Welcome to 2019 which has already kicked off with a bang.

Australia Day celebrations once again provided a great family morning with the fun run, Litchfield Awards and of course the very important Citizenship Ceremony. Congratulations to our Citizen of the Year, Pauline Cass, who contributes much to the community through her work as a volunteer and champion of the environment. Our Young Citizen of the Year is Makuen Clinton and Girraween Primary School Field Day is the Litchfield Council Community Event of the Year.

As always Litchfield Council continues to meet with both Federal and NT Government politicians as we advocate for improved services and a fair share of the public purse when it comes to resourcing and maintaining infrastructure such as funding the aquatic centre. It is often considered that for basic services Litchfield residents are okay with traveling to Palmerston or Darwin. This is not so, as living outside the city should not be a disadvantage.

Notification of Litchfield Council’s Roads to Recovery (R2R) funding for 2019 to 2024 has recently been announced and I am pleased to say that we have received base funding of just over $4.7 million which represents a $454,583 increase over the previous four-year allocation. This funding is significant in our budget and is used to assist with maintenance of our 700km plus municipal road network.

Calling the artisans of Litchfield to participate in the upcoming and very first Litchfield Women’s Art Exhibition – ‘Visions of Balance’ sponsored by the NT Government and Litchfield Women in Business Network. This event will be held in celebration of International Women’s Day and will be a two-day event held at the Litchfield Council Office with the official launch Friday, 8 March. Details and entry forms are on the website.

As usual I am keen to connect with all Litchfield residents. You can contact me via email maree.bredhauer@litchfiled.nt.gov.au or ph. 89 830612.

Next Council meeting is Wednesday 20 February, at 6.30pm at the Council Chambers, Bees Creek Road. Council Meeting agendas and minutes can be found on the website along with all policies and recent happenings.