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Savings to be passed on to Local Government

The Northern Territory Government has pledged that any savings resulting from a reduction in Council numbers, 'will be money available to Councils - it will not be realised by the Government'.

A key issue for the Government is the sustainability of Local Government in rural and remote areas.

The Government's view is that there should eventually be less Councils in the Territory, with the ultimate aim that these Councils are adequately equipped to provide services to the Territory's entire population.

Although Local Government Minister, Loraine Braham, recently told the Legislative Assembly there is no specific number of Councils in mind or minimum population per Council, she believes Councils with less than 2,000 people encounter difficulties in maintaining adequate levels of administration and service delivery over the longer term.

She said the move towards larger, more sustainable Councils is not intended to deny small and remote communities local decision making power.

"It is essential, in developing constitutions for new larger Councils that the capacity is maintained to an appropriate degree for smaller communities to make decisions specific to them," the Minister said.

In developing its reform agenda, the Government has been working closely with the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT).

"It is pleasing that we are in broad agreement on a range of reforms that should be made," the Minister said.

"These include enhancement of the performance of Councils; the training of Councillors and staff; funding methodologies and the need to maximise revenue resources; maximisation of the use of electronic communications in service delivery; and the delivery of services on an agency basis by Councils.

"Advisory and Reference Groups have been established enabling LGANT, ATSIC and the Institute of Municipal Management to contribute directly to developing specific proposals," the Minister said.

"The task now is to provide as much information as possible to Councils and communities so they have a clear view of the direction being taken by the Government."

The full day Workshop held at Pine Creek on 23 February, the day prior to LGANT's General Meeting, was designed to provide information and generate discussion.

The Minister said the outcomes from this Workshop will be useful in determining future directions.

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