City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters’ votes on submission to the Local Government Participation and Elections Review

06/02/2024

The City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters has considered a range of reforms, including changing the timing of Council elections, as part of its submission to the Local Government Participation and Elections Review.

Currently, Local Government elections are held every four years, in November, and in the same year as State Government elections.

Mayor Robert Bria, who has previously called for a change to the timing of Local Government elections, said the change was an easy one to make and would end the chances of South Australians having Federal, State and Local Government lections in the same year, as was the case in 2010 and 2022.

The Council also considered its position on a range of issues discussed in the review, including whether it supported the introduction of term limits for Elected Members.

A proposal to give individual Council’s the discretion to set term limits for Elected Members was narrowly defeated, when Mayor Bria used his casting vote to break the 6-6 tie.

“Term limits should be at the discretion of voters at elections, where the democratic process determines whether an incumbent Elected Member should continue in their position,” he said.

“Elected Members who represent their constituents well should not be pushed out of office simply due to arbitrary rules about term limits,” he added.

The push to introduce compulsory voting was also defeated, with several Councillors expressing concern about the role of party politics impacting the Council if South Australia were to adopt the model of compulsory voting which occurs in other states.

The Council also opposed a proposal to allow Elected Members the opportunity to participate in Council meetings remotely.

“The Council believes the value of face-to-face meetings and interacting with each other and staff prior to, during and after Council Meetings is an important part of building positive relationships which lead to a cohesive and functioning Council,” Mayor Bria said.

However, the Council did support increasing allowances for Elected Members believing the current arrangements are acting as a barrier to potential candidates interested in joining a Council but choosing not to contest elections.

The outcomes of the state-wide consultation process will be published by the State Government in May this year.

Media enquiries: Robert Bria – 0431 754 077