A Bill introduced to Parliament today will provide greaterclarity, detail and accountability for local government councils.
New provisions include:
strengthening of localdecision making;
provision for councilsand LGANT to better manage council governance issues;
early support forcouncils experiencing financial administration difficulties;
provision of registersof annual returns of interest, declared conflicts, gifts and benefits forcouncil members and donations made to principal member candidates in elections;
better definition ofconflicts of interest; and
requirement to includedetails of CEO salaries and remuneration in annual reports.
Changes to the current Act will increase involvement from localauthorities on budgets, service delivery, funding and cemeteries.
It provides measures to strengthen Local Decision Making byimproving working relationships amongst councils, local authorities andcommunities.
As stated by Minister for Local Government, Housingand Community Development, Gerry McCarthy:
The new Act will work better for Territorians, councils andlocal authorities by supporting democracy, transparency and financialaccountability within the local government sector.
The Bill is based on good governance principles. Proposedchanges mean there will be increased transparency on local government processeswhile communities will have more say in the plans and priorities of councils.
This Bill has been extensively consulted over several years andI thank the Local Government Association of the NT, councils across theTerritory and stakeholders for their constructive contribution.
