Robert Simms quits Adelaide City Council to replace retiring Greens MLC Mark Parnell in parliament

City councillor Robert Simms has quit to replace long-serving Greens politician Mark Parnell in state parliament, forcing a by-election.

Former Federal Greens senator Robert Simms has quit as an Adelaide City Councillor to move into state parliament. Picture: Matt Turner

Adelaide City Council ratepayers will pay for a by-election to replace a Greens candidate who has quit to fill a casual vacancy in state parliament.

Robert Simms announced his immediate resignation on Tuesday morning following the decision by long-serving Greens politician Mark Parnell to leave the Legislative Council.

Mr Parnell, a former environmental lawyer, said he wanted to give Mr Simms time to prepare for the state election in March next year.

It is the second time Mr Simms has prematurely quit the council to move into politics, forcing a by-election during his term as an elected member.

The other time was in 2014 when he resigned to become a senator following the resignation of Mr Parnell’s wife, Penny Wright. The cost to ratepayers was $75,000.

In an email to elected members on Tuesday morning he said he had been “selected by Greens members to be the lead candidate for the Upper House ticket for the next state election and to fill a casual vacancy should one arise”.

Greens politician Mark Parnell has announced his departure from the Legislative Council.

“As a result I will be nominated to succeed Mark and expect to be sworn into parliament on the 4th of May,” he said.

“So that I am eligible to take up this position I am resigning from Adelaide City Council – effective immediately.”

Mr Simms said it was “an exciting opportunity for me to better promote action on the things I’ve been working on in Town Hall”.

These included “responding to the climate crisis and social and economic inequality”.

“I do however understand that my resignation will create some disruption for the City Council,” he said.

“I hope that you will accept my apologies for this.”

Mr Simms said his second term on the council “has been unforgettable in so many ways”.

“I have no doubt that the experiences I have had will stay with me for a very long time,” he said.

“I’m grateful to the residents and ratepayers for giving me the opportunity to represent them.”

Mr Simms said he also wanted to thank “all of the members of administration I have worked with over the years”.

In a reference to the ongoing disunity within the Adelaide Town Hall chamber, he also thanked “those elected members with whom I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate”.

First-term councillor Jessy Khera responded by asking Mr Simms if the Greens would reimburse ratepayers for the cost of his by-election.

“I must be honest and mention disquiet about what would now be a minimum that are a consequence of your two unfinished terms,” he wrote in an email.

“Being on council is supposed to be a contract with ratepayers for a full term.

“The by-election costs are borne by the poorest and most vulnerable of our ratepayers, on whom the rates burden falls equally and without adjustment for their income.”

An Adelaide City Council meeting at Adelaide Town Hall. Picture: Colin James

Contacted for comment, Mr Khera said political parties who recruited councillors midterm “should bear at least some of the costs of the ensuing by-elections”.

“It’s about time this abuse of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society by councillors who use local government as nothing but a springboard for other levels of politics comes to an end,” he said.

Mr Simms said he was “absolutely not aware” there was going to be a vacancy in the Greens’ parliamentary party when he ran for council in 2018.

“There was also no guarantee that even if one arose that I would be preselected by members of the Greens,” he said.

Mr Simms said he went into politics “to achieve outcomes”.

“While I understand some may be disappointed with my decision, I am much better placed to achieve positive change in the state parliament rather than locking horns with conservatives in town hall,” he said.

“I’ll continue to advocate for the people of Adelaide as well as the state more broadly in my new role.”