Similar to all other areas in Australia, the Northern Territory is currently developing a set of performance indicators for Councils to measure against and report to their communities. Between January and May this year, 10 Councils ranging from municipal to remote are participating in a pilot exercise to develop indicators.
In July, a further four Councils will be included and by July 1999, it will be extended to include all 68 Territory Councils, including Association Councils. A Reference Group, comprising LGANT and Department representatives, has been established to develop the indicators.
Recognition of core services, the identification of a number of potential indicators, and a partnership between the Government and LGANT to develop an implementation plan, were the key outcomes of a recent seminar on this issue.
Core services agreed to include the following.
- Waste management
- Road maintenance
- Community management
“Challenges ahead include gaining the commitment of Councils, identifying and defining processes, and adequate resourcing,” said Michael Rennie, Director of Policy, and Chairperson of the Reference Group. “Data availability and validity, developing evaluating processes and maintaining the impetus will also be crucial.”
The Reference Group has been liaising with other Local Government bodies, both at State and National level, to ensure measurements developed are compatible across the industry.
“The timelines for this project are tight, and heavily reliant on cooperation between Local Government and the Territory Government,” Michael Rennie said.
For further information contact Michael Rennie, Director Policy and Planning, telephone (08) 8999 8476.
