Published on Wednesday, 5 October 2022 at 2:45:08 PM
In my opinion...
Council CEO Ingrid Stonhill
We have just finalised our five-year strategic plan will launch it next week and release it online.
Council’s plan, Katherine 2027, is a colourful document that has been designed to be interesting and easily read by the public. It outlines the council’s direction over the next five years, a result of community consultation carried out by Deloitte consultants earlier in the year.
Having a document like this is wonderful because it shows people all the work we do. It’s more than chasing dogs and processing payments.
We have tried to have some fun, inhouse, while we put this document together and have been supportive and inclusive of all views in this process.
I have used an analogy to liken it to a road trip. What car are we going in, what route are we going to take, and what sights are we going to see on the way? Some people want to go there in a Lamborghini but reality makes us choose a more sensible, sustainable form of transport. The point being, we have all worked together, to plan our journey, and figure out how we are going to get there and how much it is going to cost — ensuring we stay within our budget. Its been a truly rewarding process!
Our team now all understand where we are going: our road trip is the next five years and our sights will be the goals we achieve in this time.
Katherine 2027 will guide council’s annual municipal plans and subsequent annual reports. It has seven areas of focus, each with measures to track progress. The areas are:
1. Strong Leadership
2. Community and Families
3. Sports and Civic Events
4. Growth and Sustainability
5. Arts, Culture and Heritage
6. Big Rivers Inter-Government Collaboration
7. Environmental Sustainability.
Local government is always a part of our lives. Our memories are created in what local government builds and maintains so it makes sense to have a long-term vision for our residents’ future.
It’s us at local government that provide the paths that take you to the our parks, swimming pool or library. We light those paths for you and provide the signs you can follow to find your way around. It's our carparks that provide you space to park your cars, bikes or caravans. It's our sports grounds you play on and our team that take care of the stuff you don’t want to, like your rubbish. We even provide you the place that may be your final resting place.
There is so much planned for our town and our region, so we have made sure our plan notes developments in the Katherine area that Council will need to be aware of such as the growth of the RAAF base at Tindal and tourism expansion outlined in the Big Rivers Destination Management Plan. It also details relevant Northern Territory Government plans from their NT Infrastructure Plan and Pipeline 2022 document including a Katherine Logistics and Agribusiness Hub, and a heavy vehicle alternate route in Katherine.
In aligning our goals and working in partnership with the Northern Territory Government, we hope to achieve more, for our residents, businesses and visitors alike.
The intended outcome for Katherine by 2027 is that Katherine will be:
- A safe home for everyone
- A destination of choice for tourists
- A hub of the Big Rivers Region
- A conscious and sustainable community
- A prosperous location of opportunity.
We hope you will find lots of interesting information in our plan to read when it is released. We hope you will be able to join us on our journey, to make us the best version of ourself in Katherine!
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