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Lease deal signed for remote weather station

By Gail Liston

One of Australia's most remote weather stations will employ local Aboriginal people under a new leasing agreement.

The Giles meteorological station is located on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands in Western Australian, about 350 kilometres west of Uluru.

The weather bureau's Andrew Watson says it started operating in the 1950s, providing information for the British atomic tests at Maralinga in South Australia.

He says the lease is being renewed for 10 years, providing local work.

"Part of that work might include assistance with the visitors who come to Giles in their droves, particularly during the cooler months of the year, so we're opening up the opportunity for up to two people from the local community to be employed by the bureau to assist in those general duties," he said.

He says the Giles station still plays a vital role in weather observations, using upper atmospheric profiles.

"North and west and south of Giles it's a long way before we find any other points where we're able to do that sort of thing," he said.

"It is highly valuable in terms of the bureau understanding the atmosphere over Australia.

"But it goes beyond Australia. It's also highly valuable to international meteorological services who also would like to know what the weather conditions in this part of the world are so that they could input that data into their weather models."

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