THE Minister for Local Government and Community Services, Bess Price, decided on Monday to dismiss the suspended members of Litchfield council and call a fresh election.
The election will be held on Saturday, November 28, 2015, and nominations for the five elected positions will be opening within the next week.
The elections will be run by the NT Electoral Commission and further details will be advertised shortly.
The council, in conjunction with the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory, will be running a number of briefing sessions for people interested in nominating for council.
Details of the time and place of the briefing sessions will be notified in the next week.
I encourage members of the community to consider standing for council.
Until such time as the election is held and the new council is sworn in, I will continue in the position of official manager.
In other news, the Northern Territory Planning Commission is developing a Litchfield Sub Regional Land Use Plan.
It has prepared a consultation paper on future land development in the Litchfield area, which can be found at www.planningcommission.nt.gov.au.
This plan will guide development in the Litchfield area for the foreseeable future, so I urge all residents to read the consultation paper and let the commission know your thoughts.
Congratulations to the McMinns Lagoon Recreation Reserve Landcare group for being named as finalists in the 2015 NT Landcare Awards.
Group chairman Brian McWilliam was nominated for the 2016 Australian Of The Year awards.
Brian has coordinated many events at the reserve, where volunteers plant trees or remove weeds.
Some of these are Corridors of Green, National Tree Day, Trees With Love Memorial Park, Mitre 10 – Biggest Backyard Improvement Project Ever, World Wetlands Day/Week and the Olympic Landcare Project.
His efforts underpin the success of this group as the longest-running Landcare group in the NT.
Brian encourages others to manage weeds and water on their own properties.
Not one to sit still for long, he is working on the history of the McMinns Lagoon Reserve and a website.