$13.1 million stimulus package delivers rates respite to NT councils

COUNCIL rates across the NT can now be deferred or waived with the help of a $13.1 million injection from the NT Government, relieving businesses facing hardship.

Council rates across the NT can now be deferred or waived with the help of a $13.1 million injection from the NT Government, relieving businesses facing hardship. Pictured is Local Government Minister Gerry McCarthy. Picture: Michael Franchi

COUNCIL rates across the NT can now be deferred or waived with the help of a $13.1 million injection from the NT Government, relieving businesses facing hardship.

Split between two pools, a $6 million package will allow local governments to apply for funding to help defer rates, ensuring operations aren’t affected through offering relief passed on to ratepayers.

The Government stimulus package, which is the first stimulus package in Australia helping local governments, will also offer a pool of $7.1 million to assist the ongoing operations of councils to create locally motivated responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Government’s one-off $7.1 million Special Community Assistance and Local Employment grant will help councils create more jobs to better respond to coronavirus.

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L ocal Government Minister Gerry McCarthy said as well as providing their own stimulus, the Government needed to work with councils to ensure communities were helped by all levels of government.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges and the Territory Labor Government is doing everything possible to help Territorians to get through these difficult times,” he said.

“Working in collaboration with the Local Government Association of the NT (LGANT), our initiatives will also help councils to improve sanitation … and engage communities in activities, messages and signage to keep Territorians safe as we work through this pandemic …”

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LGANT president Damien Ryan said the timing of the funding would also benefit councils in planning how they could spend their money.

“That $7.1 million now is a huge help to all local governments who are … working on their budgets (for next year) as well,” he said.

Councils have also been allowed to redistribute unspent funds from previous government grants into coronavirus responses and the continuity of businesses.