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Minister's Statement on Local Government Reform



Statement from the Minister for Local Government

Local Government Reform in the Northern Territory

In October 2006 former Minister for Local Government, Elliot McAdam, announced a far-reaching structural reform program for local government in rural and remote areas of the Northern Territory. (On February 15, 2008 Mr Rob Knight, the Member for Daly, was appointed Minister for Local Government.)

Mr McAdam outlined three key decisions that have been made by the Territory Government:

  1. Amendment of the  Local Government Act to establish a future framework for local government based on a system of municipals and new regional shires.
  2. Appointment of a Local Government Advisory Board to provide advice directly to the Minister. The Board includes an independent chair and representatives from regional areas, the local government sector and industry stakeholders.
  3. Setting a target date of 1 July, 2008 for implementation of the reform agenda. A number of reforms are to be implemented, including: regional shire administrations; legislative and planning frameworks; local government boundaries; funding arrangements; and service delivery systems.

In his October address the former Minister highlighted a number of key principles that underpin the reform process:

  • Consultation across all communities throughout the transition and implementation process, allowing for flexibility.
  • Encouragement of Municipal and regional shires to work together and share resources through regional plans and agreements.
  • A focus on delivering a fair standard of core local government services to all communities.
  • An ongoing, cooperative partnership between the Territory and Australian Governments to ensure a seamless transition to the new arrangements.
  • Integrated planning between the three levels of government to deliver better services in the bush.

A full transcript of the former Ministers speech to the annual conference of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory is available on this website. Regular updates on the reform process are posted to this website.

Specific questions on the reform process can be directed to staff at the Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport on (08) 8999 8411 between 8.30 AM and 4.00 PM weekdays.

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