Adelaide City Council will not have a position on rate-capping legislation before LGA deadline
THE Local Government Association of South Australia will return to the rate-capping debate without input of the state’s biggest council, as Adelaide City councillors also voted to ban plastic straws at any event of the council’s events.
THE Local Government Association of South Australia will return to the rate-capping debate without the view of the state’s biggest council after Adelaide City councillors voted on Tuesday night to indefinitely defer disclosing their view on the State Government’s legislation.
SA councils have been given until August 3 to hold votes on whether they support or don’t support the State Government’s push to limit rate rises, starting next year.
After next month’s deadline, the LGA will hold another meeting where it will form sector-wide position on the legislation.
The proposed legislation passed the Lower House last night.
Labor is yet to make its mind up on the legislation, meaning what the state’s council’s think about the push looms as key, especially following SA Best MLC Frank Pangallo’s comment that it “stunk” and he would not be supporting it in the Upper House.
But the position of the Adelaide City Council will not be one that forms the sector-wide support after the majority of capital city elected members voted to “lay it on the table”.
This means the council will indefinitely defer debating or voting on the legislation
Cr Anne Moran, who proposed the council lay it on the table, said it would be foolish for the council to enter the debate on either side.
“The reason why I want to move this unusual procedural motion is that we are separate,” she said.
“We are a different entity to other councils, we are a capital city for one we have a separate act.
“So the problem with rates other councils have we don’t have them.”
LGA president, Cr Sue Clearihan didn’t participate in the vote after saying she had a perceived and actual conflict of interest because the organisation had determined its opposition to rate-capping in the past.
It can be lifted off the table and debated at any time if a member wants to at any meeting but Adelaide’s next council meeting is after August 3.
Meanwhile, plastic straws will be banned at any event by the Adelaide City Council and any that take place in the parklands.
On Tuesday night, Adelaide elected members supported a proposal by Deputy Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor for the capital city council to ban the use of single-use plastic straws at any of the events it runs and those in parklands and city squares.
It will come into place from January 1 and Cr Verschoor said the ban would also be a condition of any new leases organisations hoped to strike up with the council to run events in the parklands.
“I believe as a council we need to take every step to reducing the amount of plastic that is littered,” she said.
“There are many alternatives to plastic straws that we can be encouraging people to use.”
The move comes as more Adelaide bars and hotels ditch plastic straws. Australians use an estimated 10 million straws every day, or 3.5 billion a year, with single-use plastic straws among the top 10 items found on shores and beaches.
But Cr Alex Antic unsuccessfully moved an amendment that if accepted would have stopped short of a ban and instead got council staff to prepare a report on the impacts it would have on council finances, the environment and for people with a disability.
“This is unfortunately not the magic bullet that will solve the world’s problems,” he said.
His amendment wasn’t supported and the council voted in favour of Cr Verschoor’s.