Highlights
- Sid Vashist was born in India and migrated to Australia to study
- Moved to Tennant Creek more than 10 years ago
- To contest as a Labor candidate for the seat of Barkly Regional Council in August elections
“I am humbled and thrilled to be given this opportunity to serve this beautiful region,” Mr Vashist told SBS Hindi.
“I look forward to continuing the good work that the retiring member, Gerry McCarthy has been doing in the region.”
Mr Vashist was born and raised in Haryana, a northern state in India before he moved to Australia as an international student.
After his graduation in Bachelors in Business Management from Deakin University in Geelong, Victoria, work brought him to Tennant Creek in Northern Territory.
“Like any international student, you start with casual work and you have dreams and aspirations and that is how my journey started in Australia.
“I always wanted to experience real Australia. I wanted to travel and wanted to live, work and support the First Peoples of Australia. That is what brought me to Tennant Creek. I came here to manage Aboriginal community stores and I later went on to work with big giant supermarkets.
“I have received so much love from people here. They are like my family. I think it now time for me to give back to the people and be a strong voice for the people of Barkly,” he says.
Source: Supplied
Comparing India to the Barkly region, Mr Vashist says, “India is called the golden bird and Tennant Creek is called the golden heart of the region. This unusual connection is my fate, I feel.”
“The golden soil. The beautiful clear skies. Warm hearts. It is a beautiful place. It is definitely a golden heart.”
The Barkly Regional Council is the second-largest local government area in Australia, an area which is 42 per cent larger than Victoria.
The largest town in the region is Tennant Creek, approximately 1000km south of Darwin and 500km north of Alice Springs.
The region covers an area of 322,713 square kilometres and the total estimated resident population of the Barkly region is 8,137.
Mr Vashist is passionate about the renewables energy sector and hopes to harness the solar power of the region.
The Barkly Regional Council is the second largest local government area in Australia, an area which is 42 per cent larger than Victoria. Source: Google Maps
“There’s a lot going on here. And now we are negotiating to deliver the world’s biggest solar farm, the Sun Cable project. The natural renewable resources that Barkly has are the best in the world. I am looking forward to taking it forward,” he says.
Sun Cable’s $22 billion plan is to build the world’s largest solar farm with a 10-gigawatt capacity covering 15,000 hectares near Tennant Creek and a 22GW-hour storage plant.
Listen to the podcast:
Source: Supplied
Testing for coronavirus is now widely available across Australia. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
The federal government's coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe is available for download from your phone's app store.
SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus
ALSO ON SBS HINDI:
An Indian who fell in love with Aboriginal Australia
