Council of Capital City Lord Mayors
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Darwin City Council  Minimize 
 
Darwin is arguably Australia's most cosmopolitan city, boasting a population made up of people from more than 60 nationalities and 70 different ethnic backgrounds.  The city's multicultural mix is particularly highlighted by its many exciting ethnic cultural festivals and weekly food and craft markets.

Darwin's traditional owners, the Larrakia people, are prominent and active members of the community, and many still adhere closely to their traditional beliefs and customs.

Government employees make up around 60 per cent of the Darwin workforce.

Darwin has evolved from its days as an incredibly laid back frontier town and while it still retains its relaxed charm, it has become a highly sophisticated city.  Many visitors are surprised to find that it has accommodation, eateries, clubs, pubs, museums and other amenities that are at least equal to, and often better than, what you'll find in the southern cities.

In business and industry circles, Darwin is described as Australia's gateway with South East Asia.  It's closer to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta than it is to Canberra, and is about the same flying time from Singapore and Manila as it is from Sydney and Melbourne.

Darwin is the main service centre for a wide range of industries headed by mining, offshore oil and gas production, pastoralism, tourism and tropical horticulture.  The Port of Darwin is also the main outlet for Australia's live cattle export trade into South East Asia.
 
     

Lord Mayor Profile  Minimize 
 

 

LORD MAYOR GRAEME SAWYER

 

Lord Mayor Graeme Sawyer is the Lord Mayor of Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory and Australia’s gateway to south-east Asia.  Darwin is arguably Australia's most cosmopolitan city, boasting a population made up of people from more than 60 nationalities and 70 different ethnic backgrounds.

 

Lord Mayor Sawyer was elected to office in March 2008 and is currently the Chair of the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors (CCCLM), a representative on the Federal Government’s Australian Council of Local Government and co-chair of the CCCLM’s Major Cities Working Group which includes Australia's capital cities as well as Gold Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong and Geelong Councils. The CCCLM recently released a submission on National Urban Policy entitled “Towards a City Strategy” calling for a new era of city building and a raft of planning reforms.

Lord Mayor Sawyer has a background in Education and Multimedia.  He was a teacher for 15 years and has been an advisor to the NT Department of Education on IT in teaching and learning environments.

 

He was instrumental in establishing and running the QANTM Multimedia Centre as a part of the Federal Creative Nation Strategy and since 2001, has been the Managing Director of the eNTITy1 a business working in the internet, e-business, e-learning and multimedia areas.  His expertise and focus is on research and development associated with new internet technologies and assisting public and private organisations to integrate these new technologies into their operations.

 

Lord Mayor Sawyer is co-founder of FrogWatch NT which has developed and implemented the ToadBuster strategy to stop the advance of cane toads in the Northern Territory. He has also worked on several national projects as a member of the WWF Rio Tinto Frogs Programme Education Panel and the FrogZone national project panel.

 

 

 
 
     

 
 
 
Contact Darwin  Minimize 
 
Street address:
Harry Chan Avenue
DARWIN   NT   0800

Postal address:
GPO Box 84
DARWIN   NT   0801

Telephone: (08) 8930 0300
Facsimile:   (08) 8930 0311
e-Mail:        dcc@darwin.nt.gov.au
Website:     www.darwin.nt.gov.au

CCCLM Contact:
Ms Anne Hammond
Manager Strategy & Outcomes