Katherine’s new council was officially declared this morning with a swearing in ceremony to be held tomorrow at noon.
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Similar ceremonies were held at Victoria Daly and Roper Gulf councils.
Only Mayor Fay Miller and Jon Raynor was absent on Monday morning as Toni Tapp-Coutts, Peter Gazey, Elisabeth Clark, Matthew Hurley and John Zelley were declared the winners of the Katherine Town Council poll
Toni-Tapp-Coutts said she was humbled and honoured to be re-elected.
“It is time for a change, some things need to be re-vamped straight away,” she said.
I first want to see the name aldermen dropped so we become councillors, it is outdated.
“I think it is going to be an exciting time over the next four years,” she said.
Ms Tapp-Coutts said she would like more investment for a water park based around the Katherine swimming pool to give residents more options than using crocodile infested local rivers.
Peter Gazey said the council needed to have a “better connection to the community” and better sell itself.
“I think council is doing a good job.”
Elisabeth Clark thanked people for voting for her.
“We need to better engage with the community,” she said.
“It is not about what we want but what the community wants.”
Matthew Hurley said he was also humbled and looked forward to helping the community.
John Zelley said he also wanted to thank the voters for supporting him.
“Now the fun begins,” he said.
As expected, Mayor Fay Miller, was returned in a landslide and the quota was set for aldermen at 468 votes.
Roper Gulf Regional Council had four candidates attending the declaration today in person, one dialling in from Numbulwar and Member for Arnhem Selena Uibo in attendance with council executive staff for the NTEC result declaration at 29 Crawford Street this afternoon.
The new council will sit for the first time on September 14.
Chief executive officer Michael Berto congratulated the incoming elected members and said the senior leadership team was looking forward to a continuation of the collaboration that would allow the council to deliver a sustainable, viable and vibrant Roper Gulf region for residents and ratepayers.
“Our new council is a strong mix of old and new faces who have committed to being the voice of their respective communities and Wards until 2021,” he said.
“I congratulate all 13 councillors on their election success, and believe they will provide experience and insight that will assist Council in achieving its strategic goals.”
Although a swearing in ceremony was held by Katherine Town Council yesterday, the first meeting of the newly elected council is expected to be held on September 12.
Territory-wide, of the 105,762 eligible electors the turnout was 63%, NT Electoral Commissioner Iain Loganathan said.
“Of the 4081 postal votes issued, there were 2615 returned to the NTEC by the deadline and admitted to the count.”
THE vote count in the 2017 NT Council elections is now complete with results available on the NTEC’s website.
“There were 105,762 eligible electors and the turnout was 63 per cent,” NT Electoral Commissioner Iain Loganathan said.
“All results for the 2017 NT Council elections can be found at ntec.nt.gov.au,” Mr Loganathan said.