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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-19 Daily Xml
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WASTE COLLECTION

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:55): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations a question about rubbish collection fees.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: In October 2012, the state Ombudsman produced his report on the District Council of Yorke Peninsula's imposition of a waste collection service charge allegedly with an unfair or unreasonable impact upon the complainant. A ratepayer complained in October 2008 that the council of that area had introduced the charge to cover the operating costs of its waste collection service with different policies for town and rural rubbish collection, with rural residents (such as this ratepayer) required to take their bins to the local drop-off collection sites which a truck then serviced.

This particular ratepayer lives in Adelaide with a holiday home at Cockle Beach which is 3.5 kilometres from the nearest collection site. He takes his garbage back to Adelaide as he is not there enough to use the drop-off collection system—so he is not using that system. He sought exemption from the system and was refused. He did not pay the additional charge and has not paid it to this day, although he has paid the fines and interest imposed by the council since then.

The Ombudsman found, pursuant to the Local Government Act, in favour of the ratepayer on one of his complaints. Reading from paragraph 32 it states:

...in all the circumstances of the case I am of the view that the service charge had an unfair or unreasonable impact upon the complainant as a rural resident of the council's area...

The Ombudsman went on to recommend that the council should recalculate the service charge for one period and write off other aspects of the charges. The ratepayer alleges that he has been charged some $500 for a service that he does not receive from the council and that in some cases other ratepayers who have, on principle, refused to pay the charge have incurred interest and fines, taking their total liability now to about $800. I am advised that the Ombudsman has no power to enforce his findings in this matter. My questions are:

1. What action thus far has the minister (or other state/local government relations ministers preceding her) taken in relation to this issue, that she is aware of?

2. What hope can the minister offer this ratepayer (and others in the same situation as him in that locality) that a resolution to this situation can be found?

3. Does the Ombudsman need greater powers in circumstances such as this so that his recommendations can be acted upon?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions. I am not familiar with this particular Ombudsman's report. I am not too sure when that was handed down, how long ago it was.

The Hon. D.G.E. Hood: It was 2010.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Yes, I thought it must have been some time ago. I am not familiar with this particular finding. It obviously occurred some time ago and no doubt the former minister for state/local government relations would have received the report from the Ombudsman and taken appropriate action at the time.

The Hon. D.G.E. Hood: It's in the 2012 report.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Right; I am not familiar with it but I am happy to follow it up. There are many reports that the Ombudsman does on a wide range of different matters. I am not familiar with this one but I am happy to look it up to see what action, if any, was taken. I know that the issue of service charges is one that a number of ratepayers feel quite aggrieved by. I know that particularly for the country areas, where amenities around service collection are not as accessible as the city, often ratepayers feel quite resentful about paying these additional charges.

The bottom line is that local government is a democratically elected, independent level of government. It really is responsible for its own actions under the act and accountable to its constituents basically in the same way as we are through reporting mechanisms, through meetings and, ultimately, at their election. If members are not satisfied, I would certainly urge them to take action.

In relation to the Ombudsman, I am not aware of any model where an ombudsman has really substantial powers, other than those to investigate and to make recommendations. I think that the model we have is consistent with that of other jurisdictions. As minister, I have some powers to direct and to enforce, but they are fairly limited powers, depending on what the breach is, of course.

The honourable member would be aware that we are setting up our new ICAC, which will have a number of additional powers. It is the Attorney-General's Department which will have responsibility for developing the code of conduct for both elected council members and also staff council members. Those codes are going to be mandated, and there will be a series of penalties attached to those and enforcement options included.

As I have said, I am happy to follow up this particular case. It is probably more relevant if I liaise with the Hon. Dennis Hood in terms of any follow-up that was taken up in relation to this particular matter, and I am happy to do that.

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