1 This report is the 29th Annual Report of LGANT and it is for the financial year 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 and is prepared for members of LGANT, stakeholders and other parties. This report has been prepared in compliance with clause 22.3 of the LGANT constitution which requires it to be tabled for the members of LGANT at an Annual General Meeting. This meeting will take place on 5-6 November 2020 at the Grand Ballroom, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Alice Springs. The report details the financial position and performance of LGANT for the financial year, as well as background material on local government in the Northern Territory, LGANT’s membership, directions and achievements during the year. If anyone has any queries about the report, they can contact LGANT as per below: Telephone: (08) 8944 9688 Email: [email protected] Official publication of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory © 2020 Cover image - Nightcliff Jetty, City of Darwin 2 Table of Contents About the Association ............................................................................ 6 Chief Executive Officer’s Report ............................................................ 8 President’s Report on behalf of the Executive.......................................11 Membership 2019-2020 ........................................................................14 LGANT Executive Committee as at 30 June 2020 ................................15 LGANT Organisational Structure as at 30 June 2020 ...........................21 Annual Priority Achievements 2019-2020 .............................................22 Goal 1 To effectively advocate for and represent member councils .....22 Goal 2 - To enhance the status of local government. ............................27 Local Government 2030 Strategy .........................................................28 COVID-19 Response ............................................................................28 Goal 3 - To enhance the performance of local government ...................31 Goal 4 - Maintain an effective and efficient service ...............................42 Financial Statements for the Year Ended 30 June 2020 .......................46 Honour Board LGANT Executive CEOs and Life Members ...................49 Service Providers .................................................................................52 Association Sponsors ...........................................................................52 3 Annual Report 2016-201 4 17 Councils 5 Municipals 9 Regionals 3 Shires 5 About the Association The office of LGANT is located at the Parap Business Centre, 21 Parap Road, Parap, Northern Territory. LGANT has been in existence since 1992 and is the single peak body representing and servicing the needs of its 17 local government councils and an associate member in the Northern Territory. LGANT is established as an incorporated body under section 242 of the Local Government Act. LGANT has a nine-member Executive Committee which has overall carriage of the Association’s affairs as detailed in the Association’s constitution and governance charter. LGANT’s policy statements are regularly updated and reflect the local government sector response to issues. LGANT is the voice of local government in the Northern Territory, representing all 17 municipal and regional councils, 63 local authorities, 66 remote communities with a physical council presence and 614 homelands with over 100 Aboriginal languages and dialects. We provide leadership, support, representation and advocacy on behalf of our member councils for the benefit of their communities. We provide leadership, support, representation and advocacy on behalf of our member councils for the benefit of their communities. Local government makes a significant contribution to the Northern Territory economy as collectively councils employ around 3,000 Territorians, is the largest employer of Indigenous people in remote and regional areas, manage and control assets and infrastructure valued at $2.57 billion, is responsible for over 13,000 kilometres of roads and receive and expend over $505 million in the Northern Territory annually. The Executive and staff review the LGANT strategic plan each February and this report includes feedback on achievements against the plan for 2019-2020. 6 LGANT: • exists as a provider of support services, a coordinator of collective effort and as an advocate for its members and forms part of the system of local government in Australia which includes: 1. Councils 2. State and Territory Local Government Associations 3. the Australian Local Government Association • undertakes advocacy work for councils in the Northern Territory by being a ‘voice’ for member councils or representing their collective views to other spheres of government and the public. This helps increase their understanding of the views and positions of local government in the Northern Territory • obtains views from its members through various communication channels, most importantly at meetings where it calls for resolutions on a range of policies and actions. Progress reports are circulated regularly to members through minutes of meetings and reports Vision For LGANT to lead, represent and be influential for the benefit of local government in the Northern Territory. Our Business To provide leadership, support and influential representation for the local government sector on all issues in the Northern Territory. Core Values To achieve the mission and vision identified, the guiding principle of LGANT is to be responsive and supportive to the needs of its members. Our values are: • transparency • honesty • accountability • responsiveness • accessibility • flexibility • innovation. Strategic Goals LGANT’s goals as stated in the 2019-2020 strategic plan are: • to enhance the status of local government (Local Government Understanding) • to enhance the performance of local government (Local Government Capacity) • to effectively advocate for and represent member councils (Local Government Influence) • to maintain an effective and efficient service 7 Chief Executive Officer’s Report This is my first LGANT Annual Report delivered under Section 22.2 of the LGANT Constitution after commencing as the Chief Executive Officer 4 November 2019. The report includes the audited annual financial statements for the 2019-2020 financial year. The financial position and performance of LGANT was sound as at 30 June 2020. As the incoming CEO there is nothing quite like a crisis to highlight the challenges and opportunities and in this case those for the Local Government sector in the NT. The key issue was of course to protect everybody from a virus that we knew so little about and maintaining the critical services that our communities not only expect but need. Of greatest concern was the safety of our most vulnerable, particularly those in our remote regions. To this end LGANT worked very hard with the Northern Territory Government, allied health agencies, land councils and our members to ensure food and water security, connectivity and to support the prevention of the virus getting into these communities. For the LGANT Secretariat it was about how do we support our members maintain those services and the council staff to deliver them. That is, with the imposed restrictions and councils experiencing a decrease in income with the same overheads, pretty soon they would have to face the real prospect of cutting services and jobs. Given that councils in the NT are overwhelmingly the major employer and biggest spender in their communities if councils weren’t spending locally, businesses could face closure. The LGANT Secretariat collaborated with the Northern Territory Government to provide a rapid COVID-19 response to underpin council operations and by extension ensure the health of their constituents including businesses. We can only do so much and the NT Government understood that, announcing support measures including a $13.1 million program, over two financial year periods, to provide immediate funding for council employment and operating costs; support job creation and maintenance opportunities in communities; provide targeted rates relief for commercial rate-payers experiencing hardship and assist with COVID-19 related compliance and management costs. The Northern Territory is 8 the only jurisdiction in Australia to have announced COVID-19 support measures for the local government sector. Councils came up with their own innovative ways to assist rate-payers and keep small businesses open and this includes fees and rate rise freezes along with retail vouchers systems and events designed to lift the morale of its citizens such as the City of Palmerston providing poppy driveway decals to past and present Australian Defence Force Personal honouring ANZAC Day and their service to Australia. The LGANT Secretariat made intergovernmental relations a focus and in its advocacy activities, working closely with Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and Territory Government, in particular the Department of Local Government, Housing and Community Development, helped ensure that the following financial support mechanisms were continued: • NT Operation Subsidy • Special Purpose Grants • Local Authority Project Grants • Indigenous Jobs Development Funding • Strategic Local Government Infrastructure Fund including the first SCALE program tranche of $7.1m • Elected Member Training Grant • Financial Assistance Grants for local roads • Roads to Recovery Grant As is generally accepted it is