Petition for Local Government Reform in South Australia
The issue
To the Minister for Local Government, Hon Rhiannon Pearce MP
We, the undersigned, call on the Minister for Local Government to undertake a full review and modernisation of the Local Government Act 1999.
South Australia’s local government system is no longer fit for purpose.
The South Australian local government sector now manages approximately $3.05 billion in annual revenue and carries around $1.13 billion in net financial liabilities.
Yet the legislative oversight and accountability framework has failed to evolve at the same pace as the financial scale, complexity and risk now embedded within modern local government.
ESCOSA’s financial sustainability reviews have exposed serious sector-wide concern, with over 55% of assessed councils projected to face ongoing sustainability pressures.
Yet councils are not required to formally implement or respond to ESCOSA findings or recommendations.
There is no automatic statutory oversight trigger.
No mandatory reform pathway.
And no clear accountability mechanism when serious financial risks are identified.
Time has also shown that simply changing councillors does not resolve the underlying structural problems.
Councils change.
Mayors change.
But the same governance, transparency and financial concerns continue to emerge across the sector.
Local government is also the only tier of government without an organised opposition holding decisions to account — despite managing billions of dollars in public revenue, assets and liabilities.
As a result, much of the accountability pressure falls onto residents, community groups and journalists.
Elected members and independent audit and risk committees should be able to access independent advice free from administrative input, filtering or control.
Oversight cannot be genuinely independent if the information pipeline is controlled by the very people whose performance, systems, financial management and decisions are being reviewed.
If the same administration being scrutinised also controls what information is provided, what advice is obtained, what questions are answered, and what risks are disclosed, then oversight becomes dependent on management permission rather than independent accountability.
South Australians deserve a local government system built for modern risk, modern expectations and modern public accountability.
Local government reform is not optional.
It is overdue.
166
The issue
To the Minister for Local Government, Hon Rhiannon Pearce MP
We, the undersigned, call on the Minister for Local Government to undertake a full review and modernisation of the Local Government Act 1999.
South Australia’s local government system is no longer fit for purpose.
The South Australian local government sector now manages approximately $3.05 billion in annual revenue and carries around $1.13 billion in net financial liabilities.
Yet the legislative oversight and accountability framework has failed to evolve at the same pace as the financial scale, complexity and risk now embedded within modern local government.
ESCOSA’s financial sustainability reviews have exposed serious sector-wide concern, with over 55% of assessed councils projected to face ongoing sustainability pressures.
Yet councils are not required to formally implement or respond to ESCOSA findings or recommendations.
There is no automatic statutory oversight trigger.
No mandatory reform pathway.
And no clear accountability mechanism when serious financial risks are identified.
Time has also shown that simply changing councillors does not resolve the underlying structural problems.
Councils change.
Mayors change.
But the same governance, transparency and financial concerns continue to emerge across the sector.
Local government is also the only tier of government without an organised opposition holding decisions to account — despite managing billions of dollars in public revenue, assets and liabilities.
As a result, much of the accountability pressure falls onto residents, community groups and journalists.
Elected members and independent audit and risk committees should be able to access independent advice free from administrative input, filtering or control.
Oversight cannot be genuinely independent if the information pipeline is controlled by the very people whose performance, systems, financial management and decisions are being reviewed.
If the same administration being scrutinised also controls what information is provided, what advice is obtained, what questions are answered, and what risks are disclosed, then oversight becomes dependent on management permission rather than independent accountability.
South Australians deserve a local government system built for modern risk, modern expectations and modern public accountability.
Local government reform is not optional.
It is overdue.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 7 June 2026