As Shooting Stars’ Premier Partner, the Gold Industry Group (GIG) is excited to announce the program’s expansion into Laverton, thanks to the combined support of the GIG and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The program’s new trial site will be based at Laverton School and begin in Term 4 this year, making it the second site based in the Goldfields region and the eighth site in Western Australia overall.

Laverton is located 957 km northeast of Perth, and 124 km northeast of the Shooting Stars site in Leonora.

The Term 4 trial in Laverton is in close proximity to the communities in which the GIG and its members currently operate.

The GIG’s support of the program will create positive change in the lives of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls attending Laverton School, by using netball and other tools to drive greater engagement and attendance.

GIG Vice Chairperson and Gold Fields Vice President Legal and Compliance Kelly Carter said Shooting Stars is a fantastic regional education program that is making a real difference to the lives of so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls.

“Shooting Stars is effectively engaging with and providing opportunities to more than 350 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls in Western Australia by working collaboratively with local communities, schools and service providers,” said Ms Carter.

“This is a great opportunity for the Gold Industry Group to build on the incredible work that has already been undertaken in Leonora with Shooting Stars and now work with and support the Laverton community via this successful education program.

“We are proud to support Shooting Stars across Western Australia as the Premier Partner and we look forward to empowering participants of the new Laverton site to realise their full potential,” she continued.

The Laverton site is also supported by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which will ensure the sustainability of the program beyond 2019.

Shooting Stars Executive Officer Fran Haintz said the announcement of this latest site was another milestone in what has already been a landmark year for netball.

“We are incredibly proud to have a second site in Western Australia’s Goldfields,” Ms Haintz said.

“Shooting Stars has been welcomed with open arms into the Laverton community, so we’re certainly excited to get to work.

“The investment from the Gold Industry Group, not only into this project, but into our program holistically, has been significant, and their support will result in fantastic outcomes for the local community.

“I would also like to sincerely thank the Federal Government for their ongoing support of Shooting Stars, who have been incredible contributors to our program for a number of years,” she concluded.

The Laverton site will be officially named in the coming weeks.

GIG members supporting the landmark partnership include Gold Fields, Northern Star Resources, Saracen Mineral Holdings, Newcrest Mining, St Barbara Limited, Newmont Goldcorp Australia, AngloGold Ashanti Australia, Gold Road Resources and Ramelius Resources.