Central Desert Shire Council became the council with the youngest leadership team in the Northern Territory when it recently chose its youngest member, James Jampajimpa Glenn, as President.
The 12 new Councillors picked 30 year old James, from Ti Tree, north of Alice Springs, from a field of seven candidates.
“We have many different groups in our Shire and I look forward to working with all of them,” said James Jampajimpa Glenn. “Together, we can explore new opportunities to develop a thriving economy.”
Central Desert CEO, Rowan Foley, who at 40 years of age is the youngest Shire CEO in the Northern Territory, congratulated James on his appointment.
“James and I will work very closely with the other Councillors to take our region forward,” he said.
As former chairman of the Anmatjere Community Council, James has played a very active role in the Local Government reform process. He served both as a Shire Transition Committee and Shire Council Committee member over a number of years. He also represents council on the Executive of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT).
James will be a full time President and base himself both in Ti Tree and the Shire headquarters in Alice Springs.
Educated at Yirrara College, he speaks four languages and has been employed as a community liaison officer in Ti Tree.
James has an ambitious plan for the Shire, which includes more real jobs and an excellent education for all its children.
“I want our elders to take responsibility for the younger generation and to make sure they receive a solid education in both their own culture and the mainstream system,” he said. “We can’t achieve better literacy and numeracy until we lift school attendance. That is not only every parent’s and grandparent’s job, it is also up to the schools to build a strong partnership with the community.”
As the chair of the Council’s new Economic Development Committee, James wants to bring together people with a strong record in business to create the new job opportunities the Shire needs.
Central Desert Councillors decided to choose a new Deputy President every year until the next Shire elections in 2012, because they want a range of individuals to have the opportunity to gain experience in this role.
For further information contact Rowan Foley on
(08) 8951 6417.
