Margaret Vigants is a living advertisement for the Northern Territory. Visiting the Territory for six weeks, from South Australia 11 years ago, she returned for just three weeks before she and her family moved back to the Territory to make a permanent home.
A nurse by profession, Margaret joined with other community people to see Timber Creek gain Community Government Council status in 1991. She has held the position of President since its inception. Among other features, Timber Creek Council is a leader in terms of its commitment to effective representation.
Council has two Wards ensuing equal representation of Indigenous and non indigenous Territorians. During Margaret’s term, Timber Creek has gained national recognition, winning a recent National Tidy Town Award for community involvement.
In September last year, Margaret was elected President of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT). She was also recently elected to the Northern Territory Constitutional Convention which will review and confirm the draft Constitution for Territory Statehood.
She points out that, in the Territory, the Chief Minister gave LGANT the opportunity to directly elect its representatives. This same courtesy was not afforded to the Australian Local Government Association for the recent Constitutional Convention in Canberra.
Interestingly the draft constitution for Northern Territory Statehood gives recognition to Local Government, a step forward in the cause of Local Government around the country. This document, the first new Constitution to be written in Australia in 100 years, might serve as a model for others in that it includes a preamble which acknowledges Aboriginal people and their relationship to the land dating back beyond European settlement.
