Environment Minister David Speirs fires back at Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson over rates rise
Environment Minister David Speirs has fired back at criticism from Mayor Erin Thompson, saying Onkaparinga was the only southern council to raise its rates following the solid waste levy hike.
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Environment Minister David Speirs has criticised Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson for her council increasing rates in the wake of the solid waste levy hike.
Ms Thompson has publicly expressed her fury at the State Government’s decision to increase the solid waste levy by 40 per cent in the state budget in June – without warning councils as they were finalising their budgets.
From January, it will cost SA councils $140 per tonne of waste dumped at landfill sites.
In total, they will be a hit with a bill amounting to an extra $8.5 million.
As a result, Onkaparinga increased its proposed rate rise from 1.6 per cent – its lowest on record – to 2.28 per cent.
At the time, Ms Thompson described the move on Facebook as an “an eleventh-hour slap in the face from the State Government”.
She said none of the money in the Green Industries Fund – funded by the solid waste levy – had flowed through to the south.
However, Mr Speirs has now responded to Ms Thompson’s remarks in a letter.
It contains a swipe at her for putting up rates and accuses her of “a breach of your responsibilities as mayor” for posting comments on Facebook.
“Holdfast Bay and Marion didn’t raise their rates – Onkaparinga did, this says a lot to me,” Mr Speirs writes.
He told The Advertiser that “significant funds” from the Green Industry Fund had been provided to Onkaparinga.
“Surprisingly the City of Onkaparinga only recently committed to providing residents with fortnightly organics collections and has not made the most of incentive funding from the Green Industry Fund for food waste recycling systems,” Mr Speirs said.
“An estimated $660,000 is available to the City of Onkaparinga for the implementation of area-wide food waste recycling systems, followed by up to $198,000 ($3 per household) per annum.
“This is in addition to the City of Onkaparinga being eligible to apply for funding from the $10 million modernisation and transition package the Marshall Liberal Government announced as part of the 2019/20 State Budget.”
He said the State Government wanted to work with local councils to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
In response, Ms Thompson has asked for a meeting with Mr Speirs to discuss waste management.
“I’m always happy to work with Minister Speirs to deliver better outcomes for the Onkaparinga region,” she said.
She wanted to discuss Onkaparinga’s proposal to build a $21 million recycling plant – with Marion and Holdfast Bay – at Seaford Heights, as well as initiatives to eliminate waste and protect the local environment.
