“Council is by no means against Local Government Reform, and strongly feels there will be widespread positive outcomes as a result of the formation of the new Shires in the Territory. We simply hope our concerns will be understood and taken into serious consideration over the coming months,” said Mayor Kilgariff.

“These are two completely separate issues that Council has chosen to speak about. First and foremost the proposed changes to the Local Government Act seem to have the underlying philosophy that one size fits all,” said Mayor Fran Kilgariff.

“Prior to Local Government Reform, municipalities like Alice Springs, Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and Tennant Creek operated under different guidelines to remote communities,” said Mayor Kilgariff.

“The changes mean Ministerial power and control will increase over both municipalities and the newly formed shires. When we looked into the changes, it appears that they have been made purely in an effort to regulate the newly formed shires,” said Mayor Kilgariff.

“The changes do not take into account that the existing municipalities are well administered, and Council feels that the changes will take away Council’s ability to securely trust that the decisions they make on behalf of the community are final,” said Mayor Kilgariff.

The second issue that Council has decided to speak publicly about is the possibility of negative financial implications of Local Government Reform, largely due to the new formula that the NT Grants Commission will be using for the allocation of funds in the Northern Territory.

“We know that funding is being reduced anyway but Council is not sure of any further impact the reforms may have on our continued resources. Council is concerned that under the new formula that Alice Springs grant funding allocation will drop,” said Mayor Fran Kilgariff.

For further information contact:

Mayor Fran Kilgariff (08) 8950 0525 or 0419376060

ASTC Chief Executive Officer Rex Mooney (08) 8950 0525 or 0427161956

ASTC Media & Communication Officer Fionn Muster (08) 8950 0546 or 0417884449