Third council caught in council conspiracies as member spreads protests information to church congregation

A third council has been swept into SA’s wild conspiracy protests after one of its members told his church congregation smart cities meant the end of the world was near.

A third council has been embroiled in the council conspiracy controversy sweeping SA after a northern suburbs councillor attended last week’s Salisbury protests.

City of Playford councillor Andrew Craig, who is also a pastor at a popular Elizabeth church, was seen at last week’s Salisbury meeting and is seen as a key antagonist in the anti-smart cities movement.

Mr Craig is also a pastor at the popular Church For You at Elizabeth Park and has delivered sermons online and in person spreading his views on, and opposition to, smart cities.

His church is responsible for weekly online sermons which are broadcast on his YouTube channel which has 727 subscribers, with some productions having been viewed by thousands of people.

A Facebook group for the church is actively followed by almost 1000 people.

Councillor Andrew Craig pictured delivering a sermon to his church in which he tells his congregation about the Salisbury protest. Picture: Facebook

Two weeks ago, on January 24 – just days after The Advertiser broke news of a planned smart city protest at the Salisbury Council – Mr Craig delivered a sermon titled “Warning: Perilous Times Ahead”.

In the sermon Mr Craig detailed the then-upcoming protest at Salisbury while comparing monitoring and surveillance to “antichrist” who will “exercise a global control”.

He also made reference to a popular and debunked conspiracy claiming the World Economic Forum was trying to infiltrate local government, one also cited during the Salisbury protests.

“(Data) is all being collected by corporations and government counterparts,” Mr Craig said during the sermon.

“It would be very convenient for such a figure as an antichrist to use such technologies, I put to you.”

Mr Craig also spoke of other conspiracies that were discussed during the Salisbury protests – the “central banks”, “hackable humans” and “the Great Reset” conspiracies.

“I know some of this might sound a little bit left-field, conspiracy theory, but I’m reading from sources that I believe are reputable sources,” he said.

“They want to roll it out here, ultimately they will.”

Councillor Andrew Craig's Facebook post made after The Advertiser contacted him about his involvement in the protest. Picture: Facebook

Mr Craig has also shared a swath of smart city conspiracies on his social media account.

The City of Playford was once at the forefront of the “smart city” movement in the state when it announced plans for $100m of development “based on smart city principles”.

Many of the subsequent proposed developments have not gone ahead with sources within the council of the opinion the announcements were not timed correctly.

In a response to The Advertiser, Mr Craig said he was concerned about smart cities.

“I have misgivings about some aspects that may encroach on our freedoms as Australians,” he said.

Mr Craig said he attended the Salisbury protest because he was “curious to find out more about the issues”.

Asked whether he believed the World Economic Forum was targeting councils, including his own, Mr Craig said the country needed to “look out for its own interests”.

Mr Craig said he did not attend an earlier protest at Onkaparinga council, but protests at both that meeting and as Salisbury’s were examples of free speech.

“I think people should be free to get information and express their own views,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the City of Playford said the council was not involved in Mr Craig’s sermons or online posting.

“Mr Craig is not acting at the request or on the behalf of the Council when undertaking the activities identified in your questions,” she said.