Ordinary Council Meetings
City of Palmerston generally conducts its Ordinary Council Meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month, commencing at 5.30pm. Council Meetings are open to the public and held in the Council Chambers, Civic Plaza, 1 Chung Wah Terrace Palmerston.
Council Agendas and Minutes
Agendas and Minutes are available for the public to view and download on the Agendas and Minutes page or available to view at the Council's Customer Service Desk located at the Civic Plaza or the Palmerston Library.
Council Decision Search
Decisions made by the tenth Council are available to view by the community through the Council decision register search platform. Residents can access this register here.
Public Forums
Open public forums are held prior to each Ordinary Council Meeting at 5.00pm in the Council Chambers, Civic Plaza.
These sessions provide a relaxed and informal atmosphere for general discussion. The community is encouraged to attend and raise issues, ask questions or simply inform Council of their views relating to a particular matter.
Members of the public are able to contact Elected Members directly with any Council business related matters at any time.
Public Questions
Members of the public can submit written questions to be considered at an Ordinary Meeting of Council that is open to the public.
How to submit a Public Question?
- Questions must be received on the Public Question Time Form
- A maximum of two questions per person, per meeting
- Questions must relate to the business of the Council
- Questions must not take the form of a statement or a personal opinion
- Name and address must be provided
- Questions should be submitted by 12:00 (noon) the business day before the requested meeting date
What happens once your Public Question is submitted?
- If your question is provided by 12:00 (noon) the business day before the meeting, Council will endeavour to provide a response at the meeting.
- If your question is unable to be answered within the timeframe, Council will advise and provide an estimated date for the question to be answered.
- A copy of your question will be tabled at the meeting and uploaded onto the Council website.
- You must attend Public Question Time for the question and answer(s) to be read aloud by the Chief Executive Officer, otherwise the response will be tabled at the meeting.
- No discussion on the question or answer can take place at the meeting.
- The Chief Executive Officer may reject a question that is considered either offensive, inappropriate, reflects adversely on the Council or is similar in nature to a question asked within the previous three months.
Questions can be submitted on the Public Question Time Form via:
Email: Governance@palmerston.nt.gov.au
Post: City of Palmerston, PO Box 1, Palmerston NT 0831
Hand delivered to: City of Palmerston Customer Service, Located: Civic Plaza, 1 Chung Wah Terrace, Palmerston NT 0830
Public Question Time Council Guideline can be found here
Deputations
Members of the public can submit a deputation request to Council. A request should include a written statement relating to the purpose of the deputation. If the deputation request is approved, you will be invited to a Council Meeting to speak directly to Elected Members and Executive Staff.
For additional information on Deputations, please refer to section 13 of the Palmerston (Procedures for Meetings) By-Laws.
How to request a Deputation?
A resident or organisation wishing to present a deputation must initially complete and forward the Deputation Application Form to the Chief Executive Officer. The request should include enough detail to enable Council to grasp a general understanding of the purpose of the deputation.
An application for a Deputation can be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer on the Deputation Application Form via:
Email: palmerston@palmerston.nt.gov.au
Post: City of Palmerston, PO Box 1, Palmerston NT 0831
Hand delivered to: City of Palmerston Customer Service, Located: Civic Plaza, 1 Chung Wah Terrace, Palmerston NT 0830
What happens once your application for a Deputation is submitted?
The Chief Executive Officer will refer a deputation to the Presiding Member of the meeting. If the Presiding Member and the Chief Executive Officer agree to allow the deputation to be presented, the submitter will be invited to attend the Council Meeting where the matter is to be considered.
A maximum of two people can address the meeting, although others in attendance may respond to specific questions from Elected Members which may be raised through the Presiding Member.
Petitions
Residents can seek to inform Council about their concerns in many ways. One method is lodging a petition about a specific issue.
A petition is a direct request to take some form of action over a particular issue.
The subject of a petition must be a matter on which Council has the power to act. For instance a petition cannot request the Council to improve hospital services, as this is a Government responsibility.
How to submit a petition?
Petitions to Council are to be prepared and submitted in accordance with section 12 of the Palmerston (Procedures for Meetings) By-Laws.
When submitting a Petition:
- Provide a summary of the reasons for the request
- State the request at the top of each page of the petition
- Provide the persons full name, house number, street address, suburb and signature
- State the name of the person (initiator) and contact details
- Use respectful language
A Petition may be lodged via:
Email: Governance@palmerston.nt.gov.au
Post: City of Palmerston, PO Box 1, Palmerston NT 0831
Hand delivered to: City of Palmerston Customer Service, Located: Civic Plaza, 1 Chung Wah Terrace, Palmerston NT 0830
What happens with my Petition?
Petitions submitted seven days prior to a Council Meeting will be included in the next meeting agenda. If Council receives a petition after the seven day timeframe, the petition will be presented to the following meeting.
Once a Petition is received at a Council Meeting, it will be referred to the relevant Council Department for investigation with a recommending report presented back to Council no more than three months from the meeting date it was formally received by Council.
Special Council Meetings
Special Council Meetings are only held on an as-needs basis, in response to issues should they arise.
Council to the Community Meetings
Council to the Community meetings are held twice a year outside the Council Chambers to make it easier for our residents to attend. These meetings are a great opportunity to meet your Elected Members and discuss topics that are important to you, before the formalities begin.
Council Committees
Council established the following Committees:
- Administrative Review Committee
- Palmerston Community Wellbeing Advisory Committee
- Palmerston Community Safety Advisory Committee
- Palmerston Vibrant Economy Advisory Committee
- Risk Management and Audit Committee
- Council List of Committees and Membership
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Performance Appraisal Committee
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The CEO Performance Appraisal Committee facilitates the performance review process for the CEO. This committee is considered ‘Confidential’ pursuant to section 99(2) and 293(1) of the Local Government Act 2019 and Section 51(1)(a) of the Local Government (General) Regulations 2021, which states a council may close to the public only so much of its meeting as comprises the receipt or discussion of, or a motion or both relating to, information about the employment of a particular individual as a member of the staff or possible member of the staff of the council that could, if publicly disclosed, cause prejudice to the individual.
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