Waving a wooden spoon and yelling at traffic on the Stuart Highway, Darwin's self-proclaimed "Laksa Queen" hopes her latest campaign will see her elected the City of Darwin's new mayor.
Key points:
- In the last election, an average of just two people nominated per council position
- The NT's Local Government Association has called for more candidates to boost competition and diversity
- Nominations close on August 5
"I know people say I have broken English, but my heart is not broken for my community," Amye Un said.
She operates a laksa restaurant, but shot to fame in 2019 when video of her lambasting local government over a lack of plants on a median strip went viral.
Last year Ms Un campaigned unsuccessfully in a Darwin City Council by-election.
Now the Indonesian-born restaurant owner, who migrated to Australia more than 30 years ago, is attempting to unseat incumbent Mayor Kon Vatskalis at local government elections next month.
It's shaping up to be a hotly contested contest. But in other parts of the Northern Territory, getting people to run for council is a challenge.
Only an average of two people nominated for each position when local government elections were last held in 2017.
The Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT) has called for more candidates for the upcoming election on August 28, with nominations to close at noon on August 5.
ABC News: Michael Franchi
)"What makes a really good democracy is competition, and we'd like to see more people nominating for council from even more diverse backgrounds than we currently have," LGANT chief executive Sean Holden said.
Of the 320 candidates at the last election, 35 per cent were female and 11 per cent were under the age of 35.
The Northern Territory Electoral Commission does not record statistics on ethnicity, but there are calls for more diversity on councils.
In the Litchfield council, where nominations were few at the last election, Mayor Maree Bredhauer believes there needs to be more competition and a variety of people nominating.
ABC News: Isabel Moussalli
)"We need a nice blend of all of those aspects of our community in order to best serve our community," she said.
Alice Springs councillor Catherine Satour is urging others to put their hands up for the roles.
"There's so much that you can do in council," she said.
"It takes a lot, there's a lot of meetings and a lot of work, but it's good work and it's really important work that can benefit Alice Springs."
ABC News: Mitchell Abram
)Mr Holden from LGANT said one of the reasons there was low interest in councils was because "people don't quite understand what councils do".
Should you run for council?
Mr Holden said there was a misconception that councillors and mayors require special qualifications.
"There's really no qualification to be an elected member of council, and that's a good thing," he said.
Candidates need to be over the age of 18, an Australian citizen, and live within the council area they run for.
ABC News
)Ms Bredhauer said there were qualities which councillors should have.
"You need to be a person who is open to ideas, a person who is a good listener, a person who is able to take what people tell you … and manage that through to what is worthwhile and good for the whole of the community," she said.
Early voting begins on August 16.
Despite voting being compulsory, the voting turnout rate was only 57 per cent at the NT's last local government elections.
Shortage of candidates for the NT’s local government elections in August - ABC News
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