community.
The Mayor stated: “Our regional pool is the only public pool available in the 1,200km stretch between Alice Springs and Katherine. It services not just Tennant Creek, but a vast portion of the Barkly region — providing a vital space for cooling down, learning water safety, exercising, better health outcomes, and building community connection.”
“Unfortunately, the infrastructure that supports this pool is ageing and beyond economic repair. The pump room — the heart of our operations— is failing. This puts immense strain on keeping the pool open, especially during our harsh summer months when temperatures soar past 40°C. When the pool isn’t operational, we know how frustrating that is for the whole community.”
The Barkly Regional Council has been proactively working with the community on designing a new aquatic centre as a long-term solution, however the short-term goal is urgent State Government funding to replace the failing pump room.
While at the event, the Mayor took time to meet with Jinson Charls, Minister for People, Sports and Culture to present the pool business case for this much-needed infrastructure upgrade.
“While our people do incredible work, as this Award proves, they need the right tools and functional infrastructure to support them.” said Mayor Sid Vashist.
“We’re committed to delivering better facilities for our region — because the Barkly deserves it.”
Barkly Regional Council is responsible for fostering sustainable development and delivering essential services to over 8,000 residents over 322, 713 square kilometres across the Northern Territory.
