The State Government will fund a review of services and assets in Coober Pedy, answering calls for support from administrators of the local council.

As part of a regular report provided to the Minister for Local Government earlier this year, administrators for the District Council of Coober Pedy expressed a need for support to establish solid foundations for a sustainable local governing body.

The administrators recommended that an audit be undertaken to examine the services that the Council is currently providing, the costs of those services, and any potential improvements that could assist the Council to live and operate within its means.

State Government funding will also help the Council work with its community to understand what services can be provided with the rates available.

The Council reported it is also struggling to meet other needs and obligations concerning asset management, which have arisen due to poor practice over many years.

The funding [up to $250K] will help the council to complete a thorough asset management plan, to create a future-proof and sustainable regime for maintenance and care.

In September 2022, the administration period for the Council was extended until the next local government elections in 2026.

In March 2023, three administrators were appointed to ensure that a locally elected and governed body can be responsibly returned to the Coober Pedy community.

Additionally, the Coober Pedy Taskforce is currently considering options for the future delivery and governance of essential services in Coober Pedy.

In his report to the Local Government Ministers, Primary Administrator Geoff Sheridan outlines what should have been administrative priorities. Sheridan says, “Council’s performance remains vulnerable due to our limited cash reserves impacting our ability to maintain/replace aged and failing assets. As assets continue to fail Council must make decisions regarding continuity of service and value for money. Often Council is forced to select the option based on what it can do in the moment, which is not always the best decision financially or strategically in the long term.”

Sheridan refers to the Council’s growing debt viz. Local Government Finance Authority Loan Impairment: “As previously reported communication from the LGFA was received on 14 September 2023 regarding its intent to record an impairment, per the Accounting Standards, on the Loan owing by Council. This does not constitute a waiving or forgiveness of this loan on the part of the LGFA. The LGFA remains committed to working with Council and the State Government to ensure that any debt servicing obligations imposed on the Council by the LGFA are met.. ”

Minister for Local Government Joe Szakacs said, “The State Government is committed to finding a way forward so that the Coober Pedy community can have the sustainable local governance that other regional Communities have.”

“While there is still significant work required to ensure the town can be locally governed, our support for a service review and asset management plan is an important step towards future stability for the Council.”

“We have listened to the administrators’ request for support for critical work to ensure that the current and future Council – and the Coober Pedy community – fully understand what services can be provided with the available rates.”

Coober Pedy residents are now facing a new round of hefty rate rises to offset what locals believe is frivolous and unnecessary spending by the current administration, none of whom have accepted the make-do, can-do culture at Coober Pedy and have so far ignored the community’s advice in sticking to their own declaration of austerity measures.

Administrators going back to the non-productive 4 years of Tim Jackson, cling to a notion that the very lives and activities of Coober Pedy residents need managing. This is a bone of contention with the majority of ratepayers, now being ruthlessly taxed to make up the shortfall in the Budget while Administrators push a middle-man onto our community. The connotation of this engagement in the minds of locals is that anyone who lives in Coober Pedy must be an imbecile.

This type of control is unheard of. Questions arise like, “Where else does this model of social management occur, where a council hires a “facilitator” to do whatever he likes inside our town and we are forced to pay for it? Why is the government allowing such a breach of our Democracy?  Let those who want such a service pay for it, and stop garnisheeing our rates to pay for the indulgence of only a few.   A long string of defectors from that following will attest to its general uselessness.

The latest budget is presented in bureaucratic jargon and is non-comprehensible to a vast number in our multicultural community. Watching our town and our culture disintegrate before our eyes is nothing short of depressing.  We are a town devoid of mental health assistance.

Chair of the Coober Pedy Retail Business and Tourism Association George Kountouris said, “We thank the new Minister for Local Government Joe Szakacs for his willingness to take on the complex role that former Local Government Minister Geoff Brock needed to step back from.”

“That the administrators cannot manage our lean budget is no surprise. Their billionaire-style spending is noted in their reckless use of our money on legal and unnecessary consultants while our essential services crumble. This does not suit our remote town, and it must cease. The call for an audit in my view is an excuse for current failure.”

“There has been no apology for the failures to date. We should not be allowing any politicians to recommend administrator appointments, or to shoulder-tap people well known to them.”

“It is not clear how the 3 administrators will “ensure” that Coober Pedy can be responsibly returned to a locally elected body when the very cause of administration still exists. The primary administrator only confers with a small clique and his city offsider. Generally, the town has no confidence in the current, non-transparent administration which most residents have never seen, met, or heard from. This is a Dictatorship, is it not? The expense and effort to ‘manage’ (and divide) our community and our social activities is surely a government-condoned experiment? This must also cease!

“Businesses and tourism operators are all experiencing a down-turn and now have to wear the “sneaked through” increases to prop up the council’s balance sheet. Many issues face remote area businesses that need strong administrative management and local understanding, yet all the state government is proposing is another futile investigation.”

“As a community, we need access to the so far invisible ‘Coober Pedy Taskforce’. Our Association (CPRBTA) will meet very soon to discuss these incredible revelations (5 years on), and put forward our recommendations.”