Caring for Country music awards celebrate Territory talent

11 November 2024

The winners of the inaugural 2024 Caring for Country music competition have been jointly announced today by Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Gerard Maley, and Federal Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Julie Collins.

Aimed at increasing awareness of biosecurity through music, the competition attracted 21 entries from Territory songwriters with a focus on raising biosecurity awareness in a fun, interactive and engaging way.

Safeguarding the Northern Territory against potential biosecurity threats is an important part of the CLP Government’s election commitment to grow the economy, create jobs and increase the population.

Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Gerard Maley said: “The Caring for Country Music competition is just one of the ways the Government is highlighting the importance of protecting the NT from biosecurity incursions.

“Together we share the responsibility of biosecurity to protect the Territory from new, established, and endemic pests and diseases, and I congratulate all the Territory winners,” he said.

The 2024 Caring for Country Music Competition winners are:

Group category – Talking Biosecurity by Taylah Debney and Atom Ab-Dalla
Most Innovative and Creative category – Talking Biosecurity by Taylah Debney and Atom Ab-Dalla
School category – Strong Bala Wei by Vivian Lawrence, Steve Lane, and Bulman School
Solo category – Counting on You, written by David Crowe and performed by Resin Moon
People’s Choice – That’s what makes us unique by Audrey Petschel and Ayla Johnston

Taking out two categories including Group and Most Innovative and Creative were Darwin songwriters Taylah Debney and Atom Ab-Dalla performing as Tay Tantra and Blvxk Bird.

Darwin locals Audrey Petschel and Ayla Johnston were crowned the winners of the People’s Choice with their song, ‘That’s what makes us unique’, with Alice Springs based David Crowe (aka Resin Moon) awarded Solo winner for his song Counting on You.

Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Deputy Secretary of Biosecurity, Operations and Compliance Justine Saunders said: “It has been incredible to see a musical focus on connecting people with biosecurity messaging, and it will be exciting to see this initiative rolled out across northern Australia, demonstrating the value in raising important biosecurity awareness in the region.”

Bulman School based in the Katherine region won the School Category with their song Strong Bala Wei written by Vivian Lawrence, Steve Lane and students.

This is yet another award for the students at Bulman School who were recently awarded Community Clip of the Year at the 2024 National Indigenous Music Awards.

The winners of the 5 categories will share a total prize pool of $11,500, with the individual category winner taking home $1,500, and other categories $2,500.

Entries were judged on creativity, originality, lyrics, melody and alignment with biosecurity messaging, with the competition focused on future education pathways and opportunities in biosecurity.

MusicNT Executive Director Mark Smith said: "MusicNT is thrilled to celebrate the winners of the inaugural Caring for Country competition which fostered some amazing creativity amongst Northern Territory songwriters.

“This program shows that music can play a vital role in celebrating and highlighting some of the most important issues in our region and that music is the heartbeat of the Territory. We look forward to future competitions, and I again congratulate the winners.”

The NT’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), in partnership with Music NT, coordinated the competition which was funded by the Australian Government’s Northern Australia People Capacity and Response Network (NAPCaRN).

Media Contact:
Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Gerard Maley - Kyrrie Blenkinsop - 0461 385 914
MusicNT Executive Director, Mark Smith - 0404 078 804 (media contact for winners)

Northern Territory Government