01 FEBRUARY 2021 Today marks the first day of Community Controlled Primary Health Care Services for Maningrida and surrounding homelands. An idea, which was first talked about in the early 2000’s, was put in motion in 2017 when the Mala’la Board of Directors decided that Community Control was the way forward. With Mala’la Health Service Aboriginal Corporation and the Maningrida Health Centre (NT Health) becoming the one entity today, the Mala'la Board are delighted with this important development, whereby community control for Primary Health Care Services will be in the hands of Mala’la. The transition has been a staged process with the first health programs transitioning in October 2019, followed by the transition of the mortuary in February 2020 and the remainder of programs in July 2020. Today is the last stage, with the Acute services and the clinic transitioning fully. I'd like to acknowledged the good work done by NT Health in running the clinic for the past 45 years and we thank them for their support throughout the transition process over the past three years. The excellent collaborative work done by Dr Christine Connors (NT Health), Ray Matthews (CEO, Mala’la) Michelle Nuske (NT Health) and Lesley Woolf (Mala’la) ensured that the transition process was kept on track and realised in a timely manner. The transition working party made up of key NT Health and Commonwealth Health Department staff and ably led by Danny Keep (chairperson) were an integral part of decisions made in relation to the move to community control. I am confident that the Maningrida community will benefit significantly by having community control in making decisions and determining future growth in the Primary Health arena. Charlie Gunabarra Chairperson Mala'la Health Service Aboriginal Corporation