LGANT launch campaign encouraging young people, women to nominate for council elections
The Local Government Association of the NT has launched a campaign aimed at encouraging ‘every day’ Territorians to consider nominating. Read the details.
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The Local Government Association of the Northern Territory has launched a campaign aimed at encouraging ‘every day’ Territorians to consider nominating in the upcoming council elections, with nominations now officially open.
“It’s not about having the right degree, experience in government or even being a long-term resident – if you care about where you live and the people that live there, you could consider becoming a local council member,” said LGANT chief executive Mary Watson.
“Good councils need all kinds of people and we know that better decisions for communities start with people who live there and want to make a difference.”
It comes after only 303 nominations were received for the 159 available councillor and mayor positions in the 2021 local government elections – meaning fewer than two nominations per position.
Of those 303 nominations 93 were women, 207 were men, two were non-binary, and one was not stated.
When it came to those women being elected in local councils, Ms Watson said the NT lagged behind.
“In the NT, 33 per cent of local councillors are women and the national average is 38 per cent, so it would be great to lift that number in the August elections,” she said.
But on top of getting more women involved, younger candidates are also being encouraged to put their hands up.
Out of the 303 total nominees at the last council election, only 17 were under the age of 35, according to the NT Electoral Commissions 2021 Local Government Elections Report.
In fact, there were 100 candidates aged between 55-64, and 50 candidates older than 65.
Despite this, the NT has a median age of 33.
After first joining the Alice Springs council when he was 26 years old before later becoming the town’s youngest ever mayor at age 30, retiring Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson said he hoped more young people would throw their hat into the ring.
“I was passionate about Alice Springs and thought the council needed more young people so I put my hand up,” he said.
“Anyone’s qualified. If you’re passionate about the community you represent, put your hand up.”
Nominations for local government positions opened on July 11 and close on July 31.
For more details, visit LGANT’s website lgant.asn.au/elections/
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Originally published as LGANT launch campaign encouraging young people, women to nominate for council elections
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