Alice Springs Town Council welcomes community participation in the decision-making process. Members of the public have the opportunity to raise questions or present petitions at Council meetings.
Public Questions
Members of the public are encouraged to submit questions to Council relating to the agenda of a meeting, or any other Council business. Questions can be asked in-person at the meeting, or can be submitted beforehand via [insert form] for answer at the meeting.
The following requirements are necessary for public questions:
- Questions must relate to the functions of local government.
- Questions must not take the form of a statement – it must be a request for information from Council.
- Debate or discussion on a response is not permitted.
- Council will endeavour to provide a response at the meeting, but in some cases, a response will not be possible and the question will be taken on notice. If this is the case, a response will be provided to the questioner after the meeting.
- Council may reject a question that is considered offensive, inappropriate, reflects adversely on the Council, is not in Council’s remit, or is a question asked within the previous three (3) months. In instances where Council refuses to accept a question, the questioner will be advised of the reasons for such actions.
- Name and address must be provided.
- Written questions must be submitted seven calendar days prior to the meeting date.
- A member of the public may speak for no longer than five minutes.
- If a question has been submitted electronically, and the member of public is not present/wishes not to ask the question in person at the meeting, the Mayor will read the question.
Petitions
A petition may be received from only residents, ratepayers and electors of the Alice Springs municipality.
There is no minimum number of signatures required for a petition to be presented to Council.
The subject of a petition must be a matter on which the Council has the power to act.
Any petitions must be provided directly to an Elected Member, not the CEO or another Council Officer, who may choose to present the petition to an Ordinary Council meeting.
An Elected Member who is bringing a petition to an Ordinary Council meeting must provide the petition to the CEO at least seven calendar days before a meeting for inclusion on the agenda.
At the meeting, the Elected Member bringing the petition to Council must state the nature of the petition and read the petition in full.
No debate on or for the petition is to take place. Petitioners are welcome to attend the meeting, however, they cannot ask questions or present the petition.
The petition can be in electronic or paper format, provided it meets the following requirements:
- The reason for the petition is stated clearly and in plain language; if paper format this must be clearly displayed at the top of each page.
- A main contact name and contact details (address and email) are provided, to enable follow up from Council.
- The name, address and signature for each signatory.
- The petition does not contain any language or subject matter that is disrespectful or likely to be considered defamatory to any person.
- A petition may be presented to a meeting by a member who, before presenting the petition, shall, as far as practicable, become acquainted with the subject matter of the petition.
Elected Member contact details can be found here.
Petitions can be in any format, but the basic information that should be included is as per below:
