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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-11-02 Daily Xml
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Coober Pedy District Council

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (14:54): My question is to the Minister for Local Government. Can the minister please inform the house of his recent visit to Coober Pedy and progress he has made in relation to the governance challenges that that community is facing?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hartley!

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart—Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Roads, Minister for Veterans Affairs) (14:55): I thank the member for Badcoe for the question. Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Coober Pedy. The purpose of my visit—my second in the last three months—was to fulfill a commitment I made to the community of Coober Pedy when I visited there previously in August to return to Coober Pedy on a regular basis and provide progress on our work to address the key challenges they face, challenges that have caused the council to be put into administration.

We have talked in this chamber before about the fact that the previous government and the minister at the time, Minister Knoll, put the council into administration. He had to do that. When I was last in Coober Pedy I promised to return and personally provide an update on the progress this government is trying to make.

I promised to return even though there may have been little or nothing to report. The reason I did this is because it is important that communities are not forgotten no matter how small, remote or isolated those communities are, something my predecessor should have known and indeed may have benefited from. For the visit, I also invited the CEO of the Local Government Association and the CEO of the Local Government Finance Authority to attend with me. I was very pleased—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is on three warnings.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK: —that they took up my offer because it is important that these organisations, whose role is to support all councils across all of the state, to know and understand the circumstances in which people live in Coober Pedy and to consider the kind of support they might offer the council administration to continue to operate on behalf of residents of the township.

During a community barbecue held at the Italian Club in Coober Pedy last Wednesday evening, which pleasingly was attended by over 100 or so people, I provided an update on activities to date. I informed the community, as members present here will know, that the Local Government (Defaulting Council) Amendment Act 2022 has now passed through the parliament. This means that the administration of the District Council of Coober Pedy has now been extended for a maximum period of four years until the next periodic local government elections.

However, in understanding that the community's desire is to have an elected member body returned, like every other council in South Australia, I strongly hope that by working together we can get the council into a position—particularly a financial position—where it is possible sooner than later to return this to elected members.

I also informed those present that we have commenced the process to appoint a new administrator. Some 10 days ago, expressions of interest were called through advertisements in The Advertiser, the Australian and, of course, the Coober Pedy Regional Times. The advertisements broadly describe what we would like to see in a new administrator—someone who can work with the community and who has the local government knowledge and experience that are necessary to continue the work undertaken so far to turn this council around.

The advertisements call for a single person, or for more than one person, to indicate their interest in being the council's administrator. We cast the net as widely as possible, and we will keep an open mind on what arrangements can deliver the best results for the Coober Pedy community. However, I am also mindful about the cost, particularly given the council's continuing financial constraints. I committed to return to Coober Pedy when the new administrator starts in the role to help introduce them, or him, or her to the community of Coober Pedy.

Equally as important, I informed the community that the Coober Pedy Taskforce has been formed. This group includes senior representations from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Treasury and Finance, Energy and Mining, Environment and Water and Infrastructure and Transport. This group will focus on the decisions that need to be made regarding water and power delivery in Coober Pedy. It is critical that is resolved. Until the options are clear with regard to essential services the council does not have a clear pathway to financial sustainability. That is why the task force will focus on this issue.

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