Northern council prepares for Onkaparinga-like wild protests
Another council fears a planned conspiracy-theory-driven protest could see their meeting descend into an Onkaparinga-like chaos after two councillors showed their online support for it.
North & North East
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A council fears an online conspiracy group which claims to have “two councillors on our side” is encouraging what could turn out to be a chaotic protest at their council chambers.
Members of the council have expressed concerns the protest could resemble the dramatic “storming” of Onkaparinga Council as tensions are pushed to the limits over the protest, which police say they are actively monitoring.
Two elected councillors, Severina Burner and Grace Bawden, have shown online support for the conspiracy theory group “No Smart Cities Action Group (NOSCAG)” – which likens “smart cities” to Orwellian Big Brother, but both told The Advertiser they had no knowledge of the protests.
Ms Burner recently shared an online post comparing smart cities to concentration camps and told The Advertiser she attended Tuesday’s Onkaparinga Council meeting “out of curiosity to listen and learn” and claimed the council “breached the proper process” and the mayor and council “provoked the public … into a justified reaction”.
Ms Bawden, who shot to fame appearing on Australia’s Got Talent and came to the defence of her social worker Matilda Bawden after she was banned for an anti-vax stand, has shared flyers from the group which promote the protest.
NOSCAG is understood to have some affiliation with members of the group involved with a “scary” protest at the Onkaparinga chambers, and members of the group are believed to have been in attendance.
The group, which is based in part on claims by conservative SA Senator Alex Antic, claims smart cities infringe on ratepayers rights and take away their privacy – comparing them to the Orwellian “Big Brother”.
Senator Antic has confirmed to The Messenger that he is not affiliated with the group in any way.
The group’s website calls for a “massive presence” at the Salisbury Council protest and claims to be undertaking a letterbox drop of more than 50,000 ratepayers.
In a statement provided by Ms Burner on behalf of both her and Ms Bawden, she said they had not been encouraging the protest, but it was their “responsibility to liaise with my community and give them a voice”.
“As such I welcome and encourage our residents and ratepayers to become informed and educated about matters before council which affect them,” the statement read.
Other members of the council have told The Advertiser their concerns about the planned protest were already piqued, but the fallout of the “storming” of Onkaparinga Council has them on high-alert.
SA Police are also on alert, and a spokesman confirmed they were aware of the protest and would “continue to monitor” it.
Council deputy mayor Chad Buchanan has labelled the group’s concerns as “outright conspiracy theories” and said the council would be expecting a police presence at the protest.
“In light of what occurred in Onkaparinga and the misinformation being circulated encouraging people to attend in the thousands to confront elected members as they enter the meeting, (police) would be an appropriate precaution,” he said.
“What happened in Onkaparinga is alarming … there is a similar campaign being waged in Salisbury, and the level of misinformation and outright conspiracy theorist being peddled is not only alarming but deeply concerning.”
Councillor Peter Jensen said “elected members” of Salisbury had accused the council of “ridiculous things” and it was the council’s responsibility to “dispel these myths”.
In a bizarre twist, both Ms Bawden and Ms Burner voted in favour of a motion on the Church/John Street Project which contained approval to include elements of a “smart city” at the council’s November meeting.
Then again, at the council’s December meeting, Ms Bawden voted in favour of the council’s City Centre Revitalisation Project plans which included $190,000 worth of “smart components”.
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