00:02A place of books and learning with boarded up windows inside and out.
00:08The cost to the council for the anti-social behaviour and the vandalism is huge and we're looking at hundreds
00:14if not millions of dollars.
00:17The Tennant Creek Library looking like a plyboard prison.
00:20I'm not proud about it and we need to change that story but we don't have the cash to do
00:25it.
00:25The upkeep of council roads, vehicles and buildings also a drain on the budget.
00:30Barclay Regional Council says it will cost $155 million over 10 years to maintain its assets.
00:37But council will only have a spare $5 million over the same amount of time to use.
00:42The council's solution, changing legislation to allow local governments to determine rate payments from mines.
00:50We've written to the minister, give us the power to raid the mines so we can have the money flowing
00:55back into our community.
00:56The Local Government Association of the Northern Territory supporting the call.
01:00Rates are the most reliable source of income for our councils and that without those rates they can't provide the
01:07services out there.
01:08The Minerals Council of Australia not on board with the proposal.
01:12Rates are based on a service provision and the councils aren't providing those services to the mining industry.
01:18Instead they're looking for a cash grab.
01:20It says councils should increase populations and drive investment to get more funds.
01:26However, Barclay Regional Council says mining puts stress on housing and infrastructure,
01:31whilst the industry is having a resurgence in the region.
01:35When the governments are going on about this is a seriously exciting time and our people are still living in
01:41poverty,
01:42we need to ensure that money is flowing back into the community.
01:45An opportunity to improve the status quo.
01:47Fair
01:48Fair
01:48Fair
01:48Fair
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