Mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin is encouraging regional residents to have their say on the Barkly Regional Council’s Draft Regional Plan 2023-2024.

The Plan is open now for consultation until close of business on Monday 19 June.

It outlines an exciting new change – an organisational restructure that will bring better services to the bush while delivering to Tennant Creek – the main service centre of the Barkly.

Mayor McLaughlin said after a review into Council’s operations, it identified the town absorbed most of the focus, leaving services to remote communities lacking.

“The Acting CEO Russell Anderson who has decades of experience in local government, has decided a restructure was needed to rectify the long-standing issues between town and bush,” he said.

Under the restructure, the Infrastructure directorate will be abolished and in its place will be a Tennant Creek division and an Operations division.

The Tennant Creek division will oversee the office reception, library, waste and animal management, by-laws, pool, gym, youth centre, Mary Ann Dam and current labour positions attached to the Council depot plus the Tennant Creek Local Authority.

The Operations division will be responsible for the remote community options including local authorities, the establishment of a relief Area Manager, a technical group including fleet management, contact/project manager and homelands and administration.

To have your say on the Draft Regional Plan, visit https://www.barkly.nt.gov.au/uploads/images/Regional-plan-2023-2024-V5.pdf You can email your submissions to reception@barkly.nt.gov.au

This article appeared in Tennant & District Times, 2 June 2023.