The suburb of Northcrest, on the outskirts of Darwin, is one of several new developments rising out of the ground to house the Top End's growing population.

When Paul Wadey and his partner were deciding which area to build in last year, they settled on Northcrest because of its location — about 15 minutes' drive from the Darwin CBD, and with the City of Darwin Council providing municipal services to some neighbouring streets.

"We were led to believe by [developer] Halikos and also all of the builders we saw — and obviously all of them were trying to get us on board to build with them — they were all very much under the impression that it would be a part of Darwin [council area]," he said.

"That was the choice that we wanted and that was the answer we were looking for, so that was our decision to do Northcrest over any other building development."

But almost a year since they built and six months since Mr Wadey and his partner moved in, Northcrest is yet to become part of a council area.

The issue involves more than just who fixes the roads and collects the rubbish — residents cannot vote in this weekend's local government elections, leaving some disenfranchised from decisions that will eventually affect them. 

"We don't feel great about it," Mr Wadey said.

A controversial process to add Northcrest to a council area has also fuelled confusion over where Darwin ends and the nearby satellite city of Palmerston begins.

Recently, some residents found out they could soon technically live in a different city than they thought they were buying into.

A council tug-of-war

Residents of Northcrest currently live in one of several unincorporated areas across the Northern Territory, meaning they are not part of a council area.

The suburb began in about 2015, when the then-Country Liberal Party government gave the land to Halikos with plans to develop it into an estate housing thousands.

The City of Darwin Council said it began discussions with the developer and the government to incorporate the area in the following years.

It said it expected an expression-of-interest process would be used to settle a tug-of-war between three interested nearby councils: Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield, which represents rural Darwin.

But earlier this year, the government instead proposed expanding Palmerston's boundary to include Northcrest — a decision City of Darwin CEO Scott Waters said caught the council by surprise.

"Council would like to see those residents of Northcrest have the ability to have choice.

"They can have a look at what options are available to them, and that’ll be very important to them in their future as that development starts to grow."

The council has written to the government questioning the legal basis for the change, saying it lacked procedural fairness and had been costly for the council.

Decision expected soon

It is not clear why the NT government's incorporation process changed, but a government spokeswoman said it had formed a "preliminary view" that Palmerston was suitable. 

According to the Darwin council, which door-knocked and surveyed residents, many locals disagree, saying they live and work in Darwin, use its civil services and are concerned being in Palmerston could affect property prices.

"I think we just want the chance to be heard and make our decision. It's a decision they're trying to push on us but it's not going to directly impact those people that are trying to force this on us."

The City of Darwin has called on the government to abandon the current process and start a more open and transparent one that involves the interested parties.

Some of its concerns with the process are shared by the Litchfield council and the Local Government Association of the NT.

Asked if the City of Palmerston requested to incorporate Northcrest, a spokeswoman from that council said a submission was made to a former local government minister as part of normal council processes.

Consultation on the government's proposal recently closed, and the NT government spokeswoman said feedback would be reviewed before a formal decision on the incorporation was made in late 2021.

"Discussions about the possible incorporation of the Northcrest estate into a local government area have taken place with a range of stakeholders, including neighbouring local governments, over several years," she said.

"Ultimately, the question of whether and how an area should be incorporated is a matter for the NT government to determine.

"In this instance, the government has sought feedback to help inform that decision."

Halikos did not respond to a request for comment.