Sponsored by Litchfield Council with an assistance grant from the Department of Local Government, the two-day training session focused on the role of council and councillors, finance, risk and leadership.
The five new Litchfield councillors attended, in addition to councillors from Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, Litchfield, Coomalie, Tiwi Islands and Wagait.
Sessions were facilitated by a representative from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
“This is an extremely valuable exercise in capacity-building for elected representatives in local government and in understanding key aspects of the roles and responsibilities of council and councillors,” said Local Government Association of Northern Territory (LGANT) President Damien Ryan.
“It is about confidence-building but also about ensuring councillors have the right tools to provide best representation to ratepayers and the wider community.”
Litchfield Council Mayor, Maree Bredhauer, said the training re-inforces that there is already abundant information around topic areas that may confront councillors.
“It emphasises the importance of asking the right questions to better understand issues of a complex or technical nature and bringing a solid understanding to decision making.
“Litchfield believed it was valuable to invite representatives from other councils to take part so we can better understand how each of us work.”
