Barkly Regional Council: Voters to head to polls to replace sacked council

Electors from a sacked Territory council will vote later this year for their replacements. See who’s off to the polls again.

About 4500 Barkly Regional Council voters will go to the polls in coming weeks to elect a new mayor and councillors after the old office-bearers were sacked in June.

The NTEC has announced elections will be held for the mayor’s position and 12 councillors across Alyawarr, Alpurrurulam, Kuwarrangu and Patta wards.

Candidates have until midday on Thursday, October 10 to nominate, with the declaration of nominations and candidate ballot position confirmed the following day.

Remote voting will take place from Monday, October 21 until November 1, and early voting over the same time-frames at Tennant Creek civil hall.

Election day voting will also take place at civic hall from 8am until 6pm.

Postal vote applications are currently open.

NT Electoral Commissioner Kirsten Kelly urged voters to ensure they’re correctly enrolled before rolls close at 5pm on October 1.

The Territory Labor Government suspended Barkly Regional Council in October 2023 after infighting and a huge staff churn including the departure of two chief executives within six months last year.

Former Barkly Regional Council chief executive Emma Bradbury.

The entire council was sacked in June 2024 after the release of a redacted 616-page report following a probe by investigator Ruth Morley, who examined the council’s conduct from January 2022 to October 2023.

The report found the elected members did not understand their roles and failed to seek information before making critical decisions, while conflicts of interest were not properly managed.

The report also found council did not appropriately manage former chief executive Emma Bradbury, who left council in February 2023.

Ms Morley also highlighted poorly conducted council meetings, conflicts between council members and a lack of communication with the wider community.

Ms Morley alleged in her report that both Ms Bradbury and then Mayor McLaughlin acted “with a conflict of interest” and manipulated other councillors around the delivery of the report.

Council did not act on the recommendations from the Justita Report, which had earlier looked into the organisation’s culture.

Former Barkly mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin during the citizen’s arrest.

Problems at Barkly Shire came to a head last October when video emerged of the former mayor conducting a “citizen’s arrest” on a 12-year-old boy in the frontyard of a Tennant Creek home.

Another man in the video is seen putting his foot on the child’s head while threatening to kill the youth.

At the time Mr McLaughlin said his action “was entirely reasonable in the circumstances” and former chief minister Natasha Fyles said while the vision was “confronting”, the mayor’s actions reflected frustration with anti-social behaviour in the Territory.

Police investigated the incident and a file was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

No charges have been laid and the DPP declined to comment.

He had earlier been arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs and cannabis possession, with that matter due to return to Alice Springs Local Court on October 31.

Originally published as Barkly Regional Council: Voters to head to polls to replace sacked council