JILL Sweeney thought after almost a decade living here it was “time to stick my hand up” and nominate for Katherine Town Council.
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“I had thought it was time to get more involved in the community, I think I have something different to offer,” she said.
Mrs Sweeney, originally from a Kimberley station, said she had settled in the Katherine region and particularly the Edith Farms community.
“There’s a lot of people out there now and they pay the same rates and get hardly any services,” she said.
She said she has witnessed that a strong community spirit could do wonders for towns with problems.
“Our major asset is that we are the crossroads to everything, but I don’t think we sell ourselves anywhere near well enough.
“If you don’t want to go to the gorge then there’s nothing, there needs to be more a regional tourism focus and not just a local one.
Mrs Sweeney has worked on a station, as a fencing contractor and lab technician and more recently behind the counter at Happy Corner Store.
“I was active at school in the sporting community when my kids were younger,” she said.
“The rate rise of nine per cent, or 27 per cent over the past three years really has people quiet upset, especially those who don’t get many services like Edith Farms, but how about the commercial operators in the main street,” she said.
She is concerned about the redevelopment of the hot springs and how it has change the “naturalness” of the attraction.
“I was appalled when I saw it,” she said.
Mrs Sweeney said recent council discussion on liquor licensing “just baffled me”.
The NT council nominations will be announced on Friday week with the elections to be held on August 26.