Celebrating Two Years in Council with a proactive and enthusiastic team of 12 Councillors

Highlighted public housing issues, including poor planning by the Northern Territory Government (NTG) in the construction of additional living spaces in Ali Curung, lack of air conditioning in Alpurrurulam homes and houses beyond economic repair in Tennant Creek and Elliott, as part of Council’s role to advocate for better living conditions for the people of the Barkly; Successfully advocated and lobbied the NTG for additional resources in child protection and improved community safety, including the return of a mobile CCTV camera to Tennant Creek, reinstating the ECO2 position in the Department of the Chief Minister and creating a Regional Director position in Territory Families. Successfully lobbied the NTG to increase funding for the Youth Links After-Hours Youth Program from a two-year to a five-year funding agreement; Met with the former Prime Minister in June 2018 and presented to him the idea of a Barkly Regional Deal and invited him to Tennant Creek to meet with key stakeholders and community members; Held meetings with Federal and Territory Government ministers and officials to progress the ‘Barkly Regional Deal’; Completed the upgrade of the sport and recreation building in Elliott, commenced the upgrade of the football oval on Staunton Street and extension of the Tennant Creek Cemetery, and implemented a graffiti removal program in Tennant Creek; Implimented the five-year infrastructure plan to improve community facilities in towns and communities in the Barkly; Advocated for improved sports and recreation facilities and street beautification, with grants of $9 million to upgrade Purkiss Reserve, $2.945 million for a streetscape project on Paterson Street, Peko Road and Davidson Walk in Tennant Creek, and $500,000 for a new football oval in Elliott. Continued to lobby the NTG to return a permanent police presence to Alpurrurulam following the government’s decision to withdraw the permanently based police officers in February 2018; Endorsed and adopted a Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Policy and the ‘Safe in our workplace: Safe in our homes: Safe in our communities’ action plan at the 22 March Ordinary Council meeting as part of its commitment to the No More Domestic Violence Campaign. Pledged to erect signs in seven regional communities declaring Council’s intention to eradicate family violence from the region, with the first sign installed at the entrance to Purkiss Reserve, Tennant Creek, in May 2018. Continued to establish and maintain strong partnerships with external stakeholders, including the Mt lsa City Council, Jemena, and the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT); Hosted public forums, including one on anti-social behaviour in Tennant Creek and a Business Forum seeking feedback about our Purchasing and Procurement Policy and other issues of concern; Revised Council's Local Authority Establishment Policy to ensure Local Authorities in Arlparra, Ampilatwatja, Ali Curung, Alpurrurulam, Wutunugurra (Epenarra), Elliott and Tennant Creek now meet monthly and have a maximum of seven (7) appointed members; Encouraged locals to report the illegal dumping of waste to Council, with more than 100 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish removed from around Tennant Creek within a month of the ‘Dob in a Dumper’ campaign launch; Commenced an investigation into options for improving waste management in Tennant Creek, including kerbside recycling; Approved plans to remove the roundabout on the intersection of Peko Road and Ambrose Street; Commenced the development of a Barkly Visitor Experience Masterplan to support and grow tourism in the region; Delivered a written submission to the Liquor Commission in regard to alcohol restrictions in Tennant Creek; Signed a 10-year lease with the Department of Education to utilise 25 per cent (250ha) of Council's Juno property as a training facility for students to obtain certificates in Vocational Education and Training programs; Councillors appointed on several external committees, including Mayor’s appointment as Chair of the Regional Development Australia Northern Territory (RDANT) Committee; Maintained and encouraged participation in both Council-run and locally run events, such as Australia Day, International Women’s Day,  Territory Day, Careers Expo, NAIDOC Week, Youth Week, the Tennant Creek Show and the No More Violence March; Funded and received a three-hour training session for all Councillors to focus on improving corporate governance, meeting procedures, roles and responsibilities, agendas, minutes and following through on actions; Changed the principle member's title from President to Mayor; and Approved a new 'Delegations' manual.

Removed the roundabout on the corner of Peko Road and Ambrose Street. Transformed Karguru Oval (adjacent to the training centre on Staunton Street), to make our town more vibrant, active and well-connected. Lobbied Northern Territory Government for funding for Sport and Recreation Programs in the Barkly, where $224,000 was provided to deliver services at four communities – Ali Curung, Elliott, Alpurrurulam, and Ampilatwatja but nothing for Epenarra. Council received a $3million grant for the delivery of sports and recreation programs. The two-year funding, under the Australian Governments Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will be spread across the communities of Ali Curung, Alpurrurulam, Ampilatwatja, Elliott and Epenarra until January 2021. Proudly sponsored the NT Customer Service Awards hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. Fulfilling Community and Local Authority priorities by re-sealing the internal roads in Alpurrurulam. Holding and facilitating multiple citizenship ceremonies to formally welcome new Australian Citizens to the Barkly community. Purchase of a new street sweeper. The new machine is easier to operate and is ideal for diverse use in all kinds of locations. Received the Litter Management (Improvement) Award for Tennant Creek at the 2018 Territory Tidy Towns Awards. In partnership with Australia Day NT Council, Barkly Regional Council coordinated the 2019 Barkly Region Australia Day Awards. Hosted a Local Decision Making Workshop in Tennant Creek with representatives from the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory and the Department of the Chief Minister. Continued with the professional development of our Night Patrol team, who completed their Certificate III in Community Night Patrol qualification. Through the successful lobbying of NT Government, the latest annual review of the NTG’s 10 year infrastructure plan 2018-2027, a proposed $10 million for new police stations in Alpurrurulam and Elliott (2019-2020) has been highlighted for the Barkly region. Together with the Tennant Creek Local Authority, Barkly Regional Council constructed a new Bus Shelter Bay located on Pinnacles Road. Ongoing commitment to strengthen our cross-border relationship with Mt Isa in order to vigorously pursue the upgrade and development of the Tennant Creek to Townsville rail line. Initiated and signed the $78.4 million Barkly Regional Deal in April 2019 – the first of its kind in Australia. Completed the construction of a roof over the basketball court and a shade sail over children’s playground in Ali Curung. Completed the construction of a roof over the basketball court in Epenarra. Purchased portable ablution blocks through the Ampilatwatja Local Authority for use during sporting carnivals and community events in the community. Installed a new kitchen and ablution block through the Alpurrurulam Local Authority to enhance the delivery of our Sports and Rec Program at the ‘Shiny Shed’. Granted $39,000 under the Federal Government’s ‘Saluting Their Service’ Major Commemorative Grants program to protect and preserve our wartime heritage from vandalism and graffiti to erect a fence around the Anzac Hill lookout in Tennant Creek. Successful for two grants under the Strategic Local Government Infrastructure Fund: $171,574 towards the refurbishment of a staff house in Buchanan Street, Elliott; and $216,700 to erect a shade cover over the basketball court in Wutunugurra (Epenarra). Council is pleased to be leasing a new premises on Peko road to ‘The Mob’ and will continue to provide support for this important community program. On behalf of our residents, we continued to lobby and seek assistance from the Northern Territory Government to deal with escalating property crime in Tennant Creek. Established the very first Youth Council for the Barkly region which includes 8 Youth Councillors. Erection of Barky Region signs on the boundaries of our region. New welcome signs erected along the northern and southern ends of Elliott. Completion of new Elliott sports field which will be used for AFL games encouraging users from Elliott, Newcastle Waters and potentially Tennant Creek. Commenced $9 million upgrade of Purkiss Reserve in partnership with Northern Territory Government. The design was developed through community consultation. Successful in bid for funding to the sum of $7.62 million under Round 3 of the Commonwealth Governments Building Better Regions Fund. Council plans to use a large portion of the $7,621,497 on youth focused infrastructure in Tennant Creek and Ali Curung. This includes a new youth Centre to replace the youth links Building in Tennant Creek, a Cycle/ Walking Path with Lighting from Weaber Road to Blain Street, a new sport and recreation centre in Ali Curung and skate park for Alpurrurulam. Provided Emergency Shelter for community members during impact of Tropical Cyclone Trevor. Hosting of public forums to try and tackle the level of property crime in Tennant Creek. With a focus on preventing any form of Domestic and Family Violence in the workplace, our HR team has been working with the Northern Territory Working Women’s Centre (NTWWC) to put together a program that takes a coordinated approach across all levels of the Council. BRC together with the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Culture launched the Barkly Regional Visitor Experience Master Plan in Tennant Creek. Many of these opportunities can be progressed through the proposed Barkly Business Hub to support local businesses, build business capacity and work with stakeholders and our tourism operators to grow the industry. Council received $89,442 under a Local government Special Purpose Grant to purchase a new tipper truck for our Municipal team to use at the Alpurrurulam community. Council has been successful in obtaining funding for $248,701 for an Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Grant to fund 547 LED lights throughout Tennant Creek and Elliott. Installation of a Town Clock in Tennant Creek Council has approved the Terms of Reference to establish a new Environment and Sustainability Advisory Committee. BRC is a proud sponsor of the NO MORE initiative which aims to promote awareness around domestic, family and sexual violence. Continued to support the Battery Hill Mining and Visitor Centre and made an offer to the Northern Territory Government to manage the facility under a 5-year management agreement. Installation of a new Solar Heating System on the town pool. Committed $324,511 for the installation of new air-conditioning at Civic Hall Commenced work to extend the Tennant Creek Cemetery Commenced the use of Snap, Send, Solve as a form of incident reporting from residents