Northern Territory Council elections 2019
In July, members of the National Trust will be electing five representatives from across the Territory to the Council of the National Trust. At the same time, four representatives from branches will be confirmed in their position as Branch Councillors.
You will also need to be a financial member at 30 June 2019 to nominate for Council or to nominate someone else for Council.
If you are unsure of your status, please call Audit House on 08 8981 2848 or email admin@ntnationaltrust.org.au
The current Councillors are: Colin Beard, Stephanie Hill, Trevor Horman, Claire Kilgariff, Janet Leather, Bill Low, Chris Millowick, and Brenda Shields. Feel free to contact them about the role of Councillor, or phone Audit House
Nominations will be open from 2 July until 15 July, and if required then ballot papers and candidate statements will be sent to every member. Members will fill out the ballot paper and place it in the stamped, pre-addressed envelope where they will be counted on 29 July. Members may also pick up by prior arrangement or drop off their ballot papers in person between 9am and 2pm at Audit House, 2 Burnett Place, Larrakeyah.
Election timetable 2019
Sunday, 30 June – members list closes for eligibility to nominate and vote
Tuesday, 2 July – nominations open
Monday, 15 July, 12pm – nominations close and if required, ballot papers are sent out
Monday, 29 July, 12pm – Voting closes, votes are counted and results announced.
ELECTION POLICY 2019
The elections of the Council of the National Trust will be carried out by the Secretariat. The Director will act as Returning Officer and manage the running of the elections.
Elections will be held every two years for the Council, for both Branch Councillors and General Councillors.
The new Councillors will take their place at the first Council meeting following the election, and then elect new office bearers.
The elections will be carried out according to the following rules:
- ELIGIBLE VOTERS
All financial members of the National Trust of Australia (NT), including all membership categories as at 30th June, are eligible to vote in the elections. The only exceptions are members with complimentary memberships and members who are employed by the National Trust of Australia (NT).
Where there are two voters per membership (as in Household members), each voter will be noted by name and their ballot papers sent separately.
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
Three announcements will be made during the course of the election as follows:
Announcements will be placed on the website, on the Facebook page and in an email to members at least two weeks prior to 30th June that Council elections will be held in July and that only members financial as of 30th June are able to vote.
Announcements will be placed on the website, on the Facebook page and in an email to members at least two weeks prior to the close of nominations of the date that nominations to Council will close.
Announcements will be made by media release, on the website, on the Facebook page and in an email to members of the names of the candidates elected.
- NOMINATIONS FOR GENERAL COUNCILLOR
The Returning Officer will receive nominations by the close of nominations, electronically, by post or in person.
For a nomination to be valid, candidates must be nominated by three other financial members of the National Trust.
Each nomination may be accompanied by a “Candidate Statement” of not more than 200 words. Statements must be in electronic format.
The Returning Officer will notify candidates electronically when their valid nomination is received.
- NOMINATIONS FOR BRANCH COUNCILLOR
The Returning Officer will receive nominations by the close of nominations, electronically, by post or in person.
For a nomination to be valid, the Chair or Secretary of the Branch for which the
candidate seeks to be the Councillor must submit a letter or email to the Returning
Officer stating that the candidate has been endorsed by the Branch to be the Branch
Councillor within the last twelve months. Where the candidate is also a Chair or
Secretary, then the letter or email must come from the other office-bearer or another
member of the Branch Committee.
The Returning Officer will notify candidates electronically when their valid nomination
is received.
- BALLOT PAPERS
Where the number of nominations exceeds the number of vacancies, the Returning Officer will prepare ballot papers for the election.
On the ballot paper, the position of the candidate’s name on the ballot paper will be drawn by lot and the instructions for voting will be clearly explained.
- VOTING
The Returning Officer will mail ballot papers to each eligible voter, together with a copy of each “Candidate Statement”, a supplied return envelope, and a voter declaration. An eligible voter may request that the ballot paper not be mailed if they wish to pick up the ballot paper in person, or may request the ballot paper be mailed to a different address.
To cast a valid vote, eligible voters must fill out the ballot paper according to the instructions, sign the declaration and return these to the Returning Officer by the set time.
The votes will be optional preferential, where voters must number at least one box, but may number more.
- COUNTING AND SCRUTINEERS
The Returning Officer will arrange for the counting of the ballot papers to be done at one set time after the close of voting. Candidates may appoint a scrutineer if available to observe this count.
Where there is an exact tie between one or more candidates, the Returning Officer will determine the result by picking a name out of a hat.
- DECLARATION
The Returning Officer will notify candidates, both successful and unsuccessful, within one day of finalising the count.
- CONFLICT RESOLUTION
If any issues arise concerning the running of the election, the Returning Officer’s rulings are final.
