LAKSA QUEEN ON DARWIN COUNCIL
LAKSA queen Amye Un will sit on the Darwin council with five other new aldermen, the final council election results have revealed.
Ms Un, who also ran for mayor but was dwarfed by incumbent Kon Vatskalis, was elected alongside incumbents Mick Palmer and Paul Arnold.
Darwin’s Chan Ward will be represented by Peter Pangquee, Morgan Rickard and Ed Smelt. Both Mr Rickard and Mr Smelt, who was endorsed by Chief Minister Michael Gunner, are new to council.
In the Richardson Ward, Jimmy Bouhoris and Rebecca Want de Rowe were re-elected, alongside newbie Vim Sharma. Finally, Darwin’s Waters Ward will be represented by two newcomers, Sylvia Klonaris and Brian O’Gallagher, as well as incumbent Justine Glover.
In Alice Springs, Matt Paterson will take over as mayor from the long-serving Damien Ryan after winning out on preferences ahead of Jimmy Cocking and Eli Melky, who were both returned to council.
Mr Paterson, who is the former deputy mayor and served on the town council for several years, was declared mayor with a margin of just nine votes between him and Mr Cocking. The trio will be joined by newcomers Mark Coffey, Marli Banks, Steve Brown, Kim Hopper, Allison Bitar and Michael Liddle.
Outgoing mayor Mr Ryan took to social media to thank the people of Alice Springs for his tenure. “I will forever fight for the people of Alice Springs and the Northern Territory,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Alice Springs has always been my home – and I am lucky to have served for – and with – a culturally rich, diverse and passionate community.”
Meanwhile, Litchfield has a new mayor in Doug Barden after he bested Maree Bredhauer on preferences. Residents will also be represented by Andrew Mackay, Kev Harlan, Rachael Wright, Mathew Salter, Emma Sharp and Mark Sidey.
Mr Barden said building a team would be the first order of business under his leadership. “I’ll basically just see what the rest of the team wants to to do,” he said. “It’s a team of seven people, I’m only one person in a team (but) the team looks good.”
Mr Barden said he would try to talk up the region’s positives. “We don’t want to be negative, we want to be positive,” he said. “So basically see what (the other councillors’) priorities are and work on the positives.”
Lis Clark has been elected mayor in Katherine, with councillors Kym Henderson, Jeremy Trembath, Maddy Bower, Ben Herdon, Amanda Kingdon and Denis Coburn.