SA backs council mergers and rate capping but insists voluntary voting is here to stay

COUNCILS should amalgamate to end the cycle of controversy South Australians say, as they also voice their support for rate capping and voluntary local government voting.

• FULL RESULTS: See all the findings from Your Say SA 2018

• READ BELOW: Political impasse but punters demand cap

• READ BELOW: Keep local ballots voluntary

• Your Say SA: Support grows for next big build

THE controversies engulfing South Australian councils for the past year have only increased support for amalgamation to create municipal super councils.

Drama at Onkaparinga Council over credit card spending by staff and Burnside taking out an intervention order against one of its own councillors have led to a sharp rise in support for municipal mergers to create super councils in the Your Say SA survey.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents were in favour of super councils being created out of the current crop of 68 local government bodies.

This came amid a bitter battle with the State Government over its proposal to cap council rates, a push that looks dead for the timebeing after Labor and key crossbenchers said they would not support the legislation,

And 35.9 per cent of those surveyed said local government should be scrapped altogether, while out of the three tiers of government just 25 per cent said councils served them the best.

The State Government has ruled out any forced amalgamation of councils but has thrown open the door for potential widescale changes when new boundary redistribution legislation comes into effect on January 1.

Property Council SA executive director Daniel Gannon urged a stronger stance on council numbers.

“No matter how you slice it, there is overwhelming support for local government reform to rein in waste, inefficiency and ... bureaucratic duplication,” he says.

“Those who defend the current state of local government must be living in cloud-cuckoo land if they think significant long-term changes aren’t urgently required.

“These results send a very strong message to SA’s policymakers.

Start listening to the majority of the community and stop squibbing it when it comes to doing what’s right at a local government level.”

In 2016, a report commission by the Property Council’s SA chapter said a reduction in SA councils from 68 to 32 would deliver savings of about $65 million a year , which would result in a total benefit of $505 million.

But LGA president Sue Clearihan says experience interstate show that amalgamations historically failed to deliver promised efficiency improvements.

“The needs and desires of communities should also be central in any decisions about the size and number of councils, and the LGA worked closely with the previous State Government on the new boundary adjustment legislation ...,” she says.

“This will provide a clear and independent process for councils and communities that want to review their boundaries.

“SA councils receive the lowest revenue per capita of any state, and over the past decade have delivered sustained improvements in their financial and asset management performance.”

Political impasse ahead but punters demand cap

POLITICAL parties should stop “thumbing their nose” at the bulk of South Australians who support putting a cap on council rates, the Property Council says.

Three-quarters of Your Say SA respondents supported a council rate cap, but the Government’s election policy faces certain defeat in State Parliament. It’s opposed by Labor, the Greens and SA Best.

Property Council SA executive director Daniel Gannon says the result confirms the overwhelming support for a rate cap, after his group’s survey showed 77 per cent support.

“How many public polls that reveal strong support for council rate-capping need to be commissioned before State Parliament listens?” Mr Gannon says.

Local Government Minister Stephan Knoll says the result confirms it is time for the Opposition to “get its head out of the sand” and support rate-capping.

Labor local government spokesman Tony Piccolo says Labor’s alternative proposal will “put downward pressure on rates” without the “unnecessary red tape” of a rate cap.

Meanwhile, respondents were split as to whether CBD workers should get a vote in Adelaide City Council elections, with 50.5 per cent supporting it.

— Adam Langenberg

Our poll position is clear – keep local ballots voluntary

THE push for compulsory voting in local government elections looks unlikely to garner support from the broader public.

At the last local government election in 2014, just 31 per cent of eligible residents cast a vote under the current voluntary system.

South Australia, along with Tasmania and Western Australia, do not make it compulsory for their populations to vote in council elections.

But over the past year, there has been a stronger push for compulsory voting.

Adelaide City Council has discussed whether it can, at least, bring in mandatory voting in the capital city elections, while groups such as the Property Council have argued that making local government elections compulsory will give all ratepayers the chance to “end up having their say about who runs their local council”.

The idea is also being pushed by numerous people in the local government sector, along with electronic voting, as strategies to drive up the number of people who vote in council elections.

But in the Your Say SA survey, 61 per cent of respondents said that voting in council elections should not be made compulsory.

At the same time, 61 per cent who took part in the survey said that they would vote in next month’s elections despite history showing that only half of that number will actually cast their ballot papers.

LGA president Sue Clearihan says she expects heightened interest in this year’s council elections. on the back of a 20-year high in nominations.

“We are pleased there is so much interest in the 2018 council elections,” she says.

“We’ve recorded a 20-year high in nominations – including an all-time record in nominations from women – and we encourage every eligible voter to have their say by completing the postal ballot when it arrives in late October.

“We can’t imagine life without the hundreds of council services and facilities that are used by communities every day, and believe that decisions about these things should be made locally.”

— Simeon Thomas-Wilson