You Said, We Did

✅February - Council Connects at Newland Skate Park & Play Precinct

While wet weather meant our 'official' pop-up at Newland Park didn't go ahead as planned, we did manage to pull together a last minute session on Sat 28 Feb to hand out icy poles while having some great conversations about how the community is taking to the Park.

Not only did we see some epic tricks on the ramps from up-and-coming skating superstars, but got useful feedback for things that Council can do to improve the experience of both skatepark users and residents.

✅March - Council Connects for the New Library Consultation (Phase 1)

We had a fantastic turn out for our Council Connects session at the library on Sat 21 March!

Between 10am - 1pm, there was loads of great conversations with the team from Tangentyere Design, a number of Councillors, and our wonderful casual staff to provide more information about while listening to what the community wants considered within the Concept Design for the New Library. 

✅April - Council Connects at Olive Pink Botanic Garden 

As part of Councils Earth Day - Gathering By The Fire event (Wed 22 April, 4pm - 8pm), we set up the ASTC Ask Me Stall for attendees to talk with our very own Environmental Officer, Baran 'Baz', alongside Councillors to provide information about our current sustainability initiatives.

From what we heard, people are particularly eager to learn more about recycling  (= how to do it the Alice Springs way!) and managing Buffel grass based on best-practice methods!

Did you know we already have some awesome resources on both these topics and more on the ASTC website?

• Recycling > for all the need-to-know info about what you can and can't recycle PLUS where and how you do it!
• Buffel Busting at Home (pdf) > an accessible, easy-to-follow fact sheet about what Buffel Grass is, where it came from, and how to bust it the best way!

For more about what we're doing in the sustainability space, check out:

Council Sustainability Initiatives

✅May - Council Connects for the Municipal Plan and Strategic Plan Pop-Up

For our May Council Connects pop up, Mayor Asta Hill, Deputy Mayor Allison Bitar, and Councillors Larissa Ellis, Darren Burton, and Damien Ryan were at Yeperenye Shopping Centre answering questions and hearing what people had to say about the draft Plans.

Speaking with over 30 people directly, they heard -

• the concerns of residents in rural areas who want more access to Council services
• community members eager to see improvements to the towns presentation through weed management, road repairs, and stopping illegal dumping
• more footpaths and shaded playgrounds to make our town more family-friendly
• interest in more promotion of the "Snap, Send, Solve" app to quickly report issues to Council

From here, our Governance team along with your Elected Members will review feedback from not only from this Council Connects Pop-Up but also from all community responses received throughout the 21-day consultation period. With these insights considered, they will then finalise both documents before they are released.

We'll provide updates about what we heard and how feedback has been accounted by the end of June 2026. 

📅June - Council Connects through community events!

From our Reconciliation Week BBQ, to National Simultaneous Story Time, Big Day Out In Harmony, and our iconic Night Markets ft. Finke Desert Race, Council has been busy organising events that bring our diverse community together. 

⏳July - Council Connects...

Details to come soon!