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NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING To: Mayor Bill Spragg

Councillors Ward

Councillor Ron Nelson Councillor Jan-Claire Wisdom

Manoah

Councillor Ian Bailey Councillor Jan Loveday

Marble Hill

Councillor Kirrilee Boyd Councillor John Kemp Councillor Nathan Daniell

Mt Lofty

Councillor Val Hall Councillor Andrew Stratford Councillor Lynton Vonow

Onkaparinga Valley

Councillor Linda Green Councillor Malcolm Herrmann

Torrens Valley

Notice is hereby given pursuant to the provisions under Section 83 of the Local Government Act 1999 that a Special meeting of the Council will be held on:

Wednesday 9 August 2017 6.30pm

63 Mt Barker Road Stirling Business of the meeting:

1. Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre Management

2. Elector Representation Review A copy of the Agenda for this meeting is supplied under Section 83 of the Act. Meetings of the Council are open to the public and members of the community are welcome to attend. Public notice of the Agenda for this meeting is supplied under Section 84 of the Act.

Andrew Aitken Chief Executive Officer

AGENDA FOR SPECIAL MEETING

Wednesday 9 August 2017 6.30pm

63 Mt Barker Road, Stirling

ORDER OF BUSINESS

Council Vision Nurturing our unique place and people Council Mission Delivering activities and services which build a resilient community, sustain our built and natural

environment and promote a vibrant economy

1. COMMENCEMENT

2. APOLOGIES/LEAVE OF ABSENCE

2.1. Apology

2.2. Leave of Absence

3. DECLARATION OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL

4. OFFICERS REPORT

4.1. Elector Representation Review – Options Paper Submissions Report and Proposal Development

5. CONFIDENTIAL ITEM

5.1. Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre Management

6. CLOSE SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING

ADELAIDE HILLS COUNCIL SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday 9 August 2017 AGENDA BUSINESS ITEM

Item: 4.1 Originating Officer: Lachlan Miller, Executive Manager Governance &

Performance Responsible Director: Terry Crackett, Director Corporate Services Subject: Elector Representation Review – Options Paper Submissions

Report and Proposal Development For: Decision

SUMMARY

An Elector Representation Review is held to examine fundamental aspects of a Council’s composition and ward structure. It is a formal process that is closely regulated under the Local Government Act 1999 (the Act) and is required to be conducted at least every eight years. At its 23 May 2017 Ordinary Meeting, Council resolved to resume the Elector Representation Review following the Electoral Commissioner advising that he would not be certifying Council’s Final Representation Review Report issued in March 2017. In making the resolution to resume the Review in May, Council also resolved to approve a draft Options Paper for public consultation for the period of 30 May – 14 July 2017. The public consultation has now been completed and the submissions received have been sorted and analysed. To progress the Review process, Council needs to determine its ‘in-principal proposal’ on the representation arrangements that it favours and desires to be put in place at the next Local Government election in November 2018. This proposal will form part of a Representation Review Report which will be considered at a later Council meeting with a view to it being approved for public consultation. The purpose of this report is twofold, firstly for Council to receive and consider the Options Paper Consultation Report and, secondly, to consider determining the ‘proposal’ for the representation arrangements to take to the next public consultation. RECOMMENDATION Council resolves: 1. That the report be received and noted

Adelaide Hills Council – Special Council Meeting 9 August 2017 Elector Representation Review – Options Paper Submissions Report and Proposal Development

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2. That a Representation Review Report be drafted as soon as practicable for the Council’s consideration at a future Council meeting with the following representation arrangements:

a. Presiding member to be (Elected Mayor or Chairperson);

b. A total number of X councillors (Note: this number does NOT include the Presiding Member if it is a Mayor but does if it is a Chairperson)

c. Retain or abolish wards

d. (if wards are retained)

i. The Council area is divided into X wards

ii. (if an option in the Options Paper is applicable) The ward boundaries and councillors per ward are consistent with Option X in the Adelaide Hills Council Representation Options Paper - May 2017

iii. (if an option in the Options Paper is not applicable)

1. The ward boundaries to be (describe by alignment)

2. The councillors per ward to be calculated based on the ward boundaries identified

iv. The wards names to be X, Y, Z, etc

1. GOVERNANCE Strategic Management Plan/Council Policy Goal Organisational Sustainability Strategy Governance The representation arrangements for the elected Council are an important element of Council’s commitment to open and transparent decision making which facilitates public accountability. Legal Implications Legislative requirements regarding an Elector Representation Review are laid out in Division 2 Powers of councils and representation reviews, section 12 of the Act and the Local Government (General) Regulations 1999 (the Regulations). Risk Management Implications Undertaking the Elector Representation Review in accordance with the requirements of legislation and engaging in genuine consultation will assist in mitigating the risk of:


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Poor governance practices occur which lead to a loss of stakeholder (i.e. customer and regulator) confidence and/or legislative breaches.

Inherent Risk Residual Risk Target Risk

Extreme (5C) Medium (3D) Medium (3D)

Note that there are many other controls that assist in mitigating this risk. Financial and Resource Implications Funding for the engagement of the consultant and other review costs are covered by the Chief Executive provision. Customer Service and Community/Cultural Implications Through the Elector Representation Review process Council will consider whether the Adelaide Hills community may benefit from an alteration to its composition and or ward structure. Environmental Implications There are no direct environmental implications considered as part of the Elector Representation Review. Engagement/Consultation with Committee, Regional Subsidiary, Advisory Group

and Community

The provision of information to the community and community consultation are key components of an Elector Representation Review. Two distinct public consultation phases are legislated, with a minimum of one six (6) week period to allow interested persons to make written submissions to Council on the subject of the review (as described in the Representation Options Paper) and later, a three (3) week consultation period enabling interested persons to make written submissions on the second report that presents a proposal for the future structure.

2. BACKGROUND A fulsome summary of the history of the Council’s current Representation Review process can be found in Item 14.4 Elector Representation Review – Status and Options Paper in the 23 May 2017 Ordinary Council Meeting agenda (note: this is available on Council’s website). At its 23 May 2017 meeting, Council resolved as follows:


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In accordance with Council’s delegation, the draft Options Paper was finalised with a small number of changes, mostly relating to the ordering of the options and the presentation of numerical data within each option. The public consultation elements were as follows:

Public notice in the South Australian Government Gazette (mandatory)

Public notice in the local Courier and Weekender Herald (mandatory)

Notices and distribution of Representation Options Paper and survey forms at each Council office, Library and Community Centre

Online engagement via AHC website, including on-line survey

Email distribution to interested community members on Council’s Email Database

Use of Council’s social media sites (Facebook and Twitter)

Limited Roadside signage

Writing to persons who provided submissions to the previous Options Paper consultation, that their submissions will be reconsidered.

In relation to the public notice in the Courier, the initial notice published (31 May 2017) contained an error in terms of the consultation period. In consultation with the Electoral Commission, it was determined that an erratum would suffice and this was published in the next edition.

At the expiration of the public consultation period (i.e. close of business on Friday 14 July 2017) Council had received five hundred and thirty seven (537) submissions. In addition, Council already had sixty-one (61) submissions which were received during the initial round of public consultation undertaken from 31 August – 14 October 2016.


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In respect to these submissions, it is noted that the public notices published during the latest round of public consultation specifically advised that “all submissions previously received from the community in respect to the previous Representation Options Paper (dated August 2016) remain valid and will be reconsidered by Council during any further deliberations (i.e. previous respondents are not required to submit another submission unless they wish to do so, in which case the latest submission will supersede the initial submission)”. Council also received two petitions (five pages in total) which supported a ward structure comprising three or five wards (with a preference for five wards). These petitions comprised seventy-eight (78) co-signatories and have been accepted as two submissions, as reported to the Council on 25 July 2017. By way of information, Members are advised that at least ten (10) of the petition co-signatories also made individual submissions. Given the above, Council effectively received six hundred valid submissions. However, of these submissions;

twelve (12) of the latest five hundred and thirty seven submissions were duplicates made by persons who had already made a submission and, as such, have been rejected;

twenty three (23) of the latest five hundred and thirty seven submissions were received from persons who had made a submissions during the initial public consultation round in September/October 2016 and, as such, their latest submission has superseded their initial submission (as per the advice provided in the public notice); and

three (3) were anonymous, however it is suggested that these not be accepted because there is no way of determining whether the respondents have made more than one submission.

Based on the above adjustments, it has been determined that Council has five hundred and sixty two (562) valid submissions to consider. A full report of the first public consultation (the Submissions Report) is at Appendix 1.

3. ANALYSIS

Consultation Results The full details of the analysis are contained in Appendix 1 and are summarised below:

a clear majority of the respondents (77.6%) favoured the retention of a mayor (elected by the community);

an overwhelming majority of the respondents (93.6%) supported the retention of wards;

there was strong support (77.4%) for the retention of a five ward structure, with the four and three ward options receiving moderate levels of support (i.e. 6.6% and 4.6% respectively); and

there was strong support (68.9%) for the retention of twelve councillors, whilst there was 16% support for a reduction to ten councillors and 3.9% support for a reduction to eleven councillors.


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As for the issue of ward names, there was a significant response in favour of retaining the current ward names. It is recommended that the elected members review the individual submissions and/or the list of proposed names (in Attachment C to Appendix 1) for further information. It should also be noted that:

the provisions of Section 12 of the Act do not require Council to provide the individuals who made written submissions with the opportunity to address Council at this stage of the review process; and

for privacy reasons the names of the respondents have been withheld. It is recommended that members review the individual submissions for further information. The receipt of five hundred and sixty two valid submissions is a significant response from the community, including a number of interested persons who reside outside of the Council area. Nevertheless, while Council should be considerate of the results (and strong messages) of the consultation, it is not bound by it in terms of determining its ‘in-principle’ proposal for representation arrangements to be consulted on in phase two. Next Steps The Submissions Report should be considered in preparation of Council making an ‘in-principle’ decision regarding the elector representation arrangements it favours and desires to be effected at the next Local Government election (the proposal). The proposal must address:

the principal member of Council, more specifically whether it should be a mayor elected by the community or a chairperson selected by (and from amongst) the elected members;

the composition of Council, including the number of elected members required to provide fair and adequate representation to the community and the need for area councillors in addition to ward councillors (where the council area is to be divided into wards);

the division of the council area into wards or the abolition of wards; and

the level of ward representation within, and the name of, any future proposed wards. It is proposed that, at this meeting, Council determines its ‘in-principle’ proposal in relation to the above matters. Once the ‘in-principle’ proposal has been determined, the recommendation is for the preparation of the Representation Review Report to be prepared on the basis on the proposal and submitted for Council’s consideration at nominally its 22 August 2017 Ordinary meeting. Upon adoption by Council, the Representation Review Report will be released for the second public consultation, for a minimum period of 3 weeks, seeking written comments on the Report itself and the proposal.


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4. OPTIONS

The Council has the following options in relation the Elector Representation Review: 1. To resolve the elements of the representation arrangements (the proposal) for

inclusion in a draft Representation Review Report (Recommended). Doing so would enable the Review process to continue in a timely manner; or.

2. To delay the determination of the proposal. Doing so would not enable the Review

process to progress as the representation elements are a key input to a Representation Review Report.

5. APPENDICES (1) Elector Representation Review – First Public Consultation Submissions Report

Appendix 1 Elector Representation Review – First Public

Consultation Submissions Report

ELECTOR REPRESENTATION REVIEW

First Public Consultation

Submissions Report

A Report to the

Adelaide Hills Council

August 2017

C L Rowe & Associates Pty Ltd

Disclaimer

The information, opinions and estimates presented herein or otherwise in relation hereto are made by C L Rowe and

Associates Pty Ltd in their best judgement, in good faith and as far as possible based on data or sources which are believed

to be reliable. With the exception of the party to whom this document is specifically addressed, C L Rowe and Associates

Pty Ltd, its directors, employees and agents expressly disclaim any liability and responsibility to any person whether a reader

of this document or not in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any

such person in reliance whether wholly or partially upon the whole or any part of the contents of this document. All

information contained within this document is confidential.

Prepared for the Adelaide Hills Council by C L Rowe and Associates Pty Ltd, August 2017 (Version 1)

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Public Consultation 2

3. Future Composition and Structure 6

3.1 Composition 6

3.1.1 Mayor/Chairperson

3.1.2 Number of Councillors

3.1.3 Area Councillors (In addition to ward councillors)

3.2 Structure 9

3.2.1 Wards/No Wards

3.2.2 Ward Structures

3.2.3 Ward Identification

4. Review Process 12

5. Conclusion 13

CL Rowe & Associates Pty Ltd

Page 1

1. Introduction

Section 12(4) of the Local Government Act 1999 (the Act) requires Council to undertake a review of all

aspects of its composition and the division (or potential division) of the Council area into wards, at

least once in every period prescribed by the Minister for Local Government (generally eight years).

The Adelaide Hills Council undertook an elector representation review during the period June 2016 -

April 2017, however, the Electoral Commissioner ultimately determined that the requirements of

Section 12 of the Act had not been satisfied, specifically in relation to Council’s interpretation of the

parties that were eligible to make submission during the public consultation stages. On the basis of

this determination, the Commissioner did not certify Council’s final review report. The Commissioner

did not identify any other concerns with the conduct of the review process. Accordingly, to ensure

that no interested person has been denied the opportunity to provide a submission, Council agreed to

resume the review and initiate further consultation with the community, commencing with the

presentation of this updated Representation Options Paper.

The review resumed in May 2017 and has progressed to the point where the first of the two

prescribed public consultation stages has been completed. Council must now give consideration to

the submissions which have been received and determine (“in principle”) what changes, if any, it

proposes to bring into effect in respect to its future size, composition and structure.


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2. Public Consultation

Public consultation commenced on day Tuesday 30th

May 2017 with the publishing of a public notice

in the Government Gazette, and this was followed by the publishing of notices in “The Courier”

newspaper on Wednesday 31st May 2017, the “Adelaide Hills Weekend Herald” newspaper on

Thursday 1st June 2017; and “The Courier” newspaper on Wednesday 7

th June 2017.

In addition, the public consultation process included:

promotion of the review on the Council website (with a link to the documents and on-line survey;

the display of roadside banners at various locations throughout the Council area;

the provision of the Representation Options Paper and associated documents at the council offices

at Woodside, Stirling and Gumeracha, as well as at The Summit Community Centre at Norton

Summit and in Council’s mobile library; and

promotion of the review on social media (i.e. Facebook).

At the expiration of the public consultation period (i.e. close of business on Friday 14th

July 2017)

Council had received five hundred and thirty seven (537) submissions. In addition, Council already had

sixty-one (61) submissions which were received during the initial round of public consultation

undertaken from 31st August – 14th

October 2016. In respect to these submissions, it is noted that the

public notices published during the latest round of public consultation specifically advised that “all

submissions previously received from the community in respect to the previous Representation Options

Paper (dated August 2016) remain valid and will be reconsidered by Council during any further

deliberations (i.e. previous respondents are not required to submit another submission unless they wish

to do so, in which case the latest submission will supersede the initial submission)”.

Council also received two petitions (five pages in total) which supported a ward structure comprising

three or five wards (with a preference for five wards). These petitions comprised seventy-eight (78)

co-signatories and have been accepted as two submissions, as reported to Council on the 25th

July

2017. By way of information members are advised that at least ten (10) of the petition co-signatories

also made individual submissions.

Given the above, Council effectively received six hundred valid submissions. However, of these

submissions;

twelve (12) of the latest five hundred and thirty seven submissions were duplicates made by

persons who had already made a submission and, as such, have been rejected;

twenty three (23) of the latest five hundred and thirty seven submissions were received from

persons who had made a submissions during the initial public consultation round in

September/October 2016 and, as such, their latest submission has superseded their initial

submission (as per the advice provided in the public notice); and

three (3) were anonymous and these have not be accepted because there is no way of determining

whether the respondents have made more than one submission.

Based on the above adjustments, it has been determined that Council has five hundred and sixty two

(562) valid submissions to consider.

A summary of the submissions has been provided in Attachment 1 and copies of the more detailed

written submissions have been provided in Attachment 2 for member’s consideration.


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The receipt of five hundred and sixty two valid submissions is a significant response from the

community, including a number of interested persons who reside outside of the Council area.

The following tables provide details of the support demonstrated by the community (during the

recent public consultation) for the various composition and ward structure issues.

Table 1: Preferred principal member

Preferred Principal Member

No. of

Respondents

Percentage

Mayor (selected by the community)

436

77.58

Chairperson (selected by councillors)

97

17.26

Both

1

0.18

No response

28

4.98

Total

562

100

Table 2: Wards/No Wards

Wards/No Wards

No. of

Respondents

Percentage

Retain wards 526

93.59

Abolish wards 24

4.27

No response 12

2.14

Total 562

100


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Table 3: Preferred number of wards

Preferred No. of Wards

No. of

Respondents

Percentage

0 1

0.18

2 2

0.36

3 26

4.63

4 37

6.58

5 435

77.4

6 1

0.18

3 or 5 9

1.60

4 or as is 1

0.18

5 or more 1

0.18

Blank or no stated preference 49

8.71

Total

562

100

Table 4: Preferred number of councillors

Preferred No. of Members

No. of

Respondents

Percentage

5 2

0.36

7 1

0.18

8 12

2.14

9 8

1.42

10 90

16.01

11 22

3.91

12 387

68.86

13 3

0.53

14 1

0.18

11 or 10 1

0.18

12 or 9 3

0.53

12 or more 1

0.18

Blank or no stated preference 31

5.52

Total

562

100


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In brief, it is noted that:

a clear majority of the respondents (77.6%) favoured the retention of a mayor (elected by the

community);

an overwhelming majority of the respondents (93.6%) supported the retention of wards;

there was strong support (77.4%) for the retention of a five ward structure, with the four and three

ward options receiving moderate levels of support (i.e. 6.6% and 4.6% respectively); and

there was also strong support (68.9%) for the retention of twelve councillors, whilst there was 16%

support for a reduction to ten councillors and 3.9% support for a reduction to eleven councillors.

As for the issue of ward names, there was a significant response in favour of retaining the current

ward names. It is recommended that the elected members review the individual submissions and/or

the list of proposed names (Attachment 3) for further information.

It should also be noted that:

the provisions of Section 12 of the Act do not require Council to provide the individuals who made

written submissions with the opportunity to address Council at this stage of the review process;

and

for privacy reasons the names of all respondents have been withheld.

It is recommended that members review the individual submissions for further information.


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3. Future Composition and Structure Council has now reached the stage of the revised review process where it must identify what changes

(if any) it proposes to make to its current composition and/or ward structure. More specifically,

Council is required to make “in principle” decisions in respect to all of the following issues and present

details of its preferred future structure and composition to the community for consideration and

comment by the community during the second of the prescribed consultation periods.

3.1 Composition

3.1.1 Mayor/Chairperson

The principal member of Council has always been an elected mayor.

Of the submissions received, (77.6%) favoured the retention of a mayor (elected by the community);

17.3% supported a change to a chairperson; and the remaining 5.1% provided no response or were

illogical.

The following information relating to the two alternatives is provided to assist members in their

deliberations.

3.1.1.1 Mayor

A mayor is elected by the community.

The election of the mayor affords all eligible members of the community the opportunity to

express faith in a candidate and the result of the vote provides the elected Council with an

identifiable principal member who is accountable to the community.

A mayor is elected for a four year term and therefore provides stability and continuity to Council.

An elected mayor cannot be removed from office unless where legislative breaches are proven.

An elected mayor does not have a deliberative vote on a matter before council, but has, in the

event of a tied vote, a casting vote.

The office of mayor (elected) is additional to the number of councillors and, as such, comes at an

additional cost to Council (i.e. members allowances, administrative costs and alike).

As an election (or supplementary election) for the office of mayor must be conducted across the

whole of the Council area, a significant cost can be incurred by Council on every occasion the office

is contested.

At present all of the metropolitan councils have an elected mayor, as do all bar sixteen regional

Councils.

Candidates for the office of mayor cannot also stand for election as a councillor and, as such, the

experience and expertise of unsuccessful mayoral candidates will be lost to council.

3.1.1.2 Chairperson

A chairperson is selected by and from amongst the elected members.

The office of chairperson provides flexibility and opportunity for a number of elected members to

gain experience as the principal member during the four year term of the Council; and to bring

their particular skill set and opinions to the position, albeit for what could be a limited period of

time.

The term of a chairperson is decided by Council (1 - 4 years).

Council decides the title of a chairperson (e.g. mayor), pursuant to Section 51(1)(b) of the Act.

Sixteen regional councils currently have a chairperson, fourteen of which bear the title of mayor.


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A chairperson has a deliberative vote at a council meeting, but does not have a casting vote.

The selection of a chairperson is not reliant upon an election. Should a chairperson not be able to

complete a full term of office a replacement can be selected from the existing elected members

and costs will only be incurred by Council when it seeks to fill the vacant position of councillor

(which is limited to the specific ward if a ward structure is in place).

It should be noted that any proposal to have a selected chairperson rather than an elected mayor

cannot proceed unless or until a poll has been conducted in accordance with the requirements of

Section 12 (11a-d) of the Local Government Act.

3.1.2 Number of Councillors

As previously indicated, three hundred and eighty seven (68.9%) of the submissions received favoured

the retention of twelve councillors, whilst ninety (16.0%) supported a reduction to ten councillors and

twenty two (3.9%) favoured a reduction to eleven councillors.

It is also noted that only a total of one hundred and thirty five (24.0%) of the submissions received

specifically favoured a reduction in the number of elected members.

Sections 26 and 33 of the Local Government Act 1999 espouse the need to ensure adequate and fair

representation while at the same time avoiding over-representation in comparison to other councils of

a similar size and type (at least in the longer term). In addition, Section 12(6)(a) of the Act requires

that where a council is constituted of more than twelve (12) members, the question of whether the

number of members should be reduced must be examined.

Table 5 provides the elector representation arrangement and elector data of those councils which

exhibit similar elector numbers to the Adelaide Hills Council. The data indicates that the composition

and elector ratio of Council is generally consistent with the elector representation arrangements of the

other cited councils.

Table 5: Elector data, representation and areas (Councils with similar elector numbers)

Council Councillors Electors Ratio

Alexandrina (1,827 km²) 11 19,735 1:1,794

Norwood Payneham St Peters (15.1 km²) 13 25,267 1:1,944

Holdfast (13.7 km²) 12 27,610 1:2,301

Unley (14.3 km²) 12 27,664 1:2,305

Mt Barker (595 km²) 11 23,429 1:2,343

Adelaide Hills (795.1km²) 12 28,866 1:2,406

Burnside (27.5 km²) 12 31,841 1:2,653

Source: Electoral Commission SA (April & May 2017)

The difference in the composition and elector ratios of councils becomes more evident when the

Adelaide Hills Council is compared to the larger of the metropolitan councils. These councils currently

comprise 12 - 20 elected members; have elector numbers ranging from 63,598 - 121,336: and exhibit

elector ratios of 1:4,811 - 1:6,066. However, it should be noted that all of these metropolitan councils

cover smaller areas than the Adelaide Hills Council (i.e. 52.14km² to 518.4km²) and exhibit

consolidated areas of residential development.


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In addition to examining the elector representation arrangements of other councils, Section 12(6)(a) of

the Act requires that where a council is constituted of more than twelve (12) members, the question of

whether the number of members should be reduced must be examined. The review affords the

opportunity to at least consider an alternative number of elected members and/or elector ratio.

The conundrum facing Council is that there is clear support from the community for the retention of

twelve councillors, but the intent of the Act appears to be in favour of a reduction in the number of

elected members to twelve or below.

To complicate matters two of the largest metropolitan Councils are currently proposing significant

changes to their elector representation arrangements which will likely serve to set new benchmarks in

regards to elector representation arrangements and elector ratios, and will undoubtedly broaden the

gap (in regards to elector representation) between the larger and smaller metropolitan councils.

For example, the City of Onkaparinga is proposing to reduce its composition from twenty to fifteen

elected members (potential elector ratio of approximately 1:8,090) and the City of Salisbury is

proposing a reduction from sixteen to fourteen elected members (potential elector ratio of

approximately 1:5,450). In addition, proposals to reduce the number of elected members in the City

of Port Lincoln, the City of Mount Gambier and the Southern Mallee District Council were recently

certified by the Electoral Commissioner; and the Copper Coast Council currently has a proposal before

the Electoral Commissioner which seeks a reduction in the number of elected members.

If considering a reduction in the number of councillors, care must be taken to ensure that:

sufficient elected members are available to manage the affairs of Council;

the elected member’s workloads do not become excessive;

there is an appropriate level of elector representation;

a diversity in member's skill sets, experience and backgrounds is maintained; and

adequate lines of communication will exist between a growing community and Council.

In addition, members should take into account the fact that:

all indicators suggest that the population (and therefore elector numbers) within the Council area

will likely continue to increase in the foreseeable future;

a reduction in the number of elected members will result in some cost savings to Council (e.g.

elected member's allowances alone are $15,900 per annum per councillor) which could be available

for redirection to community projects and/or programs;;

fewer members may expedite debate and the decision making process in Council; and

enhanced communication and information technology should have served to reduce any

difficulties previously experienced by elected members in respect to their day to day tasks and

communication with both Council and the community.

A reduction in the number of elected members will serve to increase the elector ratio from the current

1:2,406 to the following.

Eleven councillors: 1:2,624 Ten councillors: 1:2,887 Nine councillors: 1:3,207

The aforementioned elector ratios are still considerably lower than those of say, the Campbelltown

City Council which has 34,929 electors and comprises ten councillors (elector ratio of 1:3,493), and

definitely the larger metropolitan councils (currently 1:4,811 - 1:6,066).


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On the other hand, any thought of increasing the number of elected members will be difficult to

justify, both from a cost point of view and compliance with the requirements of Sections 12, 26 and 33

of the Act (in terms of avoiding over-representation in comparison with other councils of a similar size

and type and reviewing elected member numbers over twelve).

3.1.3 Area Councillors (in addition to ward councillors)

Section 52 of the Act indicates that councillors can be elected as a representative of a ward, or

alternatively, to represent the Council area as a whole (whether or not the council area is divided into

wards).

As indicated in the Representation Options Paper, ward councillors generally consider themselves to

represent not only their ward, but the Council area as a whole. This being the case, the need for area

councillors in addition to ward councillors is questionable, an assertion which is seemingly supported

by the fact that only the City of Adelaide has a ward structure which incorporates two levels of

representation. Further, it is noted that under such an arrangement area councillors hold no greater

status than a ward councillor; have no greater responsibilities than a ward councillor; and need not

comply with any extraordinary or additional eligibility requirements.

In addition, any contested election (and/or supplementary election) for area councillors must be

conducted across the whole of the Council area, at a significant cost to Council.

For these and the other reasons previously presented to Council, it is considered that area councillors

(in addition to ward councillors) are an unwarranted, unnecessary and potentially costly additional tier

of representation.

3.2 Ward Structure

3.2.1 Wards/No Wards

The Adelaide Hills Council has always been divided into wards and, of the five hundred and sixty two

valid submissions received, five hundred and twenty six (93.6%) supported the retention of wards, as

opposed to twenty four submissions (4.3%) which favoured the abolition of wards.

The main arguments supporting a ward structure include:

wards guarantee some form and level of direct representation to existing communities of interest

and/or parts of the Council area;

ward councillors can focus on local issues;

under the “no wards” structure Council has to conduct elections and supplementary elections

across the whole of the Council area (at a significant expense); and

under the “no wards” structure the more popular or known councillors may receive more enquiries

from the public (i.e. inequitable workloads).

The key arguments supporting the abolition of wards include:

the electors have the opportunity to vote for all of the vacant positions on Council;

the most supported candidates from across the Council area will likely be elected;

the elected members should be free of parochial local/ward attitudes;


Page 10

the lines of communication between Council and the community should be enhanced, given that

members of the community will be able to consult with any and/or all members of Council, rather

than be obliged to consult with their specific ward councillors;

under the current proportional representation method of voting the “no ward” structure still

affords opportunities for the smaller “communities of interest” within the Council area to be

directly represented on Council (subject to voter turnout); and

the “no ward” structure automatically absorbs fluctuations in elector numbers (i.e. the quota

tolerance limits do not apply).

At present thirty-three regional councils and two metropolitan councils (i.e. the Towns of Walkerville

and Gawler) have no wards; and the Southern Mallee District Council has recently resolved to abolish

wards.

Should it be the preference of the elected members to retain a ward structure, Council will not only

have to identify an appropriate ward structure but will also have to determine the need for area

councillors in addition to ward councillors; the level of representation within the wards; and

appropriate ward names.

3.2.2 Ward Structures

The following table, which was presented in the Representation Options Paper, indicates that the

current structure cannot be retained because the elector ratio in the existing Mount Lofty ward

exceeds the specified 10% quota tolerance limit prescribed under Section 33(2) of the Act. In addition,

the elector ratio exhibited in the existing Marble Hill ward provides further reason for concern and

there are doubts that this ward can remain within the specified quota tolerance limit in the short term.

The onset of residential development on the former Magill Youth Training Centre site at Woodforde,

which could realise an additional 400 additional dwellings, may overcome the concerns pertaining to

the Marble Hill ward in the long term.

Table 5: Elector data per ward and variance to quota

Ward Councillors HOA Roll

Council

Roll

Total

Electors Ratio %

Variance

Manoah 2 4,859 4 4,863 1:2,432 + 1.1

Mt Lofty 3 7,926 25 7,951 1:2,650 +10.2

Marble Hill 2 4,363 13 4,376 1:2,188 - 9.0

Torrens Valley 2 4,985 5 4,990 1:2,495 + 3.7

Onkaparinga Valley 3 6,660 26 6,686 1:2,229 - 7.3

Total 12 28,793 73 28,866

Average 1:2,406

Source: Electoral Commission SA (May 2017)

Of the submissions received, four hundred and thirty five (77.4%) specifically supported the retention

of five wards, whilst there was some support for four and three ward structures (i.e. 6.6% and 4.6%

respectively).


Page 11

Council has previously considered a number of potential future ward structure options, and the latest

Representation Options Paper contained seven ward structure options (including a slightly modified

version of the current ward structure) to demonstrate how the Council area could be divided into

wards based on the composition of Council being nine to twelve councillors. Council now has to

decide whether it wants to retain wards, and if it does, identify its preferred ward structure. This could

be current ward structure (or an amended version thereof); one of the ward structure options

previously presented to Council; or a newly developed structure based on the specific needs of

Council in respect to councillor numbers and/or levels of ward representation.

Any ward structure option under consideration should:

provide an equitable balance of electors (which can be maintained, within tolerance, over the

extended period between reviews);

allow for likely fluctuations in elector numbers, primarily as a consequence of future population

growth/decline and/or residential development; and

exhibit an elector ratio which is similar to those exhibited by other councils of a comparable size

and type (i.e. avoids over-representation).

In addition, Council should take into account:

the submissions received from the community;

the character and topography of the area;

the likely impacts upon existing “communities of interest”;

the preferred level of ward representation and the total number of elected members;

future anticipated population/elector growth;

the need for an equitable distribution of electors between wards; and

the requirement that the elector ratios within all of the proposed wards will have to lay with the

specified quota tolerance limits.

3.2.3 Ward Identification

As indicated in the Representation Options Paper, wards can be identified using numbers, alphabetical

letters, direction or geographical references (e.g. north, south, east, west, central); place names; and/or

names of European and/or Aboriginal heritage/cultural significance.

Of the submissions received, there was considerable support for the retention of the current names

and/or geographical or locality names of relevance to the proposed future wards. A list of suggested

ward names has been provided in Attachment 3; and members are encouraged to consider this list

and perhaps peruse the submissions to identify the level of support for the various suggested names.

It is suggested that the retention of the existing ward names or the allocation of geographical/place

names may be the most appropriate and acceptable means of ward identification at this time.


Page 12

4. Review Process

The next stage of the review process, as specified under Section 12(8a) of the Act, involves Council

preparing a “Representation Review Report” which will:

provide information regarding the initial public consultation undertaken and Council’s response to

the issues arising from the submissions received;

set out the proposal that Council considers should be carried into effect; and

present evidence of how the proposal relates to the provisions of Sections 26 and 33 of the Act.

Once completed, the report has to be presented to the community for consideration and comment, in

accordance with the provisions of Section 12(9) and (10) of the Act. This second public consultation

stage must:

extend for a minimum period of three (3) weeks;

provide copies of the report for public inspection; and

afford all interested persons the opportunity to make a written submission to Council.

Any person who makes a written submission must be given the opportunity to address Council, either

in person or by way of a representative, in support of his/her submission.

Upon completion of the second public consultation, and after due consideration of all submissions

received in response thereto, Council will be in a position to make final decisions regarding its future

composition and structure. The final stage of the review process is the presentation of a formal report

to the Electoral Commissioner, for consideration and certification.


Page 13

5. Conclusion

The Adelaide Hills Council has initiated further consultation with the local community in respect to the

elector representation review in order to ensure that no interested person has been denied the

opportunity to participate in the review and/or make a submission to Council regarding the review.

Council has now completed the replication of the first of the prescribed public consultation stages of

the elector representation review process, attracting five hundred and sixty two valid submissions.

These submissions strongly favoured the retention of an elected mayor; the retention of a ward

structure; the division of the Council area into five wards; and the retention of twelve councillors.

Council must now make some “in principle” decisions regarding its future composition and structure,

taking into account the information previously provided throughout the course of the review to date;

and the submissions made by the community.

The principal member of Council has always been a mayor, elected by the community so as to

provide Council with an identifiable leader who is accountable to the community. It is considered that

a change to the alternative (i.e. a chairperson chosen by the elected members of Council), offers few

tangible benefits and would be at odds with all of the other metropolitan Councils. Further, given that

77.6% of the respondents favoured the retention of an elected mayor, it is considered unlikely that a

proposal for change to a chairperson would receive strong support from the community if a formal

poll was conducted (as required under Section 12(11) of the Act).

As for the issue of wards or "no wards", the Council area has always been divided into wards and this

issue has been contentious throughout the course of the review. It is noted that five hundred and

twenty six (93.6%) of the latest submissions received favoured the retention of wards. This is

considered to be a clear and significant response by the community.

A ward structure guarantees direct representation of areas and/or communities within the Council

area; affords the ward councillors the opportunity to be more familiar with their constituents and the

issues affecting the local community; ensures local interests and/or issues are not overlooked in favour

of the bigger “area-wide” picture; and provides recognisable lines of communication with Council

through the ward councillors. In addition, the retention of wards could be perceived (by the

community) as a sign of stability within Council and acknowledgment of the strong community

support for a ward structure.

Alternatively, the abolition of wards affords the electors the opportunity to vote for all of the vacant

positions on Council; will likely result in the most supported candidates from across the Council area

being elected; enables the elected members to be free of ward centric attitudes; can enhance the lines

of communication between Council and the community; affords opportunities for the smaller

“communities of interest” within the Council area to be directly represented on Council (subject to

voter turnout); and automatically absorbs fluctuations in elector numbers (i.e. the quota tolerance

limits do not apply).

As for the issue of a preferred ward structure, the majority of respondents (77.4%) favoured five

wards. The existing ward structure cannot be retained because the elector ratio within the Mount

Lofty ward currently breaches the specified quota tolerance limit, and the elector ratio in the existing

Marble Hill ward is also nearing the specified limit of -10%, although the latter may only be a concern

in the short term. This being the case, Council must consider alternative ward structure options which

achieve a more equitable distribution of elector numbers between the wards and suit the future

composition of Council (to be determined).


Page 14

In respect to the composition of Council, there are two issues which need to be addressed, these

being the number of elected members required to provide fair and adequate representation; and

whether there is a need for area councillors in addition to ward councillors (should Council retain a

ward structure).

As for the issue of the number of councillors, there is no formula to calculate an appropriate level of

representation, however some guidance can be taken from the provisions of Sections 26 and 33 of the

Act which speak against over-representation when compared to Councils of a similar size and type.

The comparison undertaken between Adelaide Hills Council and councils of a similar size revealed that

the elector representation arrangements are not dissimilar, although the elector ratio applicable to

Council could be considered to be a little low, especially when compared to the elector arrangement

of the “mid-sized” metropolitan councils (e.g. City of Burnside and Campbelltown City Council).

Whilst 68.9% of the submissions received favoured the retention of twelve councillors, 16.0% of the

submissions supported a reduction to ten councillors; and overall one hundred and thirty five

submissions (24.0%) favoured a reduction in the number of elected members from the current twelve

ward councillors.

Any reduction in the number of elected members will result in some cost savings to Council.

However, care must be taken to ensure that there are sufficient elected members to manage the

affairs of Council; the workloads of the elected members do not become excessive; a diversity in skill

sets, opinions and experience is maintained amongst the elected members; an appropriate level of

elector representation is provided; and adequate lines of communication between the community and

Council will exist, taking into account the anticipated future growth in the population (and therefore

elector numbers).

On the other hand, it is considered that any proposal to increase the number of elected members at

this time will be extremely difficult to justify and, as such, will likely not receive favourable

consideration by the Electoral Commissioner.

For reasons previously provided, area councillors (in addition to ward councillors) are considered

to be unwarranted and an expensive form of additional representation.

.

Finally, the issue of ward names will need to be further addressed once a decision has been made

regarding the issue of wards/no wards. The existing ward names are acceptable and could be

retained, if required.


Page 15

Attachment 1

Summary of Submissions

Colour schedule:

Pink – Anonymous (3) – not accepted

Yellow – Detailed submissions - numbers 145 and 393 not accepted (duplicates)

Blue – Submissions previously received (initial Representation Options Paper)

Green – Duplicates (including initial Representation Options Paper) – not accepted

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs

Comments Ward Names Other Comments

1 HAHNDORF Mayor Retain Wards This will result in unfair weighting

toward those areas that are heavily

populated.

Five (5) The Council area is both large

and diverse in terms of

population and needs. Retaining

five wards is only sensible

12

2 ALDGATE Chairperson Retain Wards Five (5) 12

3 BASKET RANGE Mayor Retain Wards In such a huge area, our needs are

so different. We in Basket Range

don't have the same needs as

those in Mt Barker or Stirling

Five (5) 9 Just leave them as

they are and stop

making things overly

complicated!

4 BALHANNAH Mayor Retain Wards Very different areas forming part of

the Adelaide Hills Council with

different needs. It is important

that the entire population feels

they are represented equitably.

Five (5) 12

5 BENTLEIGH Mayor Retain Wards The community clearly want the

Ward structure to be maintained.

The Hills is a disparate community

with different needs. The abolition

of the Wards will concentrate

power within the populated centre

of the council, disenfranchising

communities

Five (5) The existing structure has

worked well and respects the

historic communities from the

merged council districts. These

communities still exist and the

ward structure provides them

with a represented identity

12 It is appropriate that the more

populated wards have greater

representation and the 12

councillors provides that

Leave them as they

are.

6 STIRLING Mayor I believe this delivers the

communities wishes better

Retain Wards I am stunned by the total distegard

for the wishes of yhe community

by those councillors who have

voted to abolish the ward system

Four (4) 8 In my experience smaller

meetings make better decisions

If the community again for the

third time states it does not want

to abolish the ward system and

councillors again ignore our

wishes it will be a disgrace

7 STIRLING Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 10

8 BRIDGEWATER Mayor Allows community input. Retain Wards Allows a fair voice for all

community members.

Five (5) Allows for diversity of

community voices.

8 Heavily populated areas

currently have a stronger

presence and therefore are able

to affect decisions in their

favour.

Keep the the same. At the beginning of "Mayor"

Spragg's term there was a huge

vote of no confidence in his ability

to be impartial as mayor. This has

only been reinforced as time has

passed. Mayoral election needs to

be on votes alone and not include

secondary votes. Spragg did not

get the community's vote but won

the position on preferences! Not

our community's choice!

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


9 MOUNT

TORRENS

Chairperson I believe that a Mayor should

have the confidence of elected

members.

Retain Wards Refer to the overwhelming

response in support in the initial

call for feedback.

Five (5) There is no evidence that the

current system is broken Nor is

there any compelling evidence

that a no wards system would

better cater to a council area so

geographically separated and

diverse.

12 The workload on councillors

already is very high.

It doesn't matter. It's

the structure that

matters

I have very little faith in this

enforced second round making a

scrap of difference to the degree

to which the current elected

members would be differently

"informed" by the review.

10 STIRLING Mayor Elected by members of the

community not a political party

Retain Wards Direct representation of my area

on council and prevents the

Councillors all coming from the

heavily populated city areas of

council.

Five (5) Provides for the best

representation for my area by a

local Councillor that

understands our issues.

12 Looking at the Review this fits

well with other councils in the

sample.

Also I prefer Option 1 that has

12 councilors.

Manoah, Mt Lofty,

Marble Hill, Torrens

Valley, Onkaparinga

Valley

I am very disappointed that the

council choose to ignore the

majority feedback the last time!

11 ALDGATE Mayor

(elected),

Chairperson

(chosen by

Councillors)

The current system works -

most of the time. However,

based on our Mayor's actions

in regards to this Elector

Representation Review process

I do start to wonder is a

Chairperson would be a better

way to go.

Retain Wards Wards deliver diversity that relate

to the needs of the 'region'

Wards allow a voice from smaller,

yet no less important, towns and

areas.

Wards make it affordable for

candidates to campaign (it would

likely be cost prohibitive for more

to campaign across the entire

council region with financial

backing!)

Wards ensure larger political

parties can't over-run council.

WARDS WORK.

Five (5) The more Wards the greater

diversity via voices on council.

12 As previous - the more

councillors from a ward based

system delivers important

regional voice(s) on council.

The names are not

important - they're

fine as they are.

I feel I've wasted another 15

minutes completing this Elector

Representation Review as the 6

councillors, and Mayor Spragg,

have no intention of listening to

those that are completing this

process - it's just a small

procedural barrier to getting what

they want against common sense,

against good governance and

against the Adelaide Hills regions

as a whole.

It's indefensible. This isn't

democracy at work - this is self-

serving small time party politics

and we the residents of the

Adelaide Hills are just pawns in

this silly game.

What a shame.

12 NOT SUPPLIED Same as current ward

names. No need to

change for the sake

of changing.

I really hope the councillors that

voted to abolish the wards

ACTUALLY listen to the residents

this time and change their vote to

keep the ward structure.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


13 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards The council is not likely to get much

response from this feedback

session or if they do it will mainly

be negative because of the damage

that has already been caused by

the elected members choosing to

ignore the ratepayer feedback and

follow the mayors agenda for the

adelaide hills council. The wards

are an integral part of

representation within the adelaide

hills and because of the diversity in

ideology, thinking, occupation and

attitude this can not be managed

or assessed in the same way as city

councils. This is evident by the

different feedback the council has

received in this process and the

differences in opinion between the

northern hills and southern areas.

I ask the council to uphold a

garuentee of representation for the

northern adelaide hills and not turn

the hills into a party political battle

ground where the only loosers are

the people who live in those areas

and pay your wages.

Three

(3)

12 Northern Adelaide

Hills

Middle Adelaide Hills

Southern Adelaide

Hills

14 HEATHFIELD Chairperson The councillors are better

equipped to make an informed

decision about who can beat

fulfil this role.

Retain Wards Different areas of the council have

very different needs. We need to

ensure that all of these areas have

representation on the council.

Five (5) I think that our existing structure

has served us very well.

11 2 per ward + Mayor makes

sense to me.

Why the need to

change? We are all

familiar with them.

Would love to see the councillors

vote with what the absolute

majority of residents want rather

than otherwise!

15 BURNSIDE Mayor Should be chosen by the

people - then they have to

represent the people or risk

being voted out. A chairperson

chosen be the councillors - you

must be joking

Retain Wards Stop trying to push this through.

The people have spoken. Stop

trying to corrupt your way around

the people's opinion

Five (5) Even minimising ward numbers

is your way of marginalising the

voice a smaller communities.

Stop it!

12 More representation = less

chance of cronyism

No opinion

16 BIRDWOOD Mayor Our choice Retain Wards Because it works. Birdwood will be

forgotten if we don't have

someone from our area.

Five (5) Malcolm Herrmann is the best

councilor. I bet other wards

have someone who works hard

for them. We need our own

representatives not a general

representative

12 It works. Leave it as is If you don't listen to us you will

not be reelected

17 CUDLEE CREEK Mayor They are meant to represent

the people.

Retain Wards Because there is more to the

Adelaide Hills than Stirling.

Five (5) Leave as is. Primary production

areas need representation not

just the towns around Stirling

12 Need diversity and a chance for

new blood.

Related to the word

itself

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


18 GUMERACHA Mayor A mayor is elected by the

people. More chance of

democracy to work

Retain Wards I live in GUMERACHA which is a less

densely populated area then

Stirling, Aldgate, Bridgewater etc

We have a sense of identity and are

a strong community

To retain representation council we

need to be assured of a voice

I believe by removing the wards

our voice on council will either not

be heard or be over ruled by the

louder voices of the more densely

populated areas

Five (5) 5 ensures all areas of council ate

equally represented

12 It has been working ever since

almagamation. Really we

should have more as the

population in all areas has

grown

and the workload can be quite

high for most of the councillors.

However 12 for now

Retain the same

names. Why add to

the confusion and

cost!

I have submitted forms for this

previously. It is obvious that the

bulk of the people wish to retain

the ward structure

I fail to see why all this(my)

money is being spent yet again

19 GUMERACHA Mayor I want to retain my right to

select the person i feel would

make the best mayor.

Retain Wards 1. I want to retain my right the

have 2 guarranteed representives

on coucil.

2. We were promised the ward

structure would not be changed

when we agreed to amalgamation.

3. I demand my right to have a

popular vote on this issue before

council trys to bulldoze this

through and councillors need to

change my mind not the other way

round.

Five (5) Leave it as it is. 12 Population is growing and the

representation needs to

represent all

Same as they are

now

If coucil negates a promise made

to the electors in order for us to

amalgamate then this will also

negate the amalgamation

agreement.

20 URAIDLA Mayor The mayor should be

democratically elected

Retain Wards We need representation for issues

that face us, that are not the same

for Stirling

Five (5) Leave as is 12 I don't really have an opinion,

leave as is

The names of the

wards bear no

significance or

importance to me 21 CUDLEE CREEK Mayor We should have a vote , as to

who represents us.

Retain Wards We need wards to represent our

point of view.

Five (5) The more wards we have, the

more people are represented.

12 Seems to be working well. North,south,east,

west . 22 HEATHFIELD Mayor I would like to personally vote

for the mayor based on my

priniciples which would be

aligned to a potential mayors

own agenda.

Retain Wards the ward sysstem allows

councillors to be elected from

within the ward they live in, I dont

want someone making descisions

based on their agenda when they

dont even live in my ward.

Five (5) five wards provides a even

spread across the adelaide hills

council area, where different

wards have different needs and

need to be represented fairly.

10 if we have 5 wards then it is

reasonable to expect each ward

to elect two councillors to have

a voice heard fairly from each

ward.

names that represent

the ward historically,

such as Heysen and

the like

nothing more to add.

23 LOBETHAL Mayor More democratic process Retain Wards So our ward has representation Five (5) 12 Don't do it

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


24 KERSBROOK Chairperson Because the convention is,

where a casting vote is made, it

supports the status quo. In

recent times, to the best of my

knowledge, this has not been

the practice at AHC meetings.

Not having an elected Mayor

also has the effect of reducing

elected member numbers,

ratios and thus the costs

associated with those elected

member numbers. It is always

open to the elected body to

chose to call the Chairman, the

Mayor.

Retain Wards If it's not broken why fix it?

Previous responses of 96.7 and

93.6 per cent and 4 petitions did

not support the abolition of the

Ward System. The people obviously

do not want to lose their 'parish

pump' representation. Who says,

"no wards" is the optimum of

democracy. If this is the case why

do State, Territory, and

Commonwealth Government

elections continue with an system

of electorates within defined (but

moveable) boundaries.

Five (5) I support the status quo with a

redistribution of boundaries to

accommodate existing elector

representation anomolies. After

all should the predicted

population projections in the

consultants document not

eventuate, boundaries can

always be tweaked to respond

to any future 10 percent

variations.

12 I see no good reason to change

the status quo unless the

elected position of Mayor is

replaced by a

Chairperson/Mayor.

With due respect

surely this is the sort

of issue that requires

close and specific

consultation by

Council, (involving

the relevant

Councillors), with

those ratepayers who

are directly affected.

Names are

important. So is

meaningful

consultation.

Reasonably even-handed but a bit

loaded in places. For example the

comparisons made with inner city

municipalities; how the majority

of Councils have a Mayor.

Prior to completing this

submission I meant to check out

Section 12(4) of the Act to find

out what it says in the regulations

concerning, "the issue of the

division, or potential division, of

the area of the council into wards,

are comprehensively reviewed

under this section at least once in

each relevant period that is

prescribed by the regulations.' I

still don't know what the relevant

period is. Also it wasn't till I

commenced filling in this

electronic form that I realised this

was to be my submission, not just

a registration for things to come!

It had been my intention to

submit a far more comprehensive

missive. In the meantime. Peace

and Love

25 CRAFERS Chairperson The current system doesn't

allow for a Mayoral candidate

to also be a Council Member

candidate and therefore some

Council Members may be

hesitant to stand for Mayor as

it poses the risk of them losing

out all together. By having a

Chairperson, chosen from their

peers, all candidates are on an

equal playing field.

Abolish Wards A 'no wards' council district allows

for voters to vote for all candidates

and not just those within their

ward. In the past some Council

Members have had automatic

entry as there were not enough

candidates to require an election

within that ward which doesn't

seem right.

9 I think nine gives a good

balance and an un-even

number is better so that

decisions won't remain 'hung'.

I don't have a

problem with the

current ward names.

If the council district

were to be divided

into say, two areas, it

could change to

'north' and 'south',

but I think it loses

some of it's character

with common

descriptions such as

those. I'd like to see

the current names

remain.

26 INGLEWOOD Mayor More open discussion of

candidates opinions, interests

and objectives.

Retain Wards Without wards it is inevitable that

representation will concentrate

around areas of denser population

and other areas interests will be

ignored.

Four (4) Provides a reasonable spread of

variance and retains 12

councillors

12 More councillors reduce the

possibility of vested interests or

ideologically motivated agendas

taking control of council.

North, South, East

and West or named

after the districts at

the centre of each

ward :- Gumeracha,

Longwood, Oakbank

and Ashton

The overwhelming rejection of

council amalgamation was

ignored and this manoeuvre to

abolish wards is clearly designed

to further concentrate council

control. Outlying areas seem

valued only for the money they

are required to contribute.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


27 INGLEWOOD Mayor The Mayor should make

himself known to all ratepayers

so that he can have a

considered view of their

opinions.

Retain Wards We wish to retain wards so that we

get a fair representation on Council

by people who are from our area

who know and understand the

opinions of the ratepayers in this

area.

Four (4) This option seems to distribute

the concentrated number of

ratepayers in the central zone

more fairly.

12 The more councillors there are

reduces "cliques" and keeps

opinions and views general.

Northern Hills,

Southern Hills,

Eastern Hills and

Western Hills

28 SUMMERTOWN Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 10

29 URAIDLA Mayor They represent us we should

choose

Retain Wards The hills are far to diverse to have

no wards.

Five (5) The current 5 words allow for

each ward to be represented

adequately any less than this will

be a gross injustice to the

people of rhe adelaide hills.

11 2 per ward plus the mayor Leave as is, people

know them and

understand them

30 FOREST RANGE Mayor The Mayor should be selected

by voters by characteristics

other than those that would

dictate the choice of

Councillors for a chair. The role

is much bigger than that of a

normal Councillor, and many

Councillors are not willing to

become the Mayor, so the

choice may be simply one of

default.

Abolish Wards 1. Wards are too hard to maintain

at a satisfactory voter:

representative ratio (the quota

issue) which will never be solved

otherwise

2. Wards tend to allow voters too

little choice of candidate (and at

times no choice!)

3. Wards lead to the promotion of

parochial issues, not big picture

issue and good governance which

is needed!!!

4. Wards lead to entrenched

Councillors simply because people

know them, not through

judgement on merit

5. Abolishing Wards would give

better representation of the

various interests of voters

6. Abolishing Wards will make the

AHC operate in a more unified way,

rather than as a collection of Wards

retained for historical reasons

12 This seems a reasonable

number considering the voter:

representative ratio of other

municipalities.

Prancer, Dancer,

Donner, Blitzen and

Vixen

It is time to throw off the shackles

of the old Council areas and be a

unified Council that acts as such

and can engage in really managing

a substantial business as such

with vision and strategy.

31 GUMERACHA Chairperson Get rid of current mayor who

refuses to accept the majority

view of respondents on

keeping the ward system

Retain Wards To keep fair representation for all

areas.

Five (5) It provides fair representation

for all

10 2 per ward is fair to all Remain as they are

32 LOWER

HERMITAGE

Chairperson Retain Wards Retain fair representation

throughout the council area.

Five (5) The only way the all areas will

get equal voting power.

10 For the five ward system

system, two councilors seems

logical and equal.

North, South, East,

West, and Central.

33 LOWER

HERMITAGE

Chairperson Retain Wards Fair representation for all areas. Five (5) Equal representation 10 Equal number of councilors per

wards.

North, East, West,

South, Central34 PARACOMBE Mayor Retain Wards This has work well in the past and

gives fair representation

Five (5) Will spread the work load evenly 10 2 per ward No suggestions

35 BASKET RANGE Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


36 PARACOMBE Mayor Retain Wards too big an area, northern residents

want representatives who live in

their area and so do the southern

ones

Five (5) sufficient representation for the

residents

12 using the areas the

wards cover - nothing

wrong with what you

had37 GUMERACHA Mayor Because there is enough

internal fighting in local

councils. We don't need more

so someone can become a

Chairperson. Last thing we

need is like our federal polit

parties who keep changing

leader and the internal fighting

that goes with it.

Retain Wards Fair voice across the community Five (5) Current structure provides an

even representation across the

council area. The only time small

towns will see anyone is at

election time.

12 Not a major concern

to me

38 PARACOMBE Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12 Keep existing

39 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Chairperson Retain Wards I live in an area of the council with

relatively lower population density.

I'm worried if we abolish wards all

of the councillors elected will be

from high population density areas

and we will lose local

representation.

Five (5) More wards means we are more

likely to get local representation

12

40 LOBETHAL Mayor The choice is up to the 'rate

payers'

Retain Wards This gives the rate payers closer

liaison with the councillors/ward

representitives.

Five (5) The Adelaide Hills Council covers

a relatively large area (most of

which exists outside of Stirling)

10 Two Councillors per ward

seems a good fit.

A Ward Name suited

to the area which the

Ward covers.

This should be the last and final

decision regarding the

abolishment of Wards within the

Adelaide Hills Council.

The Councillors must listen to and

react to the "rate payers' in a

democratic manner.41 LOBETHAL Chairperson The Chairperson chosen must

stay the full term as a Mayor

would so there is a

recognisable leader, no

switching except under

exceptional circumstances.

Then we avoid the winner

takes all situation and not lose

good candidates who were not

elected as Mayor under the

current system

Retain Wards The AHC area is comprised of a

large number of Diverse

communities of interest and

retaining wards will prevent

centralisation of Councillors in high

population areas where it is easier

and cheaper to canvas voters with

smaller areas to concentrate their

efforts on at the expense of Small

and/or Widely Spread communities

of interest. As a no ward scenario,

we don't elect every member of

parliament be it state or federal,

we don't need a social experiment

in "ultimate democracy" by

electing every candidate for our

council. It would be good if

candidates resided within their

wards but if they know their

"ward" well, they are equally

worthy.

Four (4) It evens the number of

Councillors per ward avoiding

any perceptions of bias, 3 per

ward allows adequately for

absences, there is plenty of

scope to cope with population

growth for the future. Easier to

make adjustments to

boundaries to maintain the

ratios than with 5 which will

always have 3 minor wards and

2 super wards.

12 With 4 wards and 3 Councillors

per ward, absenteeism and

redundancies are easily coped

with and allows for easy growth

of the ratio as the population

rises.

The town name at

the geographically

central position of

the ward that is

unlikely to vary over

time-or the native

plant or animal

species endemic to

that area-that avoids

the fussing over place

names and cultural

insensitivities.

A No Ward system is just wrong

on so many fronts, the arguments

'for' it in the review just don't

stand up under any moderate

form of scrutiny and the

'disadvantages' are far more

probable as outcomes than the

"ideals" pronounced on the 'for'

side. If Mt Torrens can't get its

roads fixed because the 12

councillors elected under the

ultimate from of democracy [who

canvassed the citizens of

Bridgewater to Crafers and

Balhannah to Woodside as a Blok]

want to pave the streets of Stirling

in Gold, the good folk of Mt

Torrens have no one to talk to do

they? No Wards is open to abuse

and corruption.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


42 VERDUN, SA Mayor The community should be able

to decide the Principal Member

of the Council by election, not

the Councillors

Retain Wards The ward structure is necessary in

my opinion to ensure electors are

more to likely to have a

representative who identifies with

local concerns. Ideally the

representatives should live in (or

very close to) their wards.

Four (4) The 4 ward structure with 4

councillors per ward seems to

be the best way to go.

12 The number of councillors

should not be reduced. The

number of electors would stay

the same, so councillors would

face increased work loads and it

would be more difficult for

electors to get help from their

councillors.

Keep Torrens Valley

and Onkaparinga

Valley, as they are

recognisable

geographical areas.

The other two could

be something like Mt

Lofty Ranges West

and Mt Lofty Ranges

South or Hills West

and Hills South.

Manoah and Marble

Hill are very small

parts of the council

area.

43 HOUGHTON, SA Mayor A mayor will provide a more

democratically representative

voice

Retain Wards As a member of Torrens I am

concerned abolishing the wa de will

mean an even greater centralised

system of services in Mt Lofty

Five (5) Greater representation for the

larger, less populated areas

12 AHC is a very large council area,

and looks cal issues may be lost

with smaller representation

Same

44 UPPER

HERMITAGE, SA

Mayor This would seem to be a more

democratic process although I

do not have strong feelings

about the matter

Retain Wards Wards are a means of ensuring that

less populous parts of the council

area (which is huge and very

varied) have fair representation. It

would be concerning if the more

populous areas of the hills

dominated proceedings and

funding over the "minority" areas

which pay just as much in council

rates.

Five (5) There a many regions in the

council and all require fair

representation.

10

45 OAKBANK, SA Mayor Allows for democratic support-

not biased closed chambers

Retain Wards We have better representation and

a local voice

Five (5) We are even too big for 5- 7 may

be better

12 A small group for a very large

area, decreasing would mean I

would not be able to speak to

my local councillor as they live

too far away

Woodside Oakbank-

Gumeracha/Torrens

Lobethal and Ranges,

uraidla and gullies

Stirling, Bridgewater

46 OAKBANK, SA Mayor Avoid additional bureaucracy;

with different "chairpersons"

the reasonability would be

difficult to allocate.

Abolish Wards Reduce bureaucracy. The Ward

solution did not improve

responsibility by the members for

their respective ward. Useless

exercise.

Other Six are enough. I haven't seen

them doing any meaningful

representation.

N/A Please publish the results of this

Review.

47 MYLOR, SA Chairperson Both of the last Mayors have

been totally unsatisfactory, and

not representational of the

community

Retain Wards The current system works well, and

we want someone who lives in our

ward to represent us

Five (5) it ain't broke - don't fix it 11 Don't want an elected Mayor As is

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


48 BALHANNAH, SA Mayor Continue with the existing

Council structure. I think the

Mayor should have some

status within the community,

rather than a Chairperson

chosen by other Councillors.

Retain Wards I prefer to keep the ward structure,

as I believe a Councillor elected by

the residents within the ward has

someone they can talk to with

some empathy

Five (5) The current number of wards is

suitable for the size of the

council area

12 12 councillors provides an

satisfactory representation to

cover the large and diverse area

of the council

Why change?

49 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor more democratic, keeps out

politic

Retain Wards there is safety in numbers Five (5) as above 12 it has worked up till now

50 FOREST RANGE Mayor Believe that whole of

community decision for mayor

is a more representative

approach.

Retain Wards Representation should be spread

across divided sections. We are

very different from Gumeracha to

Stirling and wards support

representation of those

differences.

Three

(3)

Three seems a good division

point which a balance of

population across the three

wards.

12 Happy with 12 spread across 3

wards. Enough to provide

discussion and representation.

You options are definitely

wrong. Options 2, 4 and 5

break up Forest Range and

Lenswood, surely the two

MOST common 'communities

of interest'. And your map for

option 4 doesn't match your

words - the words break Forest

Range and Lenswood while the

map does not.

Option 3 seems a sound option.

Don't mind You options are definitely wrong.

Options 2, 4 and 5 break up Forest

Range and Lenswood, surely the

two MOST common 'communities

of interest'. And your map for

option 4 doesn't match your

words - the words break Forest

Range and Lenswood while the

map does not.

Option 3 seems a sound option.

51 SUMMERTOWN Mayor Fair no room for corruption Retain Wards Accessible Five (5) 12 Good representation Leave them Don't change it if it's not broken.?

52 GUMERACHA Mayor I like the idea of democratically

voted representatives. If a

person is at the helm of our

Local Government, I want it to

be because the people chose.

Retain Wards For the Adelaide Hills Council

region, the ward system ensures

representatives with a keen

interest in the vastly different areas

of the hills. Living in an area with a

smaller population, I feel abolishing

wards would stack voting in favour

of those in areas with larger

populations and this would lead to

lack of interest and investment in

more rural sectors. The region is

large and the community is better

served by people who live in their

area and can genuinely be there to

listen to their issues.

Five (5) This is the current system and it

allows adequate representation

across the hills.

12 The current number of

councillors is suitable to

represent the population and

geography of the region.

I am happy with

them as they stand.

It would be devastating for the

northern hills if the ward system

were abolished. Transitioning

power and interest into the more

populated and urbanised sectors

of the hills would see this region

disadvantaged. Maintaining

current representation where

people can have a relationship

and interaction with a councillor

who lives close to them is

essential for communities.

53 MOUNT GEORGE Mayor As the spokes person and

representative of both the

Council and the community

s/he should be voted in by the

community. Not appointed by

elected members through

political alliances.

Retain Wards For such a large geographical area,

it is essential to have local

representatives that know local

issues.

Lets hope the elected members

listen to community sentiment this

time and leave wards in place.

Five (5) Due to diversity of townships

and over 700 sqkm

10 As per previous reasons, but

two people from each ward is

enough

As they are now Please listen this time to the

community and hold the vote

when all members of council are

in the Chamber.

54 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Chairperson Retain Wards Five (5) 12

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


55 GUMERACHA Mayor I like the idea of a leader

chosen by the people, however

it is important that this leader

actually listens to the people

who elected him, unlike the

current Mayor.

Retain Wards Wards ensure that all areas of the

council region are represented,

rather than just the more

populated areas and/or those with

more wealthy residents.

Four (4) 12 The more Councillors there are

the more likely decisions will be

made that are fair and

representative. Diversity of

opinion is good!

I have no opinion on

this

Please provide transparent and

fair representations of the

outcomes of this consultation.

56 MOUNT

TORRENS

Mayor I believe the community should

elect their representatives

Retain Wards Those who dont live around tbe

Stirling/Bridgewater area need a

strong voice on what can feel like a

Stirling-centric structure. The

wards better allow for this

Five (5) Status quo 12 I would not like to see tge

number of councillors reduced

particularly in large wards

As is

57 LOBETHAL Mayor Let the community decide Retain Wards So we have a voice Five (5) 12 Don't divide Listen to your ekected members

58 NOT SUPPLIED Retain Wards I remain unconvinced of the

advantages derived from

scrapping the ward system of

council elections. I worry that it

will lead to politicisation of

Council and create a cosy club for

a few vociferous candidates. The

wide disparity of properties in the

Adelaide Hills Council area will be

best served with a ward system. I

find it quite unconscionable that 6

councillors and 1 mayor “know

better” than 93% of respondents

to your previous surveys. It

smacks of opportunism and sheer

arrogance. WARDS MUST BE

RETAINED.

59 CHARLESTON Mayor Direct election of Mayor gives

all residents a say, and prevens

factions forming within the

Council.

Retain Wards Wards ensures areas with different

perspectives are equally

represented, eg rural vs densely

populated urban areas. It prevents

over representation by geographic

areas. Local government should be

by local representatives.

Five (5) Status quo 10 2 per my ward choice (5 wards) a) names based on

the largest town in

the ward

b) names based on

the old council areas

that were

amalgamated to form

this council

It is expected by good governance

that when views are sought in

consultation processes that they

are taken note of. A 90%

response in one direction should

not be ignored, and a decision

made in direct opposition to it.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


60 WOODSIDE Retain Wards I wish to register my strong

objection to the abolition of

Wards for Adelaide Hills Council.

All communities in the council

area are entitled to personal

representation from elected

councillors and smaller

communities in particular have

unique issues that will be

swallowed up and ignored by the

loss of wards.

I fear that the interests of political

allegiances and factions will work

together in voting blocs rather

than taking care of the local voice.

I say NO to the abolition of wards

61 BIRDWOOD Mayor I want to have the option of

not voting fo a mayor who does

not want to listen to the

majority of the ratepayers

Retain Wards The councillors represent the

people. At present the councillor

for our ward takes local issues to

the council. No wards would result

in councillors only representing

areas they may live in or be

interested in.

Five (5) The present structure suits

ratepayers

12 Same We have already voted on this

issue. 96% of ratepayers have

already indictated a No to

elimination of wards. Perhaps the

Mayor and councillors should

represent the Hills Council as

requested by the majority.

62 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12 Current Names Council should heed community

advice on retention of ward

system. Is it overwhelming.

Otherwise, vote all councillors out

of the AHC who go against the

wishes of the people and say no

wards.

63 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards Subject to periodical adjustment of

ward boundaries to maintain

elector number equality as

required by the Local Gvt Act.

Five (5) This allows councillors to focus

on local issues as well as wider

issues

10 Allows 2 councillors per ward

and lessens the ability of the

intrusion of political influence in

the affairs of council as well as

retaining the local in local

government.

With the retention of

the exisitng 5 wards

there would be no

need for change.

none other than the potential for

cost savings.

64 MT TORRENS Mayor Community election Retain Wards Retain Westminster system. Fair

ground roots representation with

wards.

Five (5) 12 Nil to offer

65 MT TORRENS Mayor Retain Wards Retain Ward System Five (5) 12 None

66 BIRDWOOD Chairperson The mayor is a waste of time

let us have a chair elected by

councillors

Retain Wards Do not change things on a fad or

radio programme

Five (5) should increase to seven. Have

outer areas represented.

13 The mayor not needed thus 13

councillors.

1. Blumberg 2. Mt

Torrens 3. Lobethal

4. Stirling 5. Aldgate

6 Crafers 7 Sturt

I do not want to be in this council.

Resit boundaries so Gum,

Birdwood, Kersbrook, Mt Torrens

can joint Mt Pleasant Mid Murray.

A much better amalgamation than

with a group who have lumbered

us all with a horrific debt and no

positives.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


67 BIRDWOOD Chairperson This would be a much more

democratic and representative

council. Especially if the

chairperson is elected on a

quarterly basis. This would

give the chair only a casting not

a deliberative vote.

Retain Wards Why change? This is just a whim of

a retiring mayor - who in my

opinion has disappointed me. I did

vote for him, all I can do is wish him

all the illwill possible, causing so

much anxiety in the community.

Five (5) I notice that there is no choice

to increase the wards. It would

be good to have an extra 2 at

both the south and north of the

council area. These are often

ignored by council.

13 No Mayor - just add one more

counciullor. In this way no

need for special mayor election

gives a chance for popular

councillors to redistribute their

votes like in a senate election.

1. Birdwood Town 2

Birdwood Country 3

Mt Torrens 4

Lobethal Town 5

Stirling Town 6

Aldgate 7 Aldgate

country

Why fix something that is not

broken. Thee is a need to split

this council. We would be better

off joing Gumeracha old concil to

Mid Murray. Why? Simple - join

the old Gum Council area to Mt

Pleasant Council area and Mid

Murray - easily distribute

resources on seasonal basis -

leave Adelaide Hills with Stirling et

al - and the debt inherited from

the previous council from

members known as the pirates

just a return to old.

68 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards Yes keep wards Three (3) 12 Does not matter I like to know the people I vote for

69 GUMERACHA Mayor The Mayoral position gives

local democratic election and

accountability to the whole

shire (council) and

promotesoptions for leadership

and combined identity.

Retain Wards Local known representation is

wanted with a wider choice offered

with 3 wards. Compare with

electorates for Parliament State &

Federal as against Senate and

Upper State House tickets. People

seek local representation and local

accountability.

Three (3) With 4 councillors per ward local

representation is preserved and

a wider choice offered per ward.

This ensures knowledge of

councillors for elction and

responsibilities and able to be

personally responsible.

12 Previous support for 12

acknowledged and confirmed

as wide spread.

Neutral. Perhaps

Northern, Central,

Southern. The term

Northern area is

already common. No

objection to other

geographical names.

The worst requirement of no

wards is that a vote is only valid if

12 names are written in and voted

for. All 12 or vote is invalid. The

best model is electorate style not

by ?list as in Senate and Upper

House mode. I believe it is

unreasonable to expect

councillors from far away to be

responsible and accountable for

local details and outcomes.

70 KERSBROOK, SA Mayor Democratically elected by

constituents.

Retain Wards Localized representation not

someone from the other side of the

council area who does not

understand or care about a zone

far from their own area

Four (4) Multiple wards will provide a

better spread of councillors who

know their local area's..

11 Eleven will provide a good

spread across the wards and

council area

I would be appreciated if the

council listen to the constituent's

and keep the wards + councillor

numbers rather than follow its

own undemocratic agenda, as

shown at the previous review

where the Mayor cast a deciding

vote rather than keeping the

status quoi.

71 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12

72 MYLOR, SA Chairperson Better replicates other levels of

government. Emphasises the

importance of electing decent

councillors

Retain Wards In a council this size, there needs to

be geographically-distributed

representation to prevent undue

concentration of influence in the

most populous/monied centre of

the district (ie Stirling & Crafers)

Five (5) I haven't seen any justifiable

reason to change from current

practice

12 As for the last question, I

haven't seen any reason or

reasonable justification to

change from current practise

? They already have

names!

Can you actually pay attention to

the results this time, not allow Bill

Spragg to go rogue again?!

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


73 LOBETHAL, SA Chairperson Councillors are better placed to

determine who should chair

Council meetings. People

standing for election as a

Mayor tend (in my view) to

have delusions of grandeur and

are wont to use the office for

self-aggrandizement. I would

much rather elect a Local

Member whom I am more

likely to know and be able to

trust, and who if they are made

of the right stuff, may be

chosen to lead the Council in its

deliberations.

Retain Wards Abolition of Wards would

concentrate Council's powers in

the more densely populated

regions and those people living in

the outer regions would be far less

likely to have their issues

considered or argued for.

Five (5) Five wards will enable an

appropriate level of

representation

12 Two to three Councillors per

Ward depending on numbers

of constituents in each ward.

No suggestions This issue has previously been

dealt with and the resounding

consensus amongst ratepayers

was that the Ward system should

be retained. I remain steadfastly

opposed to any changes to the

current system and my opinion is

that any Councillors who support

abolition of the Ward system are

manifestly trying to increase their

power and influence with a view

to manipulating and controlling

the outcome of Council

deliberations.

74 IRONBANK, SA Chairperson Recent history indicates that

the apparent electoral

mandate provided to an

elected Mayor is problematic.

A chairperson would be more

responsive and accountable to

Council. The title mayor is

traditional and should be

retained

Retain Wards The creation of the AHC was a

unfortunate amalgamation of a

number of small councils which

were generally responsive to their

local electorate, and the ward

system provided some residual

level of local representation. I

would suggest that there be a

requirement that ward Councillors

reside in their ward, or if this is not

feasible, that this be made an issue

during the election process.

Four (4) Option 2 - minimal changes to

existing boundaries, 3

Councillors per ward is

equitable, provides local

accountability, and some

flexibility and redundancy and

keeps workload at acceptable

levels

12 It's a big and diverse area, and

any fewer would result in the

roles of councilors becoming

more like full time positions,

with the risk of being taken

over by commercial and

business interests, or even

worse, career politicians.

Geographic names

makes sense, but

ones that have some

current local

meaning.

For example, I have

no idea where

Manoah comes

from.

Maybe the council will listen to

their surveys this time. If not, we

have recourse at the next

election.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


75 MOUNT

PLEASANT, SA

Mayor So that the Mayor is elected by

the community and not by the

elected members as would be

the case with a Chairperson.

Retain Wards 1. Wards guarantee of direct

representation of all parts of the

council area.

2. Enables ward councillors to

focus on local as well as council

wide issues.

3. Lessens the ability of single

interest groups from gaining

considerable representation on

council.

4. Reduces the costs and effort

required to campaign at an

election.

5. Potentially provides cost savings

to council in regards the conduct of

elections and supplementary

elections.

Five (5) So that local people can

approach their local member

and not have to travel to meet

up with the local member,

12 For a diversity of views. No comment, leave

that to people who

live within the


area.

Even though I live outside of the

Adelaide Hills Council area I travel

there on a daily basis to work, 5

days a week. Additionally my

eldest son lives outside of the

Adelaide Hills Council area

however both he and his wife and

children travel to the Adelaide

Hills Council area to play sport.

My work involves conveying

children to and from school, as

such I travel on roads maintained

by the Adelaide Hills Council.

With local representation through

a ward system I often speak to the

local councillor and matters are

attended to promptly. My

concern with the doing away of

wards is that I may not have that

opportunity into the future if the

councillor comes from lets say

Stirling, local people know local

issues and do something about

them.

76 WOODFORDE, SA Mayor Major is represented the entire

council area therefore should

be elected by same.

Retain Wards Easier to manage with wards Five (5) I believe there should be more

wards, with one council

representation per ward. The

current wards are too big for

good representation.

12 Less representation with less

councillors

Woodforde should be moved to

Campbelltown council area as it is

in the Adelaide metropolitan area

rather than the Adelaide Hills.

Many services provided by the

Adelaide Hills council are not used

as they are too far away.

Woodforde is currently poorly

represented.

77 ALDGATE, SA Mayor We the people should choose

who governs our area!

Retain Wards We live in a uniquely diverse and

large area of SA. Each area bed

representation, the current

method work very well to achieve

this.

Four (4) It's a good number 12 As I said LARGE diverse area,

this requires a big

representation of those areas.

No suggestions Please stop pushing the removing

wards issue, we the people have

voted it down 2x now. It's beyond

clear we don't want it removed!!!!

78 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor We have the right to elect

whom ever we want

Retain Wards It is the only fair way to get

representation

Four (4) 10 Geographical names

79 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor I feel this is a more democratic

approach and a true

representation of the people

opinions and wishes.

Retain Wards Without the current ward system

the out lying areas such as

Birdwood would end up with no

representation and therefore

limited funding. Already the areas

of Stirling, Bridgewater, Aldgate etc

obviously receive more funding

than our area in the hills. You only

have to drive down the streets to

see this.

Five (5) This is the way it is currently and

should stay.

12 Any less and you run the risk of

a lack of representation of all

areas of the hills

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


80 STIRLING, SA Mayor Abolish Wards I believe there is less of a parochial

attitude with no wards. It also

enables Council Members to get to

know the whole district.

10 I don't have any

suggestions.

81 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Mayor Democracy Retain Wards Better representation for all areas Five (5) The council area is huge better

representation with more wards

12

82 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor Electors can choose who they

think will be the best person to

represent them as Mayor

Retain Wards All areas are represented by

councillors who have an interest in

their wards rather than certain

areas eg rural, being neglected

because all councillors come from

the towns.

Five (5) A fairer representation of all

areas.

12 A large area to cover and so

work load more evenly

distributed.

No suggestions at

this stage.

Why are we wasting money on

this review when we have already

stated that we want to keep the

wards? I object to our rate money

being wasted in this way.

83 BRIDGEWATER,

SA

Mayor A Mayor elected by the

community, and with no

obvious alignment to one

particular area is more likely to

view the community and the

council area as a whole, and

less likely to adopt ward-

centric views than might be the

case with a Chairperson.

In the case of a Chairperson, a

role that could be moved from

councilor-to-councilor during

the term of the Council, such a

rotation might be viewed in the

community as instability.

A Chairperson, elected from

amongst the elected

councilors, would have to

perform the duties of both

mayor and councilor, possibly

creating conflicts of interest,

and certainly creating a high

work-load.

Retain Wards Wards guarantee that electors in

all parts of the Council are more

likely to have Councillors known to

them and representing local

interests.

In a "No Wards" arrangement,

large parts of the Council area

might have no local representative

and no representation of local

issues.

Although a "No Wards"

arrangement theoretically provides

for "ultimate democracy" in that

any elector can vote for any

candidate, there is a significant risk

that highly-populated parts will

provide a concentration of votes

for the local candidates known to

them, and thus dilute the

effectiveness of votes from areas of

lesser population.

Wards are more likely to result in a

Council composed of members

with a diversity of interests, skills

and experience.

Although a "No Wards"

arrangement should reduce the

Five (5) A reduction in the number of

wards from 5 to 4 or even 3,

would require the existing larger

wards to increase in size

considerably. The councilors

representing those larger wards

would each have to cover a

larger and more diverse area,

making it more difficult for them

to represent their local interests

and to understand all local

issues.

12 Reducing the existing number

of 12 would potentially leave

one ward with only one

councilor, which would be

undesirable, especially in the

event of that person's absence.

That one councilor would also

be unable to share the

considerable workload with a

co-councilor.

Existing names are

satisfactory and

descriptive.

No further comments.

84 ALDGATE, SA Chairperson Councils are service providers

not law makers . The Council

once elected is in the best

position to determine their

chairperson and spokesperson

Retain Wards Wards ensure representation is

drawn from across the whole

jurisdiction preventing narrow

interests dominating Council

Five (5) The relatively large geographical

area and spread of population

warrants this number

10 Two for each ward No particular

preference

The Council unfortunately has

created an impression that

residents views are secondary

when it comes to surveys of this

kind

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


85 CUDLEE CREEK,

SA

Chairperson Electing a chairperson from

within the elected members

removes the ability to "add

another member" from any

1ward and is therefore fairer.

Retain Wards Allows for fairer representation

across the whole council

Five (5) Is a large council district. 5

reduces the swallowing up

effect

12 This seems to be working. And

elect the chair from within the

12

I don't care about

names.

Stop trying to centralise power by

removing wards. And stop being

sneaky about it.

86 CRAFERS WEST,

SA

Mayor Need representation Retain Wards Representation please Five (5) 10 Equal representation

87 KERSBROOK, SA Mayor This important role serves as

thre face of the whole council

area and as such should be

chosen by the ratepayers and

residents not just a few

councillors.

Retain Wards Wards ensure that the entire

greographic area has access to and

representation by councillors in

their part of council. AHC is a very

large area, formed from ehat was a

number of much smaller historical

councils. The population is

concentrated around the Stirling

area and it is unlikely that

candidates from outlying areas

would be successful in their

attempts to be elected. Some much

smaller councils have not abolished

wards.

Five (5) Keep the 5 wards we already

have.

12 Provides a pool of ideas with

broad representation.

It is pretty clear that most

residents want to keep wards.

Why doesn't council just drop it

and leave things as they are?

88 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor Retain Wards Without a ward structure, people

like us outside the more heavily

populated areas of the hills will be

ignored. It is ridiculous to suggest

abolishment of the wards can

achieve this. If we followed the

councils preferred option of

abolishment, then how do they

think wd will be represented?

There is a very good reason why

wards exist- what's next- do away

with electorates in state and

federal elections also?????

Five (5) To allow people to be

adequately represented and not

forgotten or ignored.

12 Irrelevant The council cannot just dismiss

peoples concerns and valid

opinions by pushing their own

agenda through. Clearly the

electoral commission agrees.

89 BASKET RANGE,

SA

Mayor I am keen to see the Mayor

elected by the voters, not by

elected members of council

Retain Wards I want to elect people from my own

area, who know my area.

Five (5) 12 I am happy with the current

number of councillors

East Torrens Ward -

for Marble Hill area

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


90 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor This is a critical community role

& should be representative of

the community.

Retain Wards The diversity of the region covered

by AHC requires diverse

representation to ensure that all

groups are truly represented and

their voice heard.

Five (5) As above. The massive area &

socio-economic diversity

indicates that there will also be

massively differing needs and

views across the region. It would

be fair to say that a Councillor

from Stirling who has a

background in the CBD would

have little empathy with the

need of an Apple farmer in

Lenswood or Ashton or a grape

grower in Woodside. The impact

of the mine in Woodside would

have little interest to an Aldgate

Councillor whereas the local

ward Councillor would have a

responsibility to represent those

in their ward.

10 12 is unwieldy but less than 10

leaves too little representation

to each ward. 2 councillors

from each ward would make

sense.

Of no importance to

me.

The last review showed 93% of

the respondents were in favour of

retaining wards. Why is the

Council, whose members are

elected in to those wards and

have a responsibility to represent

the constituents, even discussing

this issue. ANY Councillor who

votes against a ward system

should be immediately removed

from office.

91 INGLEWOOD, SA Mayor Retain Wards Wards provide equitable

geographical representation

Five (5) 11 2 per ward and an elected

mayor

Historically relevant

family/settlers or

explorers names

from within the ward

concerned.

92 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 10

93 LOBETHAL, SA Mayor I believe in the majority voting

to represent us.

Retain Wards All residents need to be able to

have a voice to represent them.

Five (5) The Hills is growing all the time,

and so why have less people to

represent us.

12 same as above.

94 STIRLING, SA Mayor The mayor has wide powers

and should represent the

whole community not just a

clique in council/

Retain Wards The wards system ensures that

local people are represented by

local people. It maintains a level of

independence of councilors even

though some are defacto members

of political parties. To abolish

wards would make it oper to

council domination by a political

group, stated or unstated.

Five (5) Although not without some

problems the status quo has

worked well until the current

Mayor and his cronies sought to

take over.

10 Even elector numbers in each

ward and 2 councilors per

ward, and a small sving in the

budget.

No comment The council and in particular the

Mayor must listen to the people

and stop riding roughshod to help

themselves and their cronies.

95 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor Someone representative: by

the people, for the people.

Retain Wards Better localized representation. Five (5) As above. 12 More likely to have a broader

cross-section of views.

Named after

someone famous or

something significant

in that area/ward, for

easier symbolic

identification.

Thank you for consulting the

constituents that you represent

better this time.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


96 MOUNT

TORRENS, SA

Mayor Retain Wards I fear the abolition of wards will

seriously undermine the services,

attention & recognition of the

more sparsely populated

communities within the AHC area.

Smaller, rural & outlying

communities are likely to be

neglected without specific

representation and the council's

focus will be on the larger towns.

Four (4) Mount Lofty Ward is very small

in comparison to Manoah,

Onkaparinga, Marble Hill &

Torrens Valley & could be

incorporated into either

adjoining Manoah or Marble Hill

12 4 wards, each with 3

Councillors to share the work

load + provide cover for

holidays, sickness etc

I see no reason to

change the names

As a rate payer involved in

community groups, I believe it is

essential that each community

within the Council area has

representation & ease of access

to its representatives. I also

believe that when the Council

asks for constituents' input &

opinion through public &/or

online forums they are then

beholden to abide by the majority

opinion & not just brush it aside &

go by their own decision

regardless

97 KERSBROOK, SA Mayor Retain Wards To maintain wider representation

and provide an opportunity for

lower populated areas to maintain

representation

Five (5) 12

98 INGLEWOOD, SA Mayor As rate payers we then have a

democratic vote. Councillors

can feather their own nests

otherwise

Retain Wards Living in the northern hills zone we

are very much comprised as all of

major works are in the southern

hills zone.... money speaks!! We

need these wards so as we can

continue to have a say and input

into our community. If this is taken

away Bill Spragg and his cronies will

not listen..... does he even now??

We will lose valuable

representation in our area.

Four (4) 10 This seems a fair number

considering the region, then of

course they all have office

personal etc.

With all that is

happening does a

name really matter.

Choose some notable

early settlers names

It's been a farce, I feel Spragg and

his cronies had made a decision

before it was even put to the

community. This was highlighted

more by the fist published

outcome. Think he thought that

we would bow down to him. Time

he was kicked out!!

99 CUDLEE CREEK,

SA

Mayor So that we can remove any

Mayor who is egotistical or

arrogant and who thinks he his

own agenda is far more

impprtant, and that he can

ignore the wishes of the

majority of the constituents.

Remember: "Those who do not

learn the lessons of history are

doomed to repeat them"!

Retain Wards Adequate and fair representation

can only be successful if the

representative has local

knowledge; anything less can be

sidelined or swamped. Our

forefathers were smart enough to

guarantee equal senate

representation to each

State/Territory for fear that smaller

States' submissions would be

overwhelmed by those of larger

States..

Five (5) You cannot ever have enough

"troops on the ground" or

"voices" to get an accurate

message through - and

sometimes, even then, the

message is lost or mistranslated

because it lacks specifics and is

somebody's "interpretation" of

the issue.

Other As many as possible, to cover

the areas of common interest

and issues, particularly given

the myriad and diverse number

of townships/rural areas

contained in the Adelaide Hills

region. The Adelaide Hills is not

just the "burghers" of Stirling or

Mount Barker and their insular,

"superior" beliefs.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


100 INGLEWOOD, SA Mayor This is a democratic way of

choosing a Mayor. The

requirements of Mayor are not

necessarily the same as for a

councilor and a different

person can be selected that

way. the Mayor serves the

electors and so should be

chosen by them.

Retain Wards Having a ward in your local area is

the only way of assuring local

representation on council. I would

not expect people from outside my

area to know what is going on in

any detail or be able to answer

questions knowledgeably. It adds

to community engagement if

electors know their councilor

socially before issues crop up.

Five (5) If there are too few it is

tantamount to having no wards.

I think the AHC area is too

diverse and widespread to have

fewer than five wards.

12 Twelve councilors gives

minimum two per ward and so

electors are not likely to be left

without local cover if one

councilor is unavailable. It also

gives a reasonable number of

electors to each councilor as

per the LG guidelines.

Names appropriate

to the locality.

Torrens Valley Ward

is a good example

indicating where the

electorate is. Why

change the names we

have got used to over

the years.

It is most annoying that this

process is still going on. A large

percentage of electors have

indicated their desire that wards

be retained so it begs the

question why this is being asked

again. There must be great

pressure from special interest

groups (political parties?) perhaps

who feel that a wardless system

would be easier to manipulate

hence my strong feeling that

wards be retained to assure local

opinion is heard.

101 ALDGATE, SA Chairperson I believe this provides an

additional level of impartiality

and lack of conflict of interest

possibilities in the case of tied

votes.

Retain Wards The AHC must retain wards. Our

council area contains a many

diverse regions: regular and low-

density residential, primary

production, viticulture and rural.

This is far too diverse a community

to be represented by a small

number of councillors from

potentially a very specific section -

most likely to be the politically-

inclined classes from the larger

townships.

The surreptitious election of Green-

aligned councillors is of great

concern to many residents,

especially given the method in

which such councillors were

elected (i.e. by claiming, prior to

the November 2014 election, to

have no political affiliations). This

will only increase if the diversity

that a ward-based system

encourages is abolished.

I am greatly concerned that such a

move was not mentioned by either

the mayor, or any of the candidates

now known to be aligned with the

mayor's political views, in the

November 2014 election. Should

Five (5) The AHC is a diverse region with

great differences in land use,

density and economics. This

diversity will not be represented

if wards - whose boundaries

largely encompass these distinct

regions - are abolished.

12 As previously stated, the AHC

area includes many diverse

regions, which requires a

number of councillors, each

from different backgrounds, to

adequate represent the needs

of all stakeholders.

It is of great concern that the

abolition of wards, and

reduction in number of

councillors, is being pushed

with such enthusiasm by

councillors and a mayor with an

overt Green-oriented political

agenda.

I do not see any

reason to change

ward names. There is

an expense involved

in doing so, which the

AHC cannot presently

afford.

Why are you even doing this

review again? Ward abolition was

rejected by ECOSA, so I am unsure

as to why this is even on the

agenda once again - unless to

satisfy the political objectives of

your mayor.

I would prefer the AHC attends to

its core business - such as

approving simple development

applications in under six months -

rather than waste money on such

reviews.

102 BIRDWOOD Blank Those who nominate for

positions community to vote

Retain Wards To have members living in area on

council focus on local area as well

as full council area

4 if 4 wards and 12 councils even

out

12 Nil Nil Nil

103 BIRDWOOD Mayor Those who nominate for

position community to vote

Retain Wards To have members living in area on

council focus on local area as well

as full council area

5 If 4 ward and 12 council even

out

12 If people cannot attend would

still have reasonable number

for meeting

Nil It would give council member a

base for area and people can go

to

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


104 BIRDWOOD Chairperson A Chairperson may not be up

himself like we have had a

Chairperson elected by the

community may listen to what

people want. Hope the Mayor

listens this time and doesn't

waste more rate money

whatever it costs he should pay

Retain Wards We must be represented by a

person we trust and can talk to and

will truly take our concerns to

council.

5 We also must elect in our wards

people that know wome things

that councils need to do, instead

of getting consultants to give

advice on things like removing

trees from sides of roads

12 Has worked ok Leave as past don't

mess with names of

wards.

Please pass on to rural advisory

members Rural Advisory board

must be rural land owners in the

AHC area as board members and

must be primary producers not a

mob of NRM and greenies that

make no decisions that help

farmers produce. 1. Like working

dog rego fees rising far too high

2. What advice did they give on

wards? Silent on both. Hope you

listen this time to what people

want and don't waste more rate

moneys. Lachlan Miller your

wages are payed (sic) by us you

serve us don't balls it up like last

time.105 BIRDWOOD Mayor People need a say Retain Wards Representation in our rural area

vital and being on one end of the

council area, we would have no

voice

5 no reason to change 12 Working ok - why change no change needed listen to peoples choice

106 WOODSIDE Chairperson I have served on a Council

when community service was

important and you could

recover costs only. Now it is a

career and good salaries are

paid. This leads to political

chicanery. Mayor elected on

one or two year terms provided

opportunities for councillors to

focus on community not

personal political objectives.

Retain Wards Wards mitigate against single

interest/political grups gaining

undue representation. Ward

councillors focus on the interests of

their wards. The whole council

area needs to be represented.

4 Option 2. Areas of similar

interests are represnted equally.

Lies within quota limits and

established boundaries.

12 With mayor elected from

among them. Sufficient

numbers to attract a range of

useful skill sets needed in a

modern council.

No particular

preferences

The smaller towns need to be

represented and unless they are

heard, and their concerns acted

upon, citizens turn away from

contributing. The rural areas

need support and encouragement

to take part in their community

service and this only happens if

they have a chance to be elected.

107 NOT SUPPLIED Mayor Leave as is Retain Wards Retain wards as is, or abondon

councils altogehter. You guys are

seriously redundant and

arenothing more than paid thugs

and petty bureaucrats

5 Leave as is 12 Leave as is Leave as is What a load of crap wasting time

and money to have this review,

then not accept the ratpayers

wishes and make up some crap

reason to do it again.

108 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 As is 12 leave as is no change leave system alone, have results

independently counted and

confirmed109 BIRDWOOD Mayor A Mayor is the traditional and

electors are familiar with this

role. A Chairpoerson does not

seem to have the same unique

role

Retain Wards Because concenrs/issues can be

only related to a ward - not

generalised especially when one

lives at the edge of the council and

would be out of sight out of mind

5 Seems to work at present 12 seems adequate at present no ideas I am very concerned that wards

be retained as they are for

reasons given in questions 2. Our

coucnillor is very approachable

and does do a lot for this ward,

which would not be done

otherwise110 KERSBROOK Mayor Should be elected by

Ratepayers

Retain Wards consolidate, choose the best

people for each ward to represent

the people

5 no reason to change 12 best representation for electors doesn't matter

111 MT PLEASANT Mayor Retain Wards Because you get more personalised

representation

5 somebody always there to assist

you. If something is not broke

why fix??

12 at least 2 per ward if not more.

Always there to assist.

Names do not

matter, is the

application.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


112 LENSWOOD Blank Retain Wards The council has sought public

comment on the need to maintain

or abolish the existing council

ward system.The Lenswood Cold

Stores Cooperative Society

Limited has 40 members all based

in the council

area, and this matter was recently

discussed at a meeting of our

members.The membership of

Lenswood Cold Stores

Cooperative Society Limited is

opposed to the abolition of the

existing ward structure. They

support the retention of a ward

system.The membership of

Lenswood Cold Stores

Cooperative Society Limited

believe that the ward restructure

allows the rural towns and

interests to be better represented

than they would be under a no

ward system.

Under a no ward system, the

major urbanised population

centres of the council would

control the votes and therefore it

would most likely result in more

councillors, if not all, being

elected from the urban centres of

the council. There is a very real 113 NOT SUPPLIED After the fiasco of the last review

and the way the electors'

preferences were overlooked, I

am loathe to participate in

another farce.114 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 12

115 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Who are these other interested

parties and why should they be

allowed to vote?

116 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12

117 MONTACUTE Mayor Abolish Wards 12 See Attachment 2 for comments

118 INGLEWOOD, SA Mayor I want to select a mayor

separately from the councillors

Retain Wards Ensures we have local councilors to

represent us.

Five (5) Larger wards are tantamount to

no wards

12 Gives a reasonable ratio of

councilors to electors. In a ward

system ensures we have back

up if one of our councilors is

indisposed.

Names that relate to

their locality.

Very annoying this is still going on.

I hope you don't trash this lot of

submissions. just do what the

electors want instead of

contriving to follow your special

interests. Council is losing a lot of

confidence as a result of the

mishandling of this process.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


119 MOUNT

TORRENS, SA

Mayor Represents the community Retain Wards Lower socioeconomic and or less

populated areas will have a voice

Five (5) Share the load.

Matters can be addressed with

appropriate numbers of

representatives

12 Need enough people to run

each ward

Keep as is? Does it

cost to change?

120 SCOTT CREEK, SA Mayor If the mayor is elected by the

councillors only then it will turn

into a battle of factions and

trading favours, a mayor

elected by the population is

better.

Retain Wards Wards provide for better local

representation. Additionally

councillors should be required to

live in the ward they represent.

Five (5) the current number of 5 wards

seems to work

12 the current number of 12

seems to work

The current names

are fine, it does not

really matter what

the names are.

The council must this time take

notice of community views on this

(and all) matter and not disregard

them.

121 MONTACUTE, SA Mayor 1.I am in favour of the Mayor

being elected by the

community and believe this is

the best way to ensure a

person who is not aligned to

any factions on the Council is

elected to this role, and

additionally provides greater

continuity in the role over the

term of the elected Council.

Abolish Wards 3.I am in favour of the abolition of

wards and the resulting council-

wide or “at large” elections. I

believe this is the only model that

will ensure all communities of

interest have an opportunity to

stand candidates and be

represented in the elected Council.

Additionally, a ‘no wards’ model

will optimize proportional

representation with electors able

to preference candidates who best

represent their interest and

without restriction of voting for a

limited number of candidates

standing in a geographically

determined ward or even worse

having no opportunity to vote

when only the required number of

nominations for the ward occurs

and no election is required.

I have reviewed the seven models

put forward in the Representation

Review Options Paper and believe

Option 8 can most effectively

provide for representation of all

and any communities of interest

and best provides for the following

matters which are required to be

taken into account under Section

33(1) of the Act (Local Government

12 2.I am in favour of 12

Councillors being elected for

the Adelaide Hills Council and

feel this number of elected

members provides a workable

ratio to electors.

This would vary

depending on which

model was adopted

and is a matter that

should be considered

and unfortunately I

imagine contested at

a later date.

I have also emailed a full copy of

my second submission to Mr

Lachlan Miller

122 BALHANNAH, SA Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12 Stay as they are

123 BIRDWOOD, SA Chairperson Retain Wards Five (5) 10 Torrents valley

Onkaparinga

Stirling

Woodside

Ashton

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


124 OAKBANK, SA Chairperson Popular elections allow for

"Trump-like" characters to be

elected on shallow issues.

Retain Wards If we maintain a third level of

government it needs to be as close

to local issues as possible. A ward

system gives the best chance of

giving ratepayers the feeling of

being close to their

representatives.

Five (5) Smaller wards lead to more local

knowledge and representation.

10 Two for each ward so one ward

cannot dominate.

Ward names should

help to identify the

ward area.

With the amount of money spent

on professional staff it should not

be necessary that Councillors be

highly sophisticated people. What

is important is their ability to

sound out the views of the

ratepayers in their ward.

125 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor The local community should

have the power to make this

decision.

Retain Wards Without local representatives, we

will not have someone to share and

voice our needs. As it is, living on

the edge of the Council's

jurisdiction (in Birdwood), many of

the local towns already feel that we

are forgotten and unimportant

compared to the "hubs" of the

council area such as Stirling and

Woodside etc. If wards were

abolished, the small voice that we

do currently have will be lost. How

will our needs be heard and met

then?

Five (5) The more wards, the more each

of the areas will have a voice.

12 The more the better. The more

there are, the better chance we

have of balanced and honest

and fair decisions being made.

It doesn't matter to

me what they are

called. Choose

something that is

meaningful to that

particular area.

It would be incredibly

disappointing to see the wards

being abolished. I feel it would be

a very sad day for our area of the

Adelaide Hills if we no longer had

personal representation from

people who live in our area and

know and are passionate about

our issues. How can merely

employees of the council really

know our issues? We already feel

forgotten in our area, how much

worse will it be without

counsellors to voice our needs?

126 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor I want to be able to vote for

who is in this top position so if

they do wrong i can get them

out.

Retain Wards I want representation for the area i

live in, i like knowing my local

councilors.

Five (5) Its such a large council area i

think five better covers that area

and allows better

representation.

12 This number has worked well to

date.

Stay as is. It is disgusting that this review is

being done for a second time and

goes to show that some of the

elected members have no idea

about what the people in their

area want. I hope these members

are gone after the next election.

127 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor i want to vote for who is in the

top position

Retain Wards I want to vote for a local person Five (5) 12 leave it the same leave do as the representatives ask :)

128 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12

129 FOREST RANGE,

SA

Mayor I think the head should be

elected by the people they

represent.

Retain Wards We definately need our voices

heard, there are many diverse

areas , lifestyles, businesses etc in

this council.

Five (5) Diversification! 12 More voiced opitions

130 LOBETHAL, SA Mayor So the residents have a say in

who has the casting vote

Retain Wards Because the adelaide hills council

has such a wide diversity of life

stiles ,productivity, land use and

climatic conditions

Five (5) As stated in previous response 10 I think two per ward is

sufficient enough to represent

each wards populations

concerns.

Wards are not in my

opinion the issue it is

the representation of

the voters views and

concerns that count.

131 SUMMERTOWN,

SA

Chairperson The mayor needs to be

experienced in the Council area

and elected Councillors should

have worked with them

previously. A person from

outside may not have the local

knowledge.

Retain Wards Residents can have more direct

access to Councillors.

Five (5) Councillors will have closer

connections with elected

members.

12 Residents can have more direct

connection with their

Councillors.

Use existing ward

names or adopt

names of well known

residents of the

wards.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


132 MYLOR, SA Mayor The rate payers get to choose. Retain Wards To give some representation to all

rate payer's not just those in the

big towns.

Three

(3)

Some choice, while not being

too complex in the ward

structure.

9 Three per ward should provide

a reasonable level of diversity

without becoming unworkable.

Use current names

where possible.

133 ROSTREVOR, SA Mayor I feel the mayor has a greater

responsibility to the

community

Retain Wards Representation for our area is

important as we are only small in

comparison to other areas

Five (5) Each area needs representation 12 It is working now so dont see

need to change

No suggestions

134 HUMBUG SCRUB,

SA

Mayor The mayor plays a different

role than an area councillor,

and therefore should not be

selected by the area councillors

from the area councillors. The

mayor should be

democratically elected by the

community.

Retain Wards The partitioning of the council area

into regional areas: 1) enables the

representation structure to reflect

the different specific regional,

social and economic communities

of interest; 2) enables regional

areas that may contain smaller

communities and towns to be

directly represented on Council; 3)

reduces the economic cost and

effort for campaigning and

standing as a candidate in an

election, because the candidate

only needs to canvas residents in

their own ward; 4) provides

greatest choice of local candidates

known to the local community,

because more local candidates can

afford the cost and time to stand

for election; 5) reduces the

potential formation of candidate

teams based on political affiliation,

shared agenda or local affinity that

are likely to arise with a single large

electorate; 6) increases

transparency in council discussions

because the councillors would be

required to argue their case and

resolve their inevitable sectional

differences in public council

meetings; and 7) enables clearer

Five (5) Five wards provides sufficient

flexibility for representing the

different geographical and

diverse regions within the

council area. Decreasing the

number wards will result in

larger ward areas, increasing

cost and effort for election

campaigning, and a reduced link

between the councillor and their

ward.

12 There needs to be sufficient

councillors to distribute the

council and representational

workload, and to prevent

burnout.

Keep the existing

wards and names.

There are no strong arguments of

why the current ward system is

broken and needs to change. If

the current ward system is not

broken then there is no need to

change it.

135 ROSA GLEN, WA Chairperson I want a local councillor who l

can get to know and who

knows

My district well.

Retain Wards I want a counci member who I can

get to know and who knows

my district well and who

representsl itt for and to the

council.

Five (5) The more wards there are, the

smaller the wards will be and

the more local knowledge my

councillor will have of my district

12 The more councillors there are

the more intensively each can

represent their ward

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


136 MONTACUTE, SA Mayor Less open to control by a

faction on Council.

Retain Wards We need local representation.

Since the amalgamation of former

councils to form the AHC Council

employees are less familiar with

local conditions and are less able to

respond to local situations.

Five (5) There is considerable diversity in

the AHC. It is important that our

reps understand the local

environment and its impact on

the population including on local

businesses.

12 We need an adequate number

but it is difficult to put an exact

figure on this. The number in

PROPOSAL ONE seems

reasonable. An equal number

for each ward would seem

fairer but might not be

attainable with current

constraints.

I don't think this is

very important. It

seems to be

somewhat arbitrary.

As there will have to

be some realignment

of boundaries

however small, some

one will be moved

into a different ward

so new names for all

wards could be OK.

It is important that Council listen

to all concerned, especially

residents.

There is great diversity and

considerable distances compared

to metropolitan council areas with

comparable population sizes, so

this diversity has to be responded

to if the Council is going to do

more than manage roads and

rubbish.

137 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Leave names as they

are138 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 I see no reason to

change the ward

names

I see no reason to change a

system that works and has

worked for a very long time 139 WOODSIDE Chairperson to ensure that the chairperson

is supported by a majority of

councillors. Cost saving.

Retain Wards A ward structure ensures that the

diversity of regions within the

Adelaide Hills are represented.

4 As per the options paper 4

wards seem to be geographically

logical

12 In a 4 ward structure 3 each

and chairperson elected by

council should have an

additional casting vote in case

of a tie.

No particular

preferences. Should

be easily recognised I

terms of its location.

In other words no

names of heroes or

honourable persons

or such

140 KERSBROOK Mayor Ratepayers choice to elect their

rep.

Retain Wards more personalised representation 5 As per current 12 as per current

141 BIRDWOOD Mayor Should be voted in like any

other election by the people

Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct


council area

5 12 Leave it to the council

to come up with

ward names 142 BIRDWOOD Mayor Should by people Retain Wards Leave as is elected person for each

ward. Reduces the cost and effort


election.

5 12

143 GUMERACHA Retain Wards 5 See Attachment 2 for comments

144 GUMERACHA Chairperson Will ensure that all elected Crs

are fairly treated

Retain Wards Better representation of ratepayers 5 or 3 as above 12 as above Retain current names

145 GUMERACHA Mayor Mayor needs to be a separate

person to a councillor and have

a casting vote

Retain Wards To maintain the integral character

of the council areas brought

together by the amalgamation

3 as above - to allow the areas

(although similar) to maintain

their local character and

perspective together with the

differing landscape and villages

10 3 in southern area, 3 in central

area, 4 in larger northern area

(almost 1/2 the Council area)

Stirling - southern

area

Onkaparinga - central

area

Torrens Valley -

northern area 146 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 4 12 Ward names that

represent local areas

147 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 4 12 Ward names that

represent local areas

148 LYNDOCH Chairperson Retain Wards Wards mean local issues get

attention

5 9

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


149 LOBETHAL Mayor Retain Wards to ensure local representation 5 or 3 12

150 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards better represetnation between

residential ratepayers and rural

ratepayers

5 what we currently have works 12 Retain current names

as long as we retain 5

wards

Thank you for seeking our strong

views on the subject.

151 GUMERACHA Chairperson Retain Wards 5 12 as is Again, I am totally opposed to the

abolition of wards. Stop wasting

our money and start doing your

job.152 GUMERACHA Chairperson Retain Wards 5 12 Same as current This is a waste of my rates. The

Mayor & Councillors are servants

of the ratepayers. Act like it and

do our bidding.153 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards We need wards to safeguard

outlying communities against

interest against Stirling domination

5 12

154 GUMERACHA Mayor Fairer representative of the

people

Retain Wards smaller communitieis, like

Gumeracha, as likely to get less

representation than bigger

communities, like Stirling and so,

not have local representation and

someone to look after our needs if

no wards.

5 more wards will mean (should)

better representation by more

local people (councillor)

12 again - a fairer, local

representation in each ward

area.

Not impressed by this trying to be

sneaked through - to abolish

wards. Should be done at time of

council elections so far more

people would be aware of this

even happening. We stumbled on

it at the Gumeracha Library

complex.

155 FORRESTON Mayor Retain Wards so local issues can be raised. More

evenly spread awareness of

outlying areas not in main

population centres

5 We have such a large council

area to administer fairly

12 as above Not an issue for me.

Perhaps names

paying homage to

orginal aboriginal

people.156 FORRESTON Mayor Retain Wards 5 The areas of the council away

from the more populated towns

need representation as well

12

157 LOBETHAL Mayor I like the idea of an elected

person by the people of the

council area

Retain Wards Local councillors representing their

ward would seem to be the best

representation of an area.

4 4 seems a good division of the

council area

8 2 councillors per ward

158 LOBETHAL Mayor A mayor is an election by the

people

Retain Wards In a ward system I believe the local

councillors can better reprsent the

local area

4 4 Wards would best fit the

demographic of the Hills Council

8 2 councillors per ward Northern Hills

Council

159 LYNDOCH Mayor Retain Wards By having wards, there is a fairer

representation of the people in the

ocunicl area.

5 10 These 10 elected should be

based evenly across wards.

This gives the people voice and

an opportunity to be heard.

No sure but perhaps

recognise our

indigenous brothers

and sisters. Name

after historical icons

or achievers in our

zones.

160 CRAFERS Mayor Retain Wards Much better representation when

local issues are addressed by local

representative

5 12 Have no opinion.

What does it really

matter?

Lets stay with the most

democratic useage of local

government . It’s a no brainer.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


161 BIRDWOOD Mayor I like the idea of stable

community leadership. It will

also mean that the community

can choose their preferred

principal member themselves.

Retain Wards Ward councillors can focus on local

issues, they can become well

known to their community, they

can fully understand local issues.

AHC is a large council by area and it

can become too centralised to the

more densely populated areas

without ward representations.

5 I I support Option 1 - having

read and considered all 8

options. The existing structure

works well and the adjustments

to boundaries to distribute

elector numbers will comply

with the quota tolerance limits.

12 Once again given the large

georgraphic area, the number

of councillors can facilitate

sharing the distances and

workloads.

I'm happy with the

current names having

not enough

knowledge of local

history to suggest

any alternatives.

The Representation Options Paper

May 2017 is really well written

and presents the cases on both

sides very well. I support the

Ward structure to preserve the

current system of having specific

representaiton for areas to enable

even the smallest town and the

furthermost resident to feel

represented by a specific member

who they can get to know.

162 GUMERACHA Mayor The community should be able

to elect who they feel would be

best for the role.

Retain Wards Why change? 5 No need to change from the

current structure.

12 No need to change from the

current structure

Names appropriate

for each area

I would hope after the debacle

and unrest of the last review that

the public opinions will now be

taken seriously163 GUMERACHA Mayor We should have the right to

elect who we believe to be the

best representative for us

Retain Wards The ward system has worked well

in the past and present so there is

no need to change it because the

no wards 'might be better'. Counicl

has not proven substantially that

there is any benefit in making a

change and when there is a 50/50

split amongst Councillors

themselves then the status quo

should remain not change based on

one persons deciding vote who was

always going to vote to abolish

wards anyway. Not democratic.

Not statedThe same as is now - no need

proven/shown by Council to

change.

12 Again the current sytem

appears to work so unless there

is a clear reason to change it,

why change.

Names that are

relevant to the

history of each area

Elected councillors should listen

to the comments of those that

bothered to respond last time and

not make changes just because

they 'think' it might be better.

Council should have made more

effort to prove it would be better

to abolish wards if that is truly the

case.

164 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards I condemn the attempts of council

to abolish residential

representation in council affairs

5 10

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


165 LOWER HERMITAGEMayor Mayor elected by community is

in accord with the funamental

principle of democracy

Retain Wards Abolishing wards in undemocratic

by not giving fair, equitable

representation in all areas,

especially less populated, rural

areas. Elected councillors must

have understanding, empathy,

affiliation and knowledge of their

area and those they represent.

5 Same number of wards as at

present. Works well. Councillors

represent the wishes of the

ratepayers and each area has

differing needs for which a

thorough understanding and

knowledge are essential, not a

broad, general representation

by a councillor who does not live

in the area he/she represents.

Outlying distant areas must be

be forgotten.

12 The large area of the council

requires detailed, thorough

representation. Local, practical

and in some areas agricultural

knowledge is essential - not a

centralised govened council

where 'urban' councillors

representing the larger

population of urban areas can

mount issues based on the

towns, or single issue groups

demand works not relevant to

outlying rural wards, or

emphasise 'greenie' or

'theoretically based'

impracticalities in some

instances.

Retain present ward

names. Historical

significance? Less

confusion.

An organised single interest group

(including a political party) could

gain dominance on the council

without wards. NB councillors

represent their constituents and

the wishes of the people. They

must not vote to override the

voting of the people and ignore

the community feedback which

has revealed in past reviews that

96% of the community favour

ward retention. Local

government needs local

representation (of areas, hence

wards). Councillors must follow

the will of the people it represents

and review results should

determine the outcome of issues,

not the votes of councillors which

ignore people's wishes in review.

166 LOWER HERMITAGEMayor Mayor elected by community is

in accord with the funamental

principle of democracy

Retain Wards Abolishing wards in undemocratic

by not giving fair, equitable

representation in all areas,

especially less populated, rural

areas. Elected councillors must

have understanding, empathy,

affiliation and knowledge of their

area and those they represent.

5 Same number of wards as at

present. Works well. Councillors

represent the wishes of the

ratepayers and each area has

differing needs for which a

thorough understanding and

knowledge are essential, not a

broad, general represntation by

a councillor who does not live in

the area he/she represents.

Outlying distant areas must be

be forgotten.

12 The large area of the council

requires detailed, thorough

representation. Local, practical

and in some areas agricultural

knowledge is essential - not a

centralised govened council

where 'urban' councillors

representing the larger

population of urban areas can

mount issues based on the

towns, or single issue groups

demand works not relevant to

outlying rural wards, or

emphasise 'greenie' or

'theoretically based'

impracticalities in some

instances.

Retain present ward

names. Historical

significance? Less

confusion.

An organised single interest group

(including a political party) could

gain dominance on the council

without wards. NB councillors

represent their constituents and

the wishes of the people. They

must not vote to override the

voting of the people and ignore

the community feedback which

has revealed in past reviews that

96% of the community favour

ward retention. Local

government needs local

representation (of areas, hence

wards). Councillors must follow

the will of the people it represents

and review results should

determine the outcome of issues,

not the votes of councillors which

ignore people's wishes in review.

167 BIRDWOOD Blank Retain Wards 3 or 5 12 or 9

168 GUMERACHA Mayor An elected Mayor is best as

there will be no pressure group

to persuade them

Retain Wards The last time councils were

amalgamated was very bad for

Gumeracha we got lost and

nothing was ever done to the main

street.

5 If there was only one ward we

would get lost and half the

councillors would not know

where Gumeracha was.

12 see above Leave things as they are.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


169 NOT SUPPLIED Mayor Retain Wards Absolutely no valid reason to

change something that works

5 12 no reason to change what is

already in place

I can read this in the

Courier/Grapevine if you choose

to keep us well informed. No

reason to give my details at all.

170 GUMERACHA Mayor There is less chance an elected

Mayor is part of a pressure

group or can be 'persuaded'

unfairly

Retain Wards The last council amalgamation was

disastrous for Gumeracha as

previously promised upgrades

were completely lost and nothing

has been done to the main street

since then.

5 People can be lost in a large area

and to have a happy town the

individual has to feel that they

are listened to.

12 same reason as above Don't care what you call them. It

is the amount of representation

we get.

171 BIRDWOOD Mayor Wards guarantee direct

representation of all council

area

Retain Wards Focus on local and council wide

issues

5 12 Reduces costs and effort to

campaign at election

172 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Certainly so that each ward can be

cared for

5 So far this has worked well 12 This has also worked well as they were

173 BIRDWOOD Blank Retain Wards Having a local councillor in your

area means things that need doing

are taken care of and you are not

forgotten

blank blank

174 BIRDWOOD Mayor Abolish Wards The Federal Government elections

are held with entire country

dividied into 'seats' of

approximately the same number of

electors for seat. The State

government operates on the same

principal. This is democratic as

each elector has an equal say. The

council elections should be held

using the same setup.

5 as is 12 as is current ward names

are acceptable

Major decisions by council should

be made when all councillors are

present. To have a vote when one

or more councillors are on known

leave lets one think the vote was

teken because of their absence.

175 BIRDWOOD Mayor The Mayor is more likely to be

neutral whereas the

chairperson - coming from a

ward would hae the added

responsibility of not being not

unconsciously leaning towards

the needs of his/her ward.

Retain Wards With a large council area the outer

boundaries may not have the

attention to their needs that the

more populous or inner areas have.

5 Five wards would naturally be

smaller and therefore less

pressure on the councillor

involved.

12 There is no need to change the

number.

No need to change

the names just leave

them as they are.

176 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Wards guarantee direct reps of all

parts of council area. Reduces the

costs and effort req to campaign at

an election.

5 The more we have the better

chance we have of getting a

fairer rep of getting things done.

12 If we want a fair go we need at

least one in Birdwood. We may

be small but we do have issues

at times.177 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Wards guarantee we will be

represented in our ward. Ward

councillors will focus on local

issues. Suburban councillors would

not be as aware of country areas

problems as local ones.

5 So each ward would have a

councillor to understand their

local problems or needs

12 So the whole of the council area

is well looked after

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


178 BIRDWOOD Mayor More responsive to the

community aspirations and

needs

Retain Wards Far better local representaiton.

We are geographically diverse, as

well as 'community' diverse - urban

in and near Stirling and rural on the

northern side. Wards work better

and give ratepayers direct access

and representation

5 As above 10 Two per ward Use names that

identify the area or

generic eg

South/North/Central

179 BRIDGEWATER Mayor I don't want to lose the ability

to have representation from a

local viewpoint

Retain Wards I don't want the councillors to

come from a heavily populated

area eg Stirling to have all the say

over less heavily populated areas

eg Birdwood Mt Torrens

Charleston. We don't have the

proposed system of a state or

federal level of government and I

certainly don't want to ever see it

and likewaise the same applies to

council ie local government

5 I believe our current level of

representation is adequate

10 I hope this question

never has to be

changed

Our ratepayers have to pay

enough, if not too much, revenue

and any changes will only add to

cost if wards are closed. I also

believe that 2 councillors per ward

is sufficient and if it means

changes to ward boundaries, so

be it.

180 FRANCES Mayor To be chosen by the people Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct


council area. Enables ward

councillors to focus on local as well

as council wide issues. Lessens the

ability of single interest groups

from gaining considerable

representation of council.

4 or as is Working well at present 12 Any more makes council too big

and unwieldy

as is fine All councillors should have no

political bias eg liberal, labour,

greens etc

181 BIRDWOOD Mayor Chairperson runs a committee

meeting at the local sportsclub.

A Mayor to me represents an

appointed position with greater

responsibility.

Retain Wards I like the idea of having direct

representation from my area of the

council zone. This ensures those

representing us are part of our

local community and are

experiencing local issues. Given

the size/(illegible) of the council

those in Stiring have different

issues to those in Gum/Birdwood

5 Our existing wards consist of

different lifestyle and

business/industries. We need

people who live in and

understand those local

pressures to be represented.

12 There is no need to

change the names

unless it adds value.

Maintaining wards will also

ensure that single interest groups

from gaining influence over thos

issues that affect us all across

council area.

182 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Wards assure us that we will be

well represented in our area. Ward

councillors will look after local

issues. Suburban councillors would

not be as well aware of country

areas problems as local ones.

5 So each ward would have a

councillors who understands

their local problems and needs

12 so the whole council area will

be well looked after

183 BRIDGEWATER Mayor Retain Wards would guarantee a direct

representation of all areas of the

council area. Would lessen the


from getting greater

representation of/on council

5 5 wards 10 2 councillors for each ward (5

wards)

Leave as is names

already suggest the

areas

Many people in the Stirling,

Aldgate, Bridgewater area were

completely unaware of the last

voting opportunity/or

representation of having a voice

on the retention of wards, or a

reduction of wards. May I suggest

'letterboxing' as well as the

internet notifying.,

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


184 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Lessens the ability of a single

interest group from gaining


council.

5

185 ALDGATE Mayor Retain Wards 3 9 Aboriginal

186 LOBETHAL Mayor Retain Wards Wards guaranteed local

representation

5 No change, happy the way it is 12 Working well now why change

it187 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Wards guaranteed direct


council area

5 12

188 BIRDWOOD Mayor People should always have the

right to say

Retain Wards People should have the right to

have people represent them in

their local area

5 so you get a broad view in the

council

12 so one area cannot be under

represented

The Mayor should listen to people

and not just do what he wants

189 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards own councils know what is needed

in t their own council area

5 12 a town meeting should be held

every one or two times a year to

hear what and how the town and

community can be improved.

(should be heard) or a suggestion

box ereced at council chamber

(office) for comments.

190 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Chairperson The Councillors are more

familiar with the candidates

strengths and weaknesses.

Mayor must not be affiliated

with any political party.

Retain Wards Better local knowledge and

representation of small areas in the

Hills. Stirling and Algate are quite

diferent from Cherryville and

Norton Summit.

Five (5) 12 Uneven number means no

deadlocks.

191 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Mayor This gives the ratepayers the

democratic right to elect the

principal member.

Ratepayers should always have

the right to elect all members

of council.

Retain Wards I have been a ratepayer and

resident of Norton Summit for 40

years.

I wish to retain local

representation, as I have found

that in all my dealings with council,

it has been invaluable to seek

assistance from ward councillors.

As with amalgamation of Councils

into Super Councils, I believe that

abolition of wards, would result in

decreased service to the

community.

Five (5) As above.

Ward members provide better

service to their local community.

Ward members have better

knowledge of their local area.

Centralisation decreases service

to the local community.

Local areas get forgotten with

centralisation. this has already

been proven by the

amalgamation of councils into

super councils.

Service to the community was

much better when we had the

East Torrens Council. Service

was prompt and roads were

kept in much better condition.

This is my experience as a

resident and rate payer over 40

years.

12 I believe that the same answer

is relevant for each question.

I advocate that council

structure remain as is, for all

the resins I have given in

previous questions.

Manoah Ward

Marble Hill Ward

Mount Lofty Ward

Onkaparinga Valley

Ward

Torrens Valley Ward

Local representation is paramount

As i believe that council

amalgamations have decreased

services to the community, I do

not support any change that

would degrade local

representation and knowledge.

Each area has specific needs, and

only local representatives that live

in the area, and understand the

needs of the local community can

provide good service.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


192 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Mayor A fundamental tenant of

representation is election by

the community. It would be

preferable to retain this

arrangement so as to ensure

the 'status' of the council as a

whole, some level of continuity

over the term and that the

community retains the power

to decide who will lead.

Retain Wards Whilst there are certainly

advantages in both a ward

structure and a non-ward

structure, I believe the advantages

of retain ward structures outweigh

the no-ward approach. Specifically,

ward structures provide higher

levels of community focus,

accessibility and accountability. Let

us also not forget that ward

inception was targeted at allowing

more efficient, fair and speedy

administration of a given area.

Retaining a ward structure will

likely provide the better outcome

in terms of delivering equitable

community representation and a

more efficient whole-of-council

approach.

Three

(3)

Like all governing structures,

there is a tipping point (in terms

efficiency) between the number

of wards and councilors. If we

consider the need to ensure

adequate and fair

representation while at the

same time avoiding over-

representation in comparison to

other councils of a similar size

and type; then a 3 ward system

may prove an efficient model.

This provides fairly local

representation, an even

distribution of electors and

allows for growth; but would

require 3 councilors per ward.

12 Given the comparison of

Councillors with all

metropolitan councils, it will

provide little or no benefit to

reduce the number of

councilors across any proposed

ward structure. Indeed, if we

consider the forecast

population increases, then in

terms of workload alone it

would reasonable enough to

maintain a 12 councilor body.

Further, this number is more

likely to facilitate suitable levels

and quality of representation;

as well as lines of

communication between the

community and council.

Indigenous ward

names would be

fitting one suspects.

The eradication of the ward-

model, will at the end, dissolve

the power and representation of

the people.

193 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Mayor Mayor accountable to the

community and elected by the

community

Retain Wards The wards have different needs

and should be retained to maintain

character and culture of the non

suburban parts of the hills

Five (5) More voices, more divesity of

needs and views the better

12 At least 2 councillors per ward

are needed.

No change. Why

woukd we lose our

history?

I think the ward system while not

perfect provides a better

mechanism for the lower

popukated areas to be heard and

supported. 194 MONTACUTE, SA Mayor All moves that improve the

democratic accountability of

people who spend our money

should be encouraged.

Retain Wards It is essential that we keep local

Councillors with a particular

responsibility and accountability

for our area. Unnecessary

centralisation will adversely affect

the ability of voters to have their

voices heard - particularly if they

live in less populous areas.

Five (5) The greater the number of

wards, the more accountable

councillors will have to be to

local people.

12 The current number works

reasonably well. Reducing the

number of councillors would

only dilute the ability to

represent voters from the more

rural areas of the district.

As long as wards are

maintained, what

they are called is

irrelevant to me.

However, choosing

names that have

some historical or

geographical link to

particular areas

would be sensible.

Avoid naming them

after past or present

councillors.

During the last review, the AHC

decided to ignore the views of the

vast majority of people within the

AHC area and so voted to abolish

wards. As this is now being

reassessed, please follow the

wishes of the people who's

money you spend.

195 CUDLEE CREEK,

SA

Mayor Most suitable person should be

elected by the community not

by councillors with vested

interests in electing someone

who will agree with them.

Retain Wards We have little enough

representation now, abolishing

Wards would make this worse.

Five (5) There are diverse areas with

specific needs within the council

boundaries and most are still

disadvantaged by the forced

amalgamation of councils.

8 Council should not need that

many councillors to run

effectively.

LeAVE AS IS. Council needs to represent

community not own agendas.

196 ROSTREVOR, SA Mayor Direct election is by its nature

more democratic.

Retain Wards I have read section 6.1 of the

document carefully and have

concluded that the particular

interests of Rostrevor are better

served by having a ward councillor.

Five (5) The fewer wards there are, the

more suburbs with disparate

interests become lumped

together.

12 My preference for as many

councillors as possible follows

logically from my preference for

as many wards as possible.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


197 MONTACUTE, SA Mayor The community should be

responsible for electing the

principal member

Retain Wards Different areas of the adelaide hills

are unique and have different

challenges and needs to eachother.

Five (5) The more the better in my

opinion.

12 Again, the more councillors the

more democratic and fair the

representation.

198 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor Happy with the way this has

worked so far.

Retain Wards Wards give local representation. Five (5) This gives a chance for each area

to be represented equally.

11 This would prevent the Mayor

having the deciding vote, when

there is a major who makes a

decision against the majority of

public responses.

Retain existing names Those people that take the time

to voice their opinions should be

listened to - not the "silent

majority" who do not respond.

Non response should not be

regarded as aproval for a system

change. Those that respond as the

one who care.199 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor No need to change existing

system

Retain Wards Existing system works perfectly

well.

Five (5) Local representation for each

area.

12 Again this works well this way.

Why change?

Retain existing names All councillors and the Mayor

need to listen to the opinions of

the public and respond

accordingly.200 ALDGATE, SA Mayor Abolish Wards One vote one value. 12 Bandicoot, Koala,

Antechinus, Echidna,

Rakali, Possum

201 OAKBANK, SA Mayor Election is a democratic

process and should be available

to the community. To be

chosen by Councillors can leave

the process open to political

blocks of Councillors. Local

government is, in theory the

closest governance to the

community.

Abolish Wards I prefer to vote for an individual

who represent my views, not my

physical address.

12 I see no compelling reason to

change the number of

Councillors.

Voting for representatives by

location is traditional but without

any compelling reason for doing

do. Councillors are known and

recognised for their opinions,

attitudes and energy. This does

not syncronise in any way with a

physical address.

The democratic process should

reinforce the ability to reflect

these personal abilities and not be

based on a physical address

location.

202 FORRESTON, SA Mayor We need to be able to elect our

Mayor instead of it being done

by Council and this way it

makes it fair for everybody.

Retain Wards It is very important to retain our

wards system so we can keep our

identity and also to have fair

representation on council instead

of decisions being made by

councillors who live way out of our

ward area and who would know

nothing really of our needs and

situations.

Five (5) I feel we should keep it at the

status quo as it has been

working this way since

amalgamation but if the wards

were to change then I would be

happy with a 3 ward system. At

least this way we wouldn't feel

as though we are being left out

in the cold. We really need to be

able to keep our identity and our

present councillors are serving

us well.

12 We have a large council area

and to be fair on everybody,

our councillors need to be

spread out to cover all areas as

it would take pressure off those

councillors who live way out of

the various areas.

I would just like to

keep our Ward of

Torrens Valley as it

identifies straight

away as to where we

are.

This is now my third submission

and really I feel it is going to be

another waste of time as I can't

see the split of for and against

being any different from before

and the Mayor will still have his

casting vote. I feel our voices

aren't being heard and the

Mayor's wish of abolishing Wards

will go ahead. It is really quite

sad. I just love my area of Torrens

Valley and the feeling of belonging

whereas with no Wards that

wouldn't be the case and I feel we

would just be a little 'drop in the

big ocean'.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


203 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor The people of the council vote

on our councillors and the

mayor

Retain Wards The wards should be retained to

give all areas equal representation.

We all know there are the Have

and Have not areas in the council

so us in the have nots won't get

anything done with out councillors

from our area.

Five (5) The Adelaide Hills Council is

made up a diverse blend of

urban and agricultural areas.

With out representation from

someone that knows the area

and what we need and where

we are some one local. If there

are no wards would some one

from Stirling know where, say,

Forreston is

10 So then there is 2 per ward. So

there is an equal number of

councillors. All wards should be

treated the same. To have the

Same representation.

Why change them.

Why waste money on

things that don't

need changing.

The Council need to listen to the

rate payers. Don't just go through

the motions and pretend that

your listening,and then do what

you wanted to do all along.

Actually listen to want the people

want.

204 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor so that the councelers are less

abell to stack the meating

Retain Wards so that the public can get a better

acces to the loacal councilors ho

has a better under standing of the

district needs and gives a chance

for the loacal people to put there

needs into perspectiv because the

councilor has a first hand nolidge of

the loacal

situation

Five (5) because ower has such a

diversiv population and so

menney diferent needs

10 as are curretly named it is a discrace that our current

mayor has not seen the normal

procedure and not voted as the

desision of the populer vote of

the constituantants voted in the

first time i thort the council was a

demercratic instergution the

therfor the mayor should resine

205 KERSBROOK, SA Mayor Retain Wards Both State and Federal Parliament

are elected from seats, the

equivalent to Wards in Local

Government. It is democratic and

the way people are used to voting

for all levels of Government. It is

the best way to get local people to

represent the local community or

at least have candidates that have

an affiliation with the local

community. To abolish Wards

opens it up for special interest

groups to hijack the Council for

their own purposes and not for the

betterment of our local area. A lot

of damage was done to the

reputation of the Adelaide Hills

Council in the last round of

"consultation" for the Elector

Representative Review and I

believe the Council needs to listen

to the people and communities

otherwise there will be a further

erosion of trust in the Council.

Three

(3)

It is a compromise towards

changing the former Council

boundary affiliations of

communities which is a good

change. There are many people

moving into the Adelaide Hills

who have no knowledge of the

former Councils that

amalgamated to form the

Adelaide Hills Council, so this

would happen over time, by

reducing the number of Wards it

just speeds up the process. I

would propose the names be

North Ward, Central Ward and

South Ward to start with and

then perhaps the communities

in those Wards could come up

with their own name by having a

naming competition. The

communities could make a

submission for the Ward name

and then people in that Ward

could vote on the one they like

the best.

12 If three Wards then I

would suggest North,

Central and South as

a starting point and

then let the

communities in those

Wards come up with

a name as per my

comment at "How

many Wards"

It is important that the Council

reflect the wishes of the people

and communities it is elected to

represent. It is a pointless exercise

to have consultation and then do

what you want even when over

90% of respondents are telling

you they want something

different. There is limited trust in

the Council in some areas of the

Council area and if the Council

listens to the submissions and

vote accordingly then this may

help to build some trust back up,

otherwise there will continue to

be an erosion of trust between

Council and communities

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


206 SCOTT CREEK, SA Mayor It is democratic and elected by

the people, not the councillors.

Abolish Wards The Council area is not big enough

to require wards.

8 Eight would be more than

adequate and sufficient to

provide a quorum should

anyone be missing. Fewer

members speeds up decision

making. More is not better.

Personally, I do not feel

represented by the Council which

has its own agenda irrespective of

the views of the people it

represents. Yes, a survey is sent

out each year asking for views,

but I have not seen evidence that

this makes any difference.

However, the Council has done

some good things, such as

recycling and providing bins. The

Heathfield centre is excellent.

207 CHERRYVILLE, SA Mayor Selected by the whole area.

Represents the whole

community as a moderator.

Retain Wards Four (4) Each ward is evenly

represented.

12 Spread the work load evenly

among councillors & Wards.

Don't Mind. I strongly believe our submissions

should be taken seriously.

208 CHERRYVILLE, SA Mayor Retain Wards We like to have a local

representative who lives in our

area and knows the concerns of

the local community

Four (4) Three representatives in each

area seems fair

12 Enough for diverse views Have no opinion

209 BRADBURY, SA Chairperson I do not support direct election

of a mayor as I think this gives

the perception of greater

political power/a greater

mandate to one member of

council over other

representatives.

Retain Wards I am happy with the current ward

system which provides greater

local representation across a

council area with high diversity of

land use/community

demographics. I support Option 1,

where current wards are

maintained with minor boundary

changes to accommodate

population change. I see no reason

to dramatically change a successful

system that works well.

Unnecessary bureaucratic changes

always costs more, reduce clarity

and increase confusion.

Five (5) I am happy with the current

ward system which provides

greater local representation

across a council area with high

diversity of land use/community

demographics. I support Option

1, where current wards are

maintained with minor

boundary changes to

accommodate population

change. I see no reason to

dramatically change a successful

system that works well.

Unnecessary bureaucratic

changes always costs more,

reduce clarity and increase

confusion.

12 I do not think Wards

should be

substantially changed

or re-named. This is a

waste of money and

effort for no

particular gain.

I think this is an unnecessary

review and the ward boundaries

should simply have been modified

to accommodate population

growth. The changes proposed in

this review would have negligible

impact on democratic outcomes

and offer no substantial benefits,

therefore their inevitable cost is

not worth considering in the first

place.

210 HUMBUG SCRUB,

SA

Mayor A Mayor elected by community

reduces the potential for

factional control

Retain Wards We live in Humbug Scrub. We

receive significant communication

from Malcolm Hermann which

makes us feel part of the

community and that our say and

involvement matters. Although the

comms we get from Council

generally are good, we do seem to

get more detail directly from the

Ward

Five (5) We're not overly familiar with

activity in other wards but also

have not hear negative

sentiment. If it's not broken,

don't fix it.

Other This is not a question we feel

we have sufficient data and

information on to be able to

provide a responsible answer.

That said, we have not heard

any negative sentiment about

the current number of

councillors (12).

We don't see any

need to spend time

changing Ward

names. The current

Ward names appear

to have had no

negative impact on

Council activity.

Leave them as they

are.

It is disappointing to hear that

over 90% of respondents to the

previous consultation were in

favour of retaining Wards and yet

Council went ahead with the

removal of Wards. What was the

point of your initial community

consultation if you're not going to

follow it. We always thought AHC

was really good with community

consultation but now we are

concerned that perhaps it's just a

process to look good and

responsible but the results or not

really counted.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


211 ALDGATE, SA Mayor I think the community should

have a direct say in who is

Mayor.

Abolish Wards I think the council would be more

representative without wards. Each

vote would be equal without

wards.

12 12 will give a fair

representation.

Names based on local

native animals or

plants.

212 CHERRYVILLE, SA Mayor More democratic Retain Wards More personal Five (5) Living in a small community we

tend to get 'lost' the bigger the

ward.

12 Again to have a more individual

input.

Not important Ensure there is no conflict interest

among elected councillors.

213 PARACOMBE, SA Mayor Retain Wards I have seen no justification to

indicate that those of us who live in

the outer, less populated regions of

Council will be better served by

having a local Councilor who may

well reside in Stirling. I have heard

many versions of mathematical

wizardry that would indicate that

People outside of the populated

area will still stand a chance to get

elected but quite frankly, I just

don't see it working in practice.

Once a new wardless Council

stacked by Elected Members gets

established and we work out the

Wexit (Wards Exit) really did not

suit many of us it will be impossible

to get a vote up to bring them

back. Not unlike what the UK is

currently facing.

Five (5) Don't fix what is not broken 11 One less Councilor from any of

the Wards that Currently have

three representatives

I really don't care

what you call them

provided they

function.

214 FORRESTON, SA Mayor Should be a community

decision

Retain Wards characteristics of council area is

too varied to rely on a no ward

management system

Five (5) As represented by Option 1 in

the Representation Option

Paper of May 17

12 As represented by Option 1 in

the Representation Option

Paper of May 17

Suggest No change is

required

No other comment

215 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor Retain Wards If wards are abolished outlying and

less populated areas of the

Adelaide Hills will not be

represented fairly. It's obvious that

more money is already spent in the

Stirling area now.

Five (5) A more evenly spread vote 12

216 INGLEWOOD, SA Mayor I believe this position should be

elected by the community

Retain Wards I believe that this will achieve a

better representation for the issues

which affect my local community in

Inglewood

Five (5) I prefer option 1 as outlined in

the options paper.

12 As outlined in Option 1 of the

Options Paper

Happy for the names

to remain as is.

I think that the removal of wards

will be to the detriment of

adequate representation across

all areas of council. 217 KERSBROOK, SA Mayor Community needs their say Retain Wards Five (5) 12 Doesn't matter what

they are called

218 OAKBANK, SA Mayor People need to choose the

leader

Retain Wards Absolutely essential that wards are

kept to protect the interests of the

outer areas.

Five (5) There are diverse interests in

the council area and need

representation.

12 This number has worked well in

the past.The more different

ideas the better.Avoids the

danger ofone group gaining

control. Living in an outer area

we feel our needs need to be

voiced by our local councillor

Leave as they are.

Names are not

important. A minor

distraction.

To get is rid of wards against the

wishes of the electors is totally

undemocratic and is a move

towards a dictatorship.What is

the real agenda of the councillors

proposing the end of wards.It is

certainly of no benefit to the

residents.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


219 IRONBANK, SA Mayor The principal member should

have the interests of the

community, not just their

fellow councillors, at heart

Retain Wards It ensures the whole community is

represented fairly. The Adelaide

Hills is a diverse area, and

expecting councillors to be across

the needs of all areas is unrealistic

without a structure designed to

promote this

Five (5) There are distinct differences

between each of the current

wards.

10 I don't have a strong view on

this.

220 OAKBANK, SA Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12

221 URAIDLA, SA Mayor The people need to have a say.

New members of a new council

may not have enough

knowledge of who would be

most suitable to chair the and

lead the council.

Retain Wards Having come from a small council

East Torrens I believe it is

important to have representation

from our area. We all have

different needs and those

councillors that live within those

wards have a very good

understanding of those needs and

do consult and mix within our small

town communities. My fear is that

we loose face of our small towns

and I be

Believe we fight hard now to get a

piece of the Council pie to meet

our needs that we all pay rates

especially our primary producers..

Five (5) We have a really large council

area and all areas should have

opportunity to have equal

representation.

12 Because of the large council it is

n ecessary to keep this quota.

Being realistic that many

councillors represent the areas

on various other committees.

Need enough to spread the

workload that is of course if

there is a better structure of

representation.

Why not the present

ward names?

I know many people find it

difficult to adjust to change but I

see it us so important that we are

all fairly represented. In East

Tirrens we seem to belong to

Normans kind when it comes to

the needs if the elderly in their Ian

homes. We are neither here nor

there especially our government

boundaries. We are not close

enough to the suburbs below the

face zone and often referred to

Mount Barker for facilities I.e.

Assistance for the elderly in their

own home. It is difficult to keep

our area (formerly East Torrens )

identity. So please no changes of

wards for us.

222 CRAFERS WEST,

SA

Chairperson Retain Wards I prefer the representative nature

of wards.

Five (5) Keep it as local as possible 12

223 HOUGHTON, SA Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12

224 HUMBUG SCRUB,

SA

Mayor It is more democratic for all the

electors to be able to elect a

mayor

Retain Wards Wards allow local councillors to

focus on the local area issues.

Give more representation to the

less populated areas of the council.

Prevent the possibility that

members may be elected from the

more heavily populated part of the

council district.

Five (5) There are currently 5 wards, and

there seems no reason to

change this number

Fewer wards would mean larger

wards and this could be

detrimental to people living in

the outer regions of the council

area

12 If the current system is working

with 12 Councillors, why would

it be better to reduce the

number?

Fewer Councillors would need

to work harder to get all the

work done.

The current ward

names are good, they

would not need to be

changed.

The Council must listen to needs

and wants of the community

225 PARACOMBE, SA Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12 The northern hills area (Cudlee

Creek, Paracombe, Gumeracha

etc) are not afforded the same

level of council services or

representation as the southern

regions. This includes services

and/or representation on issues

such as phone and electricity

reliability, public transport, public

health and waste management.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


226 PARACOMBE, SA Mayor we have a say in ward Retain Wards Local councillors for local interests. Five (5) We think 5 is a fair number. 10 2 councillors for each ward. We see no reason to

change what we have

now.

We would like council to be more

transparent with any changes to

wards in the future.

227 OAKBANK, SA Mayor Prevents a clique of councillors

controlling the process and

electing a 'friendly' mayor.

Abolish Wards Prevents local interests putting

forward a preferred candidate then

taking steps to have that candidate

elected.

Competing for votes across the

whole AHC region would attract a

more professional and committed

candidate with no local allegiances.

10 Councillors receive a quite

significant allowance and

should be prepared to accept

greater responsibility.

Hopefully a removal of ward

based reps will result in a council

that will consider the Adelaide

Hills as a whole and create policy

which acts in the best interests of

the region rather than a local

enclave.

228 INGLEWOOD, SA Chairperson The Councillors should know

who has the ability to lead

them in the right direction, also

i undestand if more than one

person runs for mayor, the

person who does not get

elected can not stand on

council

Retain Wards to have councillors spread evenly

over council area, will prevent one

location being unfairly treated

Five (5) at nearly 800km2 i think split

into 5 is a good size.

10 2 councillors per ward

229 INGLEWOOD, SA Mayor Greater independence.

Avoidance of two or more

'partis' pushing a leader

forward.

Retain Wards If we lose the wards, people in our

area - Inglewood, Paracombe,

Hermitage, Houghton - will be

forever forgotten.

Five (5) If it isnt broke, dont fix it.

provide evenidence to me why

we should change...

12 I could be ruse and

say we are the

'Forgotten Ward' -

our two councillors

do the best job they

can, but we get

forgotten over the

bigger townships.

How about the 'Great

Northern Ward'

230 ALDGATE, SA Mayor All voters are able to vote for

the Mayor so factions cannot

decide who is chosen.

Abolish Wards Adelaide Hills Council is twenty

years old and until wards are

abolished, it will never truly be one

Council. It is still very much divided

by old loyalties to former Councils

and all ratepayers should elect the

best representatives for the entire

Council.

12 12 Councillors will allow the

current workload to be shared

equally. There appears to be an

increasing load on Local

Government so the same not

less Councillors are needed.

At least one should

be Aboriginal -

Peramangk or Kaurna

language.

Manoah as far as I

can discover is

Hebrew so suggest

this be changed to an

indigenous name.

231 ALDGATE, SA Mayor Will of the people should

decide.

Abolish Wards Will provide one Council which

represents all areas and all people.

12 Maintain status quo.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


232 BALHANNAH, SA Mayor If there is a block of

Councillors elected of the

same political persuasion there

is the opportunity for a Mayor

to be selected by them and as

the Mayor has a casting vote it

could make it difficult for the

remaining Councillors not in

the block to ever get a motion

up. The community has an

expectation for a Mayor to be

non political and represent the

wider community. A Mayor

elected by the community is a

much more democratic

process.

Retain Wards When this Council amalgamated

there was a promise to the four

antecedent Councils that their

individual diversity would be

retained and part of this was

retaining Councillors elected locally

within their areas. This is local

government and it should remain

local. Abolishing wards will move

this Council into the political arena

where political parties can take a

more active role and support their

own candidates. The cost of

running for Council will vastly

increase for those interested in

standing and as not everyone will

know these peopole they probably

won't vote. Maintaining the wards

will keep local government local.

Four (4) Maintaining the 5 wards honors

the amalgamation agreement

and keeps it local with

representation from the specific

areas but Stirling has always had

a problem with the 2 wards as

no one knew which ward they

were in as they saw themselves

as Stirling. So joining Manoah

and Mt. Lofty is probably an

option but it would provide the

Stirling end with a lot of voting

power and this could be a block

in itself which I am concerned

about. So for the anti block

argument I would have to go for

five even thought I ticked 4 ( I

couldn't change it on Line).

12 This is similar to the argument

for retaining all wards as it is a

large Council area with a great

deal of diversification in its

living styles. Any less than 12

would put a huge burden on

Councillors both in distance to

travel and in the understanding

of various environments and

requirements of residents. AHC

is made up of rural, semi urban

and urban areas. No Councillor

could be knowledgeable on all

three. If they are honest.

Maintain them

exactly as they are as

they are a true

reflection of the

diversity of this

Council.. If it ain't

broke don't fix it.

One has to wonder why are we

spending money and time on this

Review. Why is it so important to

this Council to have no wards?. I

can only assume it is about more

power and control for certain

members on Council and

definitely less for the community.

233 INGLEWOOD, SA Chairperson to get best person for position Retain Wards even voting throughout council

area

Four (4) reduce councillor to population

ratio

8 two councillors per ward

234 CHERRYVILLE, SA Mayor Councillors don't always

represent the will of the

electorate.

Retain Wards Wards means that councillors are

more closely aligned with the area

they represent.

Five (5) Five is good as it allows for more

general representation of voter

opinions.

12 More councillors means more

general representation of voter

opinions.

I like what we have. No more comments.

235 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor Mayor is still an important role

in my view

Retain Wards We want local representation by

local people who live in our

community.

Five (5) It is the amount I believe would

represent us all the best.

12 This amount is needed so rural

areas like ours are not

forgotten, ignored and no

money spent over here.

Old pioneer names

such as Norsworthy,

Randell etc

Please listen to your people this

time rather that having a total

disregard for our wishes and

ignoring our voices. It felt rude

and oh so arrogant. 236 CUDLEE CREEK,

SA

Chairperson Retain Wards Three

(3)

I ask councillors to take a middle

course between the current

situation and a no ward

situation, such as a simplified

ward system like option 5 in

your document. Perhaps this

could be in place for a period

while proponents convince the

community that it would be

better to have a no wards

system.

11 In keeping with similar council

areas.

Odd number provides likelihood

of a definite majority when

councillors vote.

Tom, Dick, and Harry The Elector Representative

Review was completely

disregarded last time by half the

councillors and the mayor.

In the circumstances, the question

that must be asked is why should

anyone take these reviews

seriously, and why should anyone

bother to take part in in them ?

237 MOUNT

TORRENS, SA

Mayor I believe it is too easy for

influential cliques to be formed

pushing individual agendas if a

Chairperson is selected by the

Councillors

Retain Wards larger urban communities would

have more influence/attention

than smaller rural communities

without representation. Eg:

Blackwood/Stirling vs Mount

Torrens or Mount Lofty

Five (5) To give a more even spread of

input & representation

12 To maintain adequate cover of

5 wards

See no reason to

change

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


238 BIRDWOOD, SA Chairperson Not going to make much

difference which method is

used, due to the larger number

of Councillors and voters in the

more populated areas.

Retain Wards Smaller towns need representation

from a Councillor connected with

the area, and with the interests of

the area as their main concern.

Five (5) The current system has worked

well for 7 or 8 years, so why

change it?

12 Once again - why change a

reasonably workable system?

The only thing that should

change is the use of the

Mayor's casting vote to one of

"status quo" particularly when

the opinions of the voting

public have been canvassed and

showed such a preference for

"no change".

The names don't

matter too much.

239 LOBETHAL, SA Mayor Being that the Mayor is

representative of our

community, the community

should be able to choose.

Retain Wards Being able to vote for a councillor

who you are confident in that is

familiar and knows your area and

its specific needs is of upmost

importance to me as a voting rate

payer. A councillor cannot be

expected to be familiar or be

known to a wide spread

community and know all their

needs. Our hills towns are unique

and have their own needs.

Five (5) I would be happy for less wards

if they are represented by locals

who are known to their ward

and represeneting the wants

and needs of their ward. Not

having their own political

agenda.

12 Our area is large and each area

is unqiue. A councillor cannot

afford to promote themselves

to the whole electorate. It is

fairer to have a councillor

representing each area so that

they can ensure that their area

is being looked after by the

council and that one area is not

be favoured over another etc

just because maybe it has a

higher number of voters in its

electorate.

Area Names. The small communities within the

Hills need strong council

representation to remain a voice

within the council. Business can

no longer afford to support and

uphold communities like that did

in past and thus council support

and funds are needed to keep

communities and towns

functioning, whether large or

small. The Adelaide Hills is a an

amazing area but we need a

strong council with

representatives from all its areas

to support and keep the towns

alive.

Without individual and strong

representation our smaller towns

will be lost and lose their appeal.

As rate payers we all deserve

service and representation from

our council.

240 LOBETHAL, SA Chairperson Retain Wards Three

(3)

10

241 SUMMERTOWN,

SA

Mayor Less bias Retain Wards More hope that we in the smaller

populated areas have a chance to

be represented and have a voice at

Council.

Five (5) Less bias 12 less bias - -

242 BIRDWOOD, SA Chairperson Councillors are better placed to

assess the strengths and

capabilities of their peers

Retain Wards Local representation is far better as

local knowledge and personal

experience of the situation is more

beneficial to the welfare of their

own area

Five (5) It worked well in the past 12 may have to be assessed as

boundaries and population

changes.

same as always.

Don't change what is

well known and

understood.

243 MOUNT

TORRENS, SA

Chairperson To maintain an overall

potential representation

Retain Wards To maintain fairer representation

across the whole council.

Five (5) To have wider representation

across the council

12 I have lived here for 3 years and

haven't seen or heard of a

councillor. Obviously we need

at least 12 councillors to have a

better representation across

the council area.

Manoah, Marble Hill,

Mount Lofty,

Onkaparinga Valley,

Torrens Valley

I think its someones ego in council

trying to lift his image and waste

Councils money and time with

some thing thats working OK.

Remember if its not broke you

cant fix it.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


244 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor The whole council area gets a

say.

Retain Wards Small communities that are usually

more tight knit than suburban

areas, get better representation. It

is insulting to label us "parochial" !

What's wrong with caring about

and looking after your own

community ?!

Three

(3)

This is a compromise. 10 A reasonable number Torrens Valley,

Onkaparinga Valley,

Heysen

We hope that previous

submissions from the previous

review are being taken into

account because people are too

busy to do this twice, and many

don't think they have to do it

again!

245 PARACOMBE, SA Mayor I get the chance to vote against

any major party sponsored

candidate, or anybody likely to

put party polical interests

above those of the electorate

Retain Wards I don't want the southern area

population desnity producing a

'Stirling area' biased council. I

don't want the major parties to

dominate us by insertion of trainee

parliamentarians either

5 Too much 'local has been

removed from local government

already. (when we

amalgamated with Stirling

contrary to the overwhelming

wishes of the Gumeracha DC

voters)

12 This makes it harder for

minority interests to profit from

their opponents not being able

to attend a council meeting.

The existing names

are fine by me

Major party candidates with

financial party backing have an

unfair advantage. They find it

easier to gain control under

proportion representation.

Wards help prevent this, keeping

local people, with local knowledge

and interests in power.

246 BIRDWOOD Chairperson Combined wisdom on

councillors would be the best

method. Casting votes by

Mayors have never been

respected if they change the

status quo.

Retain Wards Local knowledge of each councillor.

Never have we been better

governed by the present system so

don't change.

5 Currently effective 12 Currently effective local

government

Names don't matter

for good government

leave as is

Our councillor has the respect

needed for good representation

of our ward. His election by a

massive vote is testimony enough.

No placards no power pole ads no

how to vote pulbicity needed.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


247 NOT SUPPLIED Hello Tom I received your letter

about the consultation AHC

conducted. The previous round of

consultation was entirely

pointless as the outcome was

already decided.The consultation

was a silly bit of window dressing.

Will it be any different this time?

Does the state government or you

have any power to force council

to follow what is said to them in

the consultation process? If not

then your letter to me is just as

cynical as what happened when

council voted. I own a property in

the Huon Valley in Tasmania.

Recently all councillors were

removed and an administrator put

in place. The council functions

better under the administrator

than previously. Given the

contempt with which the Adelaide

Hills councillors have for what was

put to them by the ratepayers, it

is time for a clearing out followed

by a period of control by an

administrator appointed by the SA

govt. Now that is my submission

on this matter.

248 GUMERACHA Mayor The voting public should have

the opportunity and the right

to select the Mayor - or vote

out the existing one.

Retain Wards Local ward councillors are better

able to represent the views and

wishes of their area - they know

the residents and the local issues.

This way less populated areas

continue to have a 'voice' in council

and are not overtaken or ignored

by other areas. This is particularly

important in a large area council

such as Adelaide Hills.

5 We certainly don't need (or

want) less local representation.

12 I see no need to reduce the

current representation on

council.

No change - this

would remove

potential expense or

wastage if changes

were required to

websites,

documentation/stati

onery etc. No need

to waste ratepayers

funds this way.

The overall wish of the residents

and community in the Adelaide

Hill Council has (and is) to retain

the existing structure. For Council

to ignore these views and try to

push through a minority view is

insulting and ill-considered. Take

notice of what the majority want

and abandon this stupid idea

which could lead to single interest

groups (or political parties)

controllingthe council.

249 INGLEWOOD Chairperson To ensure that there is still an

odd number in total on the

council I suggest a ward with

the most population could have

3 representatives.

Retain Wards 5 12 Current names look good

250 MT TORRENS Retain WardsSee Attachment 2 for comments

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


251 KERSBROOK Mayor System seems to work well

throughout the state, why

change.

Retain Wards Residents in lower populated areas

would still get a representative to

get their points across

5 council area is large and needs

multiple wards

12 This would give at least 2

representative for each ward

This is for our elected

representatives to

decide

The system is working ok at

present. If it is not broke don't fix

it.

252 KERSBROOK Mayor or Chairperson I ticked

both because either would be

good

Retain Wards Wards allow people in less

populated areas to be heard and

kept informed by a local

wardsman. I believe it is good to

have 5 wards.

5 The system works well with 5,

because we are such a large

council area. I live on outskirts

so need to be represented

otherwise we get lost in the

system.

12 The system needs 12 to provide

adequate reprsetnation for the

large council district.

This is for the

councillors to decide

as we elect them for

the ability to make

decisions such as

that.253 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct




as council wide issues.

5 12 Keep the same

names. Happy with

what we have.

Lessens the ability of single



council. Reduced the cost and

effort required to campaign at an

election. Potentially provides cost

savings to council in regards the

conduct of elections and

supplementary elections.

254 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Lessens the ability of single interest

groups from gaining considerable

representation on council

5 12 N/A

255 BIRDWOOD Mayor Wards give a direct

representation of all parts of

the council area. Reduces costs

and effort required to

campaign at an election.

Retain Wards 5 12 N/A

256 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct

presentation of all parts of the



as council wide issues.

5 12 Lessens the ability of single



council. Reduced the cost and






257 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Enables ward councillors to focus

on local as well as council wide

issues

5 12

258 PARACOMBE Mayor it has worked in the past Retain Wards With no wards we would receive

less representation

5 there is no valid reason for

change

12 keep the same same as is

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


259 BIRDWOOD Chairperson If the person isn't known and

comes from 50kms away, how

can one tell if she/he will 'fit

the position'. Elected

councillors may have more idea

who is suitable to lead.

Retain Wards the northern section is rural,

southern urban, no empathy from

councillors in southern urban, for

farmers eg not knowing that

desexing working dogs will kill heir

instinct for herding, and putting up

fees from $30 to $90. Already from

the recent survey 7 would not

listen to what people wanted.

What's the use of spending money

on signs that say 'have your say'

when some coucnillors have their

own agenda, and vote how they

want to.

3 the urban areas, central area

with rural towns, northern area

with sheep farms and rural

settlements eg Humbug Scrub,

Lower Hermitage, Forreston,

Gumeracha, Mt Torrens,

Birdwood, Kenton Valley

10 4 Urban area 3 Central area 3

north area

Torrens, Heysen,

Mawson, Lofty,

Cleland, Warrawong

I agree with the reasons outlined

in the Representaiton Options

paper. Ward councillors can focus

on local problems/they are

familiar with own territory and

people know who they are - easy

to contact/lessens the ability of a

single interest group gaining

control as is happening at present

260 STIRLING Mayor Mayor should not have an

individual vote only when tied

and then to maintain the status

quo

Retain Wards I want to be able to speak to

someone who actually represents

my area

5 Spread of ward areas and people 10 2 per ward Ones that have an

identity to the area -

meaningful

Matters that impact on the

structure of governance should if

possible be when all members are

present particularly when they are

not …. (illegible)

261 STIRLING Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As currently if people

living in the ward are

happy with the

name.262 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Potentially provides costs savings

to council in regards to the conduct

of elections and supplementary

elections (extracted from page 41

of the Elector Representation

Review May 2017)

5 or 3 12

263 GUMERACHA Chairperson Retain Wards only way to provide representative

local government

5 12 minimum two per ward as is Please take note of the survey

results rather than ignore them.

264 NOT SUPPLIED Chairperson Retain Wards common sense 5 or 3 12 share the work status quo

265 PARACOMBE Mayor My preference mwould be to

give ratepayers the opportunity

to choose their principal

member of council

Retain Wards I d not understand where the

proposal to abolish wards arose

other than from within council

itself, nor has any party proferred

what benefits might arise (if any).

We are more than happy with the

local representation at council

assured by the ward system ..

representation which would almost

certainly disappear were the wards

to be abandoned. Community

opposition to the abolition was

abundantly apparent at the recent

Paracome community forum.

5 retain as existing 12 Retain as existing It is the existance of

the wards that

matters not the

nomenclature

266 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Leave them alone

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


267 LOBETHAL Chairperson A chairperson elected by

councillors could do the same

job as the Mayor, and be less

expensive to ratepayers. It also

allows the chairperson to be

changed easily.

Retain Wards The sysstem has worked well in the

past, and I haven't seen any good

reason to change it.

5 better representation 12 Keep the same

names.

Why is all this time, effort and

expense needed to fix something

which is not broken?

268 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Fairer representation across

council area

5 Wider representation 12 Historic/famous

identity in ward area

/ aboriginal /

landmark269 MT PLEASANT Chairperson Retain Wards Guaranteed local representation 5 or 3 Wards to represent rural areas 12 or 9 depending on number of wards.

If 3 wards 9 counicllors if 5 - 12

councillors

Torrens Valley, Onka

Valley, Manoah

Suggest forming urban council of

Mt Barker, Crafers, Stirling,

Aldgate, Teringie as 1 council area

and rural areas of Torrens Valley,

Onka Valley and Mt Pleasant/

Springton as rural separate

council area 270 MT TORRENS Retain Wards 5 12 We are residents of the Torrens

Valley Ward within the Adelaide

Hills Council and are opposing the

council's intention to abolish the

ward system. We are of the view

that the current ward system has

served the community well over

the last decades.

The amalgamation in the past

from the Gumeracha Council into

what became the larger Adelaide

Hills Council including Stirling, did

not bring the advantages as was

promoted at the time, and now

with the intention of abolishing

the wards will again raise the

concern that smaller regions and

townships are not going to receive

enough representation. The

standing 5 ward system should be

maintained, and their ward

names. We see no reason for

change. Additionally, we are

against the proposal to have

fewer councillors and would like

to ensure that 12 councillors, with

the current number of councillors

for each ward are retained, to

ensure that councillors who live in

their ward and understand their

region's needs are elected.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


271 WOODSIDE Mayor Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct






from gaining consierable

representation on council.

5 or 3 12 or 9

272 FORRESTON Mayor Retain Wards Guaranteed local representation 5 retain status quo 12 status quo

273 FORRESTON Mayor Retain Wards guaranteed local representation 5 retain status quo 12 status quo

274 LOBETHAL Mayor People must have a say - true

democracy. A layer of

protection for councillors too,

less likely of being accused of

bias or favouritism or worse.

Retain Wards Too much bureacracy and

complexity for the small population

already

not stated 12 or moreThe more representatives per

person the better. This also

keeps people onest, reducing

possible corruption and bias.

With more councillors out and

about, more people can

approach them and have their

say.

Divert heavy trucks away from

going through Lobethal township.

Particularly the abbatoir trucks. A

pedestrian will be killed one day.

Reconsider/challenge ehte EPA

ban (on burning) in country

townships. We create more

pollution driving our car four

times to Heathfield than we

would if we burnt our vegetation.

275 WOODSIDE Chairperson Retain Wards I feel with wards for each area

hopefully that an equal say is said

and represented equally. Reduce

of cost regards to election

campaign gives each councillor to

represent their concerns for their

area.

5 to continue as previously as this

system works so why change it.

12 To use the ones

already being used

for appropriate

areas.

276 WOODSIDE Chairperson Retain Wards To give equal opportunity for each

electorate and that residents feel

they can approach their councillors

and get help and results

5 why change when things are

working

12 seems to have worked for years Same as they are

277 KERSBROOK Mayor community election of a mayor

position ensures majority

community support

Retain Wards ward system guarantees a fair and

direct representation of all areas of

council. Enables ward councillors

(to focus) on local as well as wider

council issues

5 Adelaide Hills Council

encompasses areas of restricted

development and growth due to

water catchment regulation.

This will need a minimum of 5

wards to ensure representation.

12 as stated in reply to Qu 3 This reply supports a fair and

equal democratic representation

of all ratepayers in the Adelaide

Hills Council. It minimises the

ability of single interest groups to

gain superior representation on

council.

278 BIRDWOOD Mayor so that there is no 'them vs us'

which can be divisive

Retain Wards As was promised previously to

'retain' then sneaky attempts made

to abolish. Every area needs

representative who understands

the particular needs.

not statedat least the number we currently

have

12 to encompass all areas Shameful to have seen the council

try to pull a swifty on the

community.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


279 BIRDWOOD Mayor so that everyone can have a

say, rather than councillors

taking sides

Retain Wards it is not fair to the outlying areas if

they are not actually represented

as weould be the case if all/most

councillors from smaller 'physical

area'. Despite what may be

'promised' (but never fulfilled) as

history shows.

not statedthe same or more, to ensure

outer areas are represented

12 It is not good for too much power

to go to too few. It is

disappointing to witness the

attempt to break down the ward

system, with decisions being

made at the same time as ignoring

community voice.

280 BIRDWOOD Chairperson Retain Wards not statedThe same number as there is

now

not statedthe same as there is now

281 BIRDWOOD Chairperson If elected by the community

the position becomes too

political as the council has the

greater population in the

southern part 'green vote'

Retain Wards as with wards the people know

their councillors and then the

councillor knows their needs

not statedthe same as there is at present not statedthe same as there are at

present

As a resident at Birdwood I am

very pleased to have Malcolm

Herrmann as my councillor as he

is very helpful as I have a problem

that needs to be looked at.

282 BIRDWOOD Mayor The community should choose -

not limit the choice to just

council reps

Retain Wards Wards give more representation to

smaller towns, who may be

overlooked if we don't have wards

5 each area of council is

represented

10 one rep per ward as at present would like to see council continue

as it is

283 BIRDWOOD Mayor Community should be able to

choose who they want as

Mayor

Retain Wards More evenly represented in council

area

5 all areas represented by

individual councillors

12 each area represented by their

local coucnillors as at present

as normal leave everything as is

284 KERSBROOK Mayor Community based election

ensures a democratic process

Retain Wards a ward system guarantees direct

and equal representation of all

sections of council. Some council

areas have restricted growth and

development due to water

catchment regulation, and need a

ward system to gain fair counci

recognition.

5 a wide council area needs 5 wars

to represent local issues

democratically

12 note comments in Qu 2, Qu 3 Chain of Ponds Adelaide Hills Council

encompasses a complex mix of

geographical, environmental and

water catchment state

government regulations. A ward

system ensures a fair democratic

representation of all ratepayers.

285 BALHANNAH Mayor I prefer that the whole

community elects a Mayor

rather than he/she be elected

by councillors

Retain Wards Adelaide Hills Council (AHC) is a

diverse demographic from almost

metropolitan to rural and I believe

a ward system will enable a more

effective appreciation of local

issues.

3 Three wards seems the most

logical means of dividing up AHC

area and maintaining better

lines of communication between

ward councillors and their

constituents

11 Option 5 offers the best

balance of representation of

constituents with the two larger

(population wise) wards having

4 councillors and the smaller

(population wise) wards having

3 councillors

I would like Torrens

and Onkaparinga as

the two major rivers

retained int eh

naming, as well as

some

acknowledgement of

indigenous people

who lived in the area

for thousands of

years

286 BALHANNAH Mayor A mayor elected by the whole

electorate does not have the

(real or perceived) interest of

one war over the others

Retain Wards Having wards ensures that the

interests of all areas of council are

represented as opposed to the

possibility of a majority of

counciloors being elected from a

smaller restricted area

3 More than three would lead to

too much fragmentation whilst

less than three would lead to

too little diversification

11 Option 5 as presented appears

to most suitably reflect my

views and this option requires

11 councillors. The fact that

ward 2 has only 3 councillors is

balanced by it having the

greater negative % variance

Although it makes no difference

to my comments, the towns listed

in the 2 wards on p36 are the

directe opposite to those on the

map on p37

287 HUMBUG SCRUB Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Current Names

288 HUMBUG SCRUB Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As is

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


289 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Need a local person who

understands local issues. If AHC is

one ward the area is too diverse -

urban - vineyards - rural

3 12

290 KERSBROOK Mayor Provides continuity within the

communty with service growth

etc

Retain Wards Wards need to be maintained due

to the large diversity throughout

the council area

5 Wards can be maintained as

they are at present - if any

change needs to be made the

more metropolitan type wards

should be amalgamated making

4 the preferred number

12 Reasonable spread per

population numbers

Can be kept as is Wards are necessary due to the

diverse nature of the council area

requiring an assured voice for

each specific area.

291 KERSBROOK Mayor Mayor is the best way to go -

prevents changing of the guard

during an electoral term

Retain Wards Wards best serve the diversity of

the council area and provide a

voice from all parts of the council

area

5 Happy to stay with the status

quo - a reduction in ward

number could be achieved by

combining the metro-like

sections of the reion - need to

keep the more rural wards as

such.

12 This is a reasonable number for

the current wards - could be

reduced if the wards are

reduced to maybe 10

Name are ok as they

are

Wards are the best way to provide

a voice across the community and

prevent the area being politicises

or a biased distribution of

councillors.

292 ST AGNES Mayor Retain Wards 5 12

293 KERSBROOK Mayor Better to be elected by the

people than to be elected by a

like minded group that could

manipulate council decisions

Retain Wards Ratepayers will know who they

elected to reprsent them in their

ward rather than a faceless

member elected by some other

town

4 Four gives an even

representative group with the

Mayor having the casting vote

12 4 goes into 12 no preferences

294 KERSBROOK Mayor By electing a Mayor it removes

the opportunity for interested

groups to manipulate the head

of council

Retain Wards It separates the council into

manageable areas and allows each

section or ward to have a voice in

council

5 Seems to be the right number

but the wards should be

separated by localities rather

than population so that all

wards have equal

representation

10 2 per ward. 12 does not divide

evenly into 5 wards - so some

wards will have more

representation than others so

would or could influence

council voting

Doesn't matter a

name is only a name

as long as each ward

is clearly informed of

its boundaries

295 CUDLEE CREEK Chairperson Potential for different

councillors to be chair.

Potential saving of election

costs. Avoid waste of

energy/expertise of losing

mayoral candidates (important

because local councillors hard

to come by)

Retain Wards Much better than councillors have

knowledge (and identification) of

their local area rather than be part

of a common interest group - that

is a political party or potential

political party. Gives those in

remoter part of council district a

beter chance to communicate

effectively with councillor

3 Option 5 in Rep Options Paper,

11 councillors, (district chair

rather than elected mayor)

giving one less counicllors, and

odd number.

11 to suit Option 5 - and provide

odd number of councillors,

being a slight reduction from

current number (desirable).

These questions are

hard to separate

from each other and

shouldn't be seen in

isolation. If 5 wards

and mayor, might as

well stay same. If 3

wards of option 5,

could be Southern,

Western, Eastern

(bugger the North).

(Existing ward names

do not have any

special value that

would make them

worth retaining).

Best to have 11 councillors in 3

wards, with chair elected by

councillors (easier to balance

number of electors per councillor

with 3 rather than 5 wards)

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


296 KERSBROOK Chairperson Because it seems that when

they become Mayor it goes to

their head. They think they can

run the show without the

councillors

Retain Wards So we all get a fair go not stated 12 So the Mayor can be told by

each councillor what and where

the problems are. Not that he

listens.

Stay as they are.

That hasn't been a

problem in the past.

I think its time to

download the office

and get some work

done outside. How

about you take your

turn on the grader

etc you would then

see how its done.

Time for a bit of

commonsense reality

is need.

I feel that its time that they wards

on the top end went Adelaide way

Stirling Crafers Aldgate. They

seem to get all the help and

money spent there. This end

helped them out when we

amalgamated but they still dig in

the barrel. What about a go for

Inglewood Houghton Kersbrook

Forreston etc.

297 GUMERACHA Mayor They are a people's

representative

Retain Wards Having wards guarantees our area

is represented. Local issues are

better addressed. Lessens interest

group dominance.

5 12 Seems like a good ratio to

constituents

as they are are ok

298 FORRESTON Chairperson Reduces cost as there is no

need to campaign for a Mayor

Retain Wards Enables wards councillors to focus


issues

5 working ok so why change? 10 Retain same names Wards guarantee of direct

representation of all parties of the

council. Enables ward councillors

to focus on local as well as council

wide issues. Lessens the ability of

single interest groups from

gaining considerable


Enables and attracts candidates to

contest ward elections. Reduces

considerable costs and efforts to

contest ward elections. Reduces

costs and effort to campaign at an





299 Nil Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 No need to change

them

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


300 FORRESTON Chairperson Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct






from gaining considerable

representation on council. Enables

and attracts canddiates to contest

ward elections. Reduces

considerable costs to context ward

elections. Reduces the costs and



savings to coucnil in regards the



5 10 Keep present ones As I lease my father's property at

Forreston I need to have

councillors in this area so I may

contact them quickly with any

problems/queries I may have.

301 Nil Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 No need to change

them

If its not broken why do we need

to change it. Its worked well in

the passed leave it alone.

302 GUMERACHA Mayor Democratically a vote by the

residents should take place

Retain Wards Unequal distribution of populus

within Council area. Subsequently

individual wards are necessary.

5 To remain the same which has

worked well retrospectively

12 Our area is well represented

and governed well to this point.

Changes not

considered necessary

Having resided in this area for 30

years I see that the current

regime is operating well. Radical

changes are not required.

303 GUMERACHA Mayor The person at the head of our

council is representing us all

and should be democratically

elected by everybody in the

area

Retain Wards Because of the unequal distribution

of population in our council area

individual wards are essential.

5 To remain the same which is

working in our area

12 I can only speak for my area

which has 2 very efficient and

very accessible councillors

No change is

required as all names

are suitable

Having lived in this area for 3

years I feel the current system is

working well and extremely

efficiently. Radical and

unnecessary changes are not

required.304 LOWER HERMITAGEMayor More democratic Retain Wards More democratic - represents

needs of individual areas. Wards

provide direct representation for all

parts of the council area. Reduces

costs and effort to campaign at an

election. Prevents single interest

groups gaining unfair


5 Better representation of all

areas in a very large council

covering broadranging and wide

raching parts of the state.

12 Denables ward councillors to

focus on local areas and

understand needs of their area.

Retain same names Provides costs savings to council

in regard to conduct of elections.

2 Reviews in the past clearly

showed that 96% of reatepayers

wanted wards retained. Council

must listen to and carry out the

wishes of the people they

represent and not their own

wishes.305 ST AGNES Mayor Fairer choice Retain Wards Direct representation. Quicker

follow up

5 This spreads responsibilities and

guarantees (hopefully) prompt

response by councillors

12 Large area to be covered. Not

everyone lives in

Stirling/Aldgate

status quo Please remember this is the

Adelaide Hills Council. There are a

large number of diverse

horticultural concerns who feel

neglected by a central council

with no ward representative

306 ALDGATE Mayor Retain Wards 5 12

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


307 BIRDWOOD Mayor The mayor should be elected

by the people of the interested

people and should vote before

the rest of councillors and put

in a sealed envelope and

counted after the councillors

voted

Retain Wards definitely have wards so that the

coujncillor has a better

understanding of their immediate

concerns and be easily

5 The wards should remain as

they are if they need to change

the boundaries suggest maybe

shift Charleston into Torrens

Valley Ward as the rural

requirements are very similar

the future so move one

councillor to Torrens Valley

Ward.

12 Laeave the same but only have

10 votes

leave the same This second review should have

not accurd if the mayor had of

followed the normal protocol. I

am 80 years old and I have been

on many committees chairman

president of some state

committees etc and never seen a

president vote against a majority

of a survey as happened to reach

this outcome

308 BIRDWOOD Mayor People should have their say

after all we pay the rates

Retain Wards Definitely have wards so councillor

has a better understanding of

immediate concerns and be easily

contacted

5 Wards should remain as they are

if they need to change

boundaries suggest maybe shift

Charleston to Torrens Valley

Ward as the rural requirements

are very similar in future move

one councillor to Torrens Valley

12 Leave as same but only have 10

votes

Leave the same If the mayor had followed normal

protocol it wouldn't have needed

to reach this outcome

309 BRIDGEWATER Mayor It is the peoples' choice by

election which I feel is

preferable to the alternative

Retain Wards to ensure areas within council are not neglected5 better reprsentation of defined

area

12 Allows a diversity of thoughts Wills, Bourke, Sturt,

Dunstan, Playford

310 UPPER HERMITAGEMayor Retain Wards 5 11

311 BIRDWOOD Mayor Community members should

have a say in who is the leader

of the council

Retain Wards So councillors can represent their

regions

5 So councillors can represent

their regions

12 I think 12 councillors can

adequately represent the

different regions of the council

I don't think it really

matters what the

wards are called

312 BIRDWOOD Mayor Community members should

have a say in who istheir

mayor. When wards and

councillors are involved - no

bias

Retain Wards I have concerns that if no wards

existed he outer rural communities

would have no voice

5 Better cross section enabling

voters to have a representative

to voice concerns etc

12 Again, our population is

growing in the Adelaide Hills

region.Less numbers - more

work - less outcomes

Seriously, I have no

real suggestions

313 ALDGATE Mayor The mayor becomes an

independent representative

whom must show his ability

and credentials in our elections

not as a favourite by the

councillors. Strictly speaking

he should not be bias to any

one ward but arbitrate over

council meetings.

Retain Wards Each ward has two elected

representatives whom share their

time and investigateive needs

within a ward boundary and do not

get sidelined on other ward issues.

More representative of residents in

a ward results in a fair view of ward

needs and a contact for residents.

6 The AHC is large enough and

diverse to support 6 wards. Any

less reduces fair representation.

As the discussion paper shows a

proposal for a 6 ward structure

for 12 councillors then why is

that not shown above?

Alternatively Option 2 with

bouncary changes will provide

12 reps and weighs all wards

with more voting power that

may not appear biased.

12 With 2 councillors to each ward

+ Mayor a more democratic

team on voting issues,

otherwise a 4 ward structure

with 3 councillors each. The

Mayor, on a deciding vote

should retain the statis quo of

any of the issues at hand unless

he can significantly justify his

vote wither on economic,

ethical or social requirements

that benefits resident.s

Retain ward names

as they are and add o

ne extra for 6 wards

Each ward should have equal

representation and fair

distribution of council resources.

With this view and 6 or 4 ward

structure would provide 12

councillors and satisfy the balance

of residents criteria.

314 CUDLEE CREEK Mayor Democratic process by rate

payers

Retain Wards Representation for all areas, not

just Stirling

5 About correct 12 About correct Barossa

Millbrook

Para

Warren

Kangaroo Creek

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


315 UPPER HERMITAGEMayor Allows council residents more

choice

Retain Wards Wards potentially guarantee direct

representation of all part of the

council area. This is of paramount

improtance to hose of us who live

on the fringes of the council area

who have little access (because of

distance) to virtually all services

provided by council (dump, library

etc). Rubbish collection and

minimal road up keep are the only

benefits. Even planning seems to

be of little relevance when we see

what has happend her in recent

years. Potentially lessens the


from dominating council decisions.

5 10 2 councillors per ward

316 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards To continue to have local

representation

5 Council would best deal with

issues and locate the trouble

spots

12 The greater the number the

better the outcome

They all sound good

and appropriate to

their region

317 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Mayor Then they are answerable to

the community, not other

councillors

Retain Wards Much more chance of someone

who lives within 20km. Less likely

to have party politics intrude, multi-

member election would encourage

political parties

5 see above 12 If you have 5 wards, and some

are more popular than others,

you need 12 councillors to have

all of them a multi member

electorates

Prefer names

identifying

geographic area

Why don't you just hold a

plebiscite, then ignore the wishes

of electors just like the

Gumeracha councillors did when

they voted for amalgamation

against our wishes

318 BIRDWOOD Mayor The mayor's position to remain

as elected by all ratepayers. I

do not support having this

position

chosen by council members.

Retain Wards I see no reason to change the ward

current boundaries but see merit in

adjusting the representation of

councillors per ward on the basis of

the ward area. Large wards take

more effort to cover issues

compared to smaller more densely

populated areas. Rate payers who

live in rural areas can see council

favors promoting the larger

populated towns. There needs to

be more focus on the smaller

towns and rural areas in general.

5 Five is adequate but, the

representation in the larger

wards and rural areas in general

needs to change.

12 The current twelve is adequate.

The ratio of councillors per

ward needs to be looked at to

favor larger rural areas, not the

high populated town areas.

I fail to understand

why it so important

to change the current

ward names. Is this

an idealistic academic

exercise that frankly

Is a complete waste

of time? There are

more important tasks

that require attention

all over our council

area.

The way I see it the Adelaide Hills

Council area is primarily rural

based. This being the case the

rural communities need support

through their respective

community town. There appears

to be great emphasis on

promoting our more densely

populated areas to the outside

world. And the lack of knowledge

about what is going on in our

smaller town is wanting. I

recognize a lot of ratepayers work

in the city but we are rural and

small community based and this

needs to be promoted. Let's set

realistic goals and not let ideology

take over.319 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Mayor We elect the Mayor Retain Wards Councillors focus on local first

council issues second

5 Allow councillors to represent

local people

12 about fairness Nil Nil

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


320 KERSBROOK Chairperson Given the current Mayor's

perceived/actual bias during

this consultation, having a chair

who cannot cast a vote, would

hopeully allow councillors to

work together to come to a

consensus

Retain Wards To adequately represent all groups

within the council area - which is

very diverse

5 Having read the options paper, it

would seem that the boundaries

of Mt Lofty, Manoah and Marble

Hill need realignment to cover

discrepancies and future

developments. At present there

is no need to disrupt the other

ward areas

12 To give everybody a chance to

get a fair representation. To

stop self interested and political

parties from loading the

system.

Actually we like the

names they have as

they reflect where

we have come from

The options paper compares

electors ratios mainly on number.

This is not appropriate as we are

not a metro coucnil. We are

unique as we have urban and

rural communities. While there is

projected growth in the future in

many towns, boundaries can be

adjusted at future reviews. All

development is ultimately

restricted by agriculture, traffic

congestion, flooding, water

catchment and fire, as well as

preserving the unique nature of

the Adeliade Hills. For this we

need representatives who know

the issues of the smaller

communities while also working

for the good of the whole council.

321 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Mayor Retain Wards Direct representaiton of all parts of

council area. Ward councillors

focus on local issues. Lessens

ability of single interest groups to

influence council decisions.

5 10

322 HUMBUG SCRUB Chairperson Councillors should have a good

perception of a person's

capability to be Mayor

Retain Wards We live on the borderline road

connecting the Hills Council and

Playford. Without wards, we

would know almost nothing of

council affairs. Yes, we read the

newsletters.

not

stated

Unknown - if wards are working,

don't change them

12 This no. should result in the

above

We receive some info from Cr

Malcolm Herrmann. He goes to

great lengths to contact

ratepayers.

323 NORTON

SUMMIT

Mayor Local councils have had a bad

press in recent times. An

elected mayor is less likely to

lead to quasi-corruption in

councils.

Retain Wards I am in the old East Torrens area.

This area has been disadvantaged

by the amalgamation to form the

Hills Council. I want to be able to

phone and ask for support from a

councillor who represents my

ward.

5 It is a large area 10 Two councillors per ward are

sufficient

No opinion

324 CUDLEE CREEK Chairperson This reduces the power of the

Mayor to make decisions on

his/her own. All decisions

should be made by council

members under the chairmans

authority The Chairman has

the casting vote not the Mayor.

Retain Wards 5 12 no comment Please be open and transparent

with all ratepayers

325 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Mayor Fairer Retain Wards Proper representation 5 Once again - proper

representation

12 see above keep current names

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


326 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Mayor We live in a democracy and as

such all members of the

community have a right to

choose the mayoral candidate

they believe will best suit the

position of office

Retain Wards Wards enable direct local


council area having ward

councillors enables focus on loal

issues as well as broader council

issues and provides open feedback

and consultation. Having wards

can lessen the ability of single


greater representation on council.

5 Don't change what ain't broke

unless its to increase ward

representation by a couple more

12 There needs to be 12 for such a

large electorate to be fairly and

adequately represented,

possibly more - 3 per ward

the existing ward

names are fine

I expect my council to be

representative and in touch with

the whole community electorate

and I believe the best form of

broad representation and

consultation is with having wards

and representative councillors

from those wards to voie our

needs and inform us of council

issues that will affect us. I want

openness, honesty and

transparency in recent times the

media has reported on some local

councils acting in their own self

interest without consultation,

honesty or social morality.

327 STIRLING Mayor The mayor needs to be elected

by the community to hopefully

stop him/her being part of a

block of liked minded

councillors who elect him/her

and he uses his casting vote for

them.

Retain Wards So local people can represent their

own area and not have people who

are put in by political parties and

don't know and probably don't

care about the various concerns of

the local areas

5 Because we have different areas

- rural, semi urban and urban

12 Area is too big for less. 12

coucnillors to share the

workload.

Keep the ones we

have

The Adelaide Hills has been made

up of 4 previous coucnils. All with

their own special environment

and needs. They came together

as one and that has been hard

enough, but to take away this

historical component is ludicrous.

328 BIRDWOOD Chairperson Retain Wards To obtain representation from all

areas

3 11 Torrens Valley etc are

suitable329 BIRDWOOD Chairperson Councillors to elect someone

they can work with

Retain Wards There should be councillors from all

areas - even the areas more

sparsely populated

5 or 3 10 10 should be enough current names are ok

330 GUMERACHA Mayor The mayor needs to be

accountable to the voters

Retain Wards Different wards have different

needs and should be represented

by councillors who are familiar with

those needs

5 It allows more local

representation

10 Two per ward allows for each

ward to have councillors with

different concerns and

strengths

Remain the same

331 GUMERACHA Mayor Everyone needs to be given the

opportunity to have their say

Retain Wards Each ward is different, hence

different needs. We need our

member to be aware of the

community as it affects us

5 Better represntation, better

outcomes, happier ratepayers

10 Two for each ward They seem fine as

they are

332 CRAFERS Mayor Currently the Mayor is elected

across the entire council area

and the deputy Mayor is

elected from within the council

on an annual basis. We believe

that this is the best option for

now and for the future.

Retain Wards The division of the AHC area into

wards assists ward coucnillors and

their constituents to identify and

develop focus on local and council-

wide issues

4 Flexibility with regards to

absenteeism and work loads of

coucnillors as well as ward

quota/fluctuations in elector

numbers

12 According to the Options Paper

May 2017 by CL Rowe and

Associates Ltd the workload of

a councillor includes

identification, representation

and brokerage of expertise,

knowledge and viewpoints

between constituents and

council. We believe that a

minimum of 12 councillors is

needed to paint and exhibit the

big picture of a growing AHC

commuity for the small

remuneration of unknown

artists.

String, Woodwind,

Brass, Percussion

Maybe it would make a difference

to the staus of ward councillors, if

they would share desks with their

ward colleagues at the AHC

chambers or close by. If there

were 4 wards with 3 councillors

for each ward, 4 extra

desks/workspaces would be

needed.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


333 BIRDWOOD Mayor A mayor is supposed to be

impartial and only use his

casting vote from the good of

the whole council area

Retain Wards Then all parts of the council area

have a fair representation - no

wards can lead to some areas

getting all the say

5 This number seems to have

worked in the past

2 councillors per ward Leave as is

334 KERSBROOK Mayor Provides community with

chance to elect representative

rather the possibility of a

vested interest group of

councillors.

Retain Wards Less populated areas still have

reprsentation and opportunity for

area specific needs to be brought

to attention of councillors

5 Better representation for whole

area & less concentration on

needs of core population area

12 current names are

suitable

335 BASKET RANGE,

SA

Mayor The mayor being elected by all

eligible to do so is more

democratic. The office/person

is directly answerable to the

people. A chairman, being

elected as a ward

representative and then by

fellow councillors to the

'principal member' position is a

less democratic office. Initially

a chairman is answerable to

fellow councillors ahead of the

wider public

Retain Wards It is part of the human condition to

identify (amongst many things)

with place - one's home, street,

neighbourhood, council area, state,

country. One's ward within the

context of democratic rights is of

great significance/ It is not a

limited 'local' identity region nor is

it too broad as a whole council area

or state of federal electoral district.

4 For me the best option is four

wards. Allowing for 12

councillors this provides three

councillors per ward. Multiple

councillors provides a better

representation than just one or

two per ward and each ward will

be similarly represented and

have the 'same voice' numbers

wise. All other requirement are

satisfied by the four ward option

(as per pages 24-25 of ROP May

2017

12 The level of representation

within the AHC since it

formation has been 12

councillors and a mayor. This

has proven to be an effective,

fair and adequate level of

representation, meets all the

requirement of the LGA and has

been endorsed by the people

since 2009

The names for wards,

for me is not greatly

important. I have

lived in the

Onkaparinga Valley

Council area (1972-

73), Stirling Council

area (1973 -74), East

Torrens Council area

(1974-1997) Adelaide

Hills Council area

1997-present. Links

with history/heritage

(Aboriginal or settler)

geographically have

their merits. If there

are unique

ecosystems or

vegetation/flora

zones within each

war that are distinct

then they should be

considered. By

reducing to four

wards (my choice)

one of the existing

names would be lost.

The map suggests

North Ward, East

Ward, Central Ward,

South Ward.

I sincerely hope that councel is

arriving at its 'in priciple' decisions

about the 'key issues' that need to

be addressed by the RRR gives

due weight, deliaberation and

consideration to all the evidence

and information available to it and

shares with the public the process

and reasons in reaching these.

336 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Unsure how to answer this

question so leaving it blank

Retain Wards Although if you can't reach your

elected rep can liaison through

another from a different ward with

any concerns

Believe it depends on the council

area eg land area

12 Adelaide Hills council spanning

over such a large area requires

many

337 ST AGNES Mayor Better representation by whole

community

Retain Wards Outlying areas need representation 5 Big council area 12 Better representation, more

ideas and opinions

Leave as is Trees growing close to roadside

need to be managed.

Indiscriminate dumping of fill in

areas adjacent to suburbs338 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 North 1

South 1

East 1 & 2

West 1

We are your boss

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


339 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 North 1

South 1

East 1 & 2

West 1

We pay the money

340 HOUGHTON, SA Mayor Retain Wards So one group is not making all

decisions

5 12 Not sure

341 LOWER

HERMITAGE

Chairperson Retain Wards Better representation for outlying

areas

5 8 Leave as is

342 GUMERACHA Mayor Elected demographic vote Retain Wards Representation from local area

with local knowledge

5 Local rep who understands local

issues, rural issues

12 Diversity of interest and

representation

Torrens Valley This should have gone out with

rates notice to ensure maximum

response.343 BIRDWOOD Mayor More democratic to have

mayor elected by the

electorate not the councillors

Retain Wards Important to have representation

more targeted so that there is a

genuine voice for all

5 I see no reason to change

current system

10 2 per ward plus mayor No need to change

current names

otherwise its change

for the sake of

change344 BIRDWOOD Mayor Its important that the

community have a say on who

leads our region

Retain Wards This is important that every region

has a local representative to

advocate on their behalf

5 I am happy with the current

ward structure

10 2 per ward adequate in my

opinion

Happy with the

current ward names

345 CUDLEE CREEK Mayor Retain Wards It is more convenient to talk to a

local councillor than someone you

do not know

5 12 Gumeracha Council was taken

over by the Adelaide Hills Council.

Parts of Praire Road, Crouch Road

and Isaac Road have not received

any maintenance

346 BIRDWOOD Mayor It gives us a voice Retain Wards Ensures community

representatives not political

5 A good spread 12 The number works. Who is

saying it doesn't ??

What is so wrong

with what you have

I wonder who's asking for this

review? Councillors with political

links? A mayor who can't get his

own way? The mayor should be

an elected chairman not a

councillor. The council is a real

opportunity for real people,

elected by real people, to

represent an area with passion

and knowledge.

347 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As is

348 GUMERACHA Retain Wards So every ward has someone to look

after it. Different areas need

different things

5 12

349 GUMERACHA Chairperson Mayor can be influenced by

other people/groups in the

community

Retain Wards Yes so that it helps the particular

wards address the issues in it own

wards and monies for the wards

5 Its worked for all these years so

if not broken don't change it.

12 Leave as what we

have as easy to

recognise what area

and what ward it is.

And how would you

choose names for

new wards ????

Also I disagree with new housing

development as main roads wont

be able to handle extra traffic into

town, also water catchment,

drainage, flooding, fire risk, while

cost human life. I don't want to

become suburban life if I wanted

that that's where I would live.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


350 PARACOMBE Mayor Council size of AHC requires an

independently elected mayor

Retain Wards Important that there is individual

representation for specific regions

within the council area

5 Current situation - no reason to

change


change. Allows good cross

section of elected

representation

Prefer geographic

identifying names

There is absolutely no reason to

change the current structure.

Overwhelming support provided

previously NOT to change council.

Must be representive of

ratepayers requests - no change.

351 PARACOMBE Mayor Council size of AHC requires an

independently elected mayor

Retain Wards Important that there is individual

representation for specific regions

within the council area


change


change. Allows good cross

section of elected

representation

Prefer geographic

identifying names

There is absolutely no reason to

change the current structure.

Overwhelming support provided

previously NOT to change council.

Must be representive of

ratepayers requests - no change.

352 BIRDWOOD Mayor I believe the choice should

remain with the people

Retain Wards The wards allow the area to be

represented by multiple voices

rather than just one

5 Increases diversity of ideas 12 Again, diversity of ideas Keep the current

names.

353 STIRLING Mayor To prevent corrupt processes Retain Wards To ensure appropriate, effective

and ethical representation and

prevent corruption

5 System is safest and least

corruptible

12 More minds better thinking

capacity and hopefully better

control of the mayor

As they are seems

appropriate

354 BIRDWOOD Mayor This has come about because

the mayor has voted for his

own agenda

Retain Wards Wards give all sections of the

council area representation

5 The present number of wards

appear to have worked in the

past

12 This number has apparently

worked in the past

Leave as is. Why

change?

355 LOBETHAL Chairperson Retain Wards 5 12 See Attachment 2 for comments

356 KERSBROOK Mayor Democratic Retain Wards No elite club mentality 5 True representation 10 2 for each ward As is. No confusion

357 TELL US WHAT

YOU THINK

FEEDBACK

I am totally against the

abolishment of wards in the

Adelaide Hills Counci area. After

reading as much information on

this subject as I can I can see no

advantage in a no-ward council.

Our council area is so enormous

with very diversified ways of life.

We need to be able to vote for a

councillor who is familiar with the

area in which they live. How on

earth can someone who lives in eg

Kersbrook be able to know what

people in eg Crafers think or need,

let alone have time to visit or get

to know their constituents who

may live many miles away.

358 TELL US WHAT

YOU THINK

FEEDBACK

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


359 MT TORRENS Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As a member of the

Mt Torrens

community and

working with schools

in the Torrens Valley I

would like to see

adequate

representation on

council from

councillors who live

and work in this area

of the Adelaide Hills

360 PARACOMBE Chairperson We jointly prefer the option of

a chair person over an elected

mayor

We believe in a chairman

position rather than a

presidential position, as this

removes any personal bias.

Retain Wards We strongly believe in the

retention of the Ward system.

As the AHC is a very diverse region,

we believe that the rural and

suburban interests must have

equal representation, to ensure

there is no overly strong any one

particular regional control.

5 Having reviewed the Options

Paper, we strongly believe in a

council of varying opinions,

supporting all regions. We

believe that the best way to do

this is to retain the 5 Ward

system.

12 We support the current system

of 12 councillors.

Due to the high population of

some regions, we do support


councillors as we believe that

this fairly represents all

constituents.

We have no

particular opinions

about ward names

and are happy with

the current names.

We strongly believe in a

democratic representation which

by definition gives all regions an

equal voice.

By balancing the numbers of

electors in each Ward gives

support to the principal of one

person, one vote.

361 MYLOR Retain Wards See Attachment 2 for comments

362 CRAFERS Election by popular vote is

more democratic and gives

electors a direct say

Retain Wards I can’t think of anything in favour of

abolishing wards - and the

justifications appearing in The

Courier don't do the authors any

favours

5 The current system works - it

aint broke and changing it won't

'fix it'

12 Current situation works 1st preference based

on geographical

locations (Woodside

or North etc)

2nd preference -

something else which

makes the wards

place obvious - not

named after people

363 ALDGATE Chairperson Retain Wards Local representation (like State

elected politicians in Federal

Parliament)

5 Existing system works

satisfactorily

11 An odd number so that there is

a decision without a Mayor. At

least 11

No reason for change

364 CRAFERS Chairperson Retain Wards Wards represent like ratepayers

with local issues

5 Existing system is ok 11 No Mayor so need odd number

for decision

No need for change

365 BRIDGEWATER Chairperson Retain Wards Councillors are representing us, not

a district

5 Should have more, not less

wards for local people. This is

local government. Not politics.

13 Should have more, not less than

councillors to ensure no

deadlock on voting with

chairperson

no change necessary

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


366 CRAFERS Mayor To stop cliché voting Retain Wards We are such an enormous

geographical area, if we abolish

wards there would quite posibly be

no representation for the little

populations on the edges - become

even more Stirling/Aldgate etc

focussed (and I'm a person who

lives in this area and I don't think it

fair)

5 I feel that we have a

responsibility to make sure that

people's opinins are heard

regardless of where they live. If

you reduce the wards there will

be less chance of opinions being

heard.

12 Retain present names Why are you even considering

this. What is the plan in all this?

If I lived at Gumeracha etc I would

be very worried that my voice

would not be heard. Instead I

would have no representation as

a farmer (say) as those voted in

would be suburbanites. Is this all

about centralising power?

367 CRAFERS Chairperson Retain Wards Local representatives in the District

should remain

5 No reason for less. Existing

system is right.

11 Why change?

368 INGLEWOOD Mayor I believe this to be more

democratic and gives the

people a say

Retain Wards To provide readily accessible

enquiries to a local person who if

familiar with the local area and

usally the person is known to the

elected member which makes

progress more friendly

5 This provides a functional spread

of duties amongst elected

members of the council

12 Min of 2 per ward - I believe it

could be 3 per ward in some

instances but this may become

difficult to manage for an

inadequate mayor

as is I seriously believe it is scandalous

that this push is still going on -

council knows the public opinion -

leave as is. This money $50,000

approx could be used to do so

much good for the residents and

isn't this why we have a local govt

to improve our living environment

and facilities. Same on thos

members who persist in this cause

and to staff if they are also

pushing for this action.

369 INGLEWOOD Mayor Residents need have a say Retain Wards Local representation says it all.

Mylor-Stirling-Aldgate is not local

to Birdwood-Gumeracha-Kersbrook

nor is ti compatible in most other

ways.

5 5 seems to be working so leave

it. The only other option would

be 4 with Torrens Valley not a

member of AHC which is

probably what most would

prefer.

12 Larger wards 3 per ward if

deemed necessary

as is Why continue with this action? It

may be providing a justification

for some employees job but the

community as a whole don't want

it to happen. A complete waste of

money use funds to clear the

burnt dead trees in the Kersbrook-

Inglewood area - they are a

danger to people.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


370 GUMERACHA Mayor Strongly agree. The elected

Mayorality by the people gives

a unity and an authority to the

role of head of council. The

popularly elected Mayor

assumes an accountability for

the council as a whole.

Retain Wards Wards provide: 1 local knowledge

of candidates - councillor 2 local

knowledge by candidates

councillors 3 accountability both

ways 4 follows State & Federal

accountable electorates 5 Avoids

election by lists

3 This provides a distinct locality

for representation by known

councillors and ensures loal

knowledge by the councillors

and effective responsibilty and

accountability.

12 I endorse the effectivensss of

the curent number and the

distribution among wards.

For 3 wards a simple

geographic locality -

Northern, Central,

Southern is

suggested but I

believe the number

of wards far for

important than the

names

Both the House of

Representatives Fed and the

Lower House (State) follow the

electorate system of election and

accountable office of the elected.

The Senate and Upper House

(state) a list of mostly unknown

and less acocutable if at all.

People need to be able to vote for

or against canddates not just for a

list. this is most important. I am

informed that the former

Woodside Army barracks is

compoosed of 80 separate house

units - not counted in this

boundary composition and that

the inclusion of Montacute along

the Hills Face, with district 1 goes

against the regulations pertaining

to commercial access - ie the

direct road link Montacue to

Region 1 is Corkscrew Road

otherwise needing to travel south

vhe via region 2 to access region

1. if this is a real anomaly it needs

to be further investigated. i need

not nullify the proposed

boundaries. Electors can remedy

the item by voting.

371 LOBETHAL Mayor The people/ratepayers elect a

mayor for all the communities

in the Adelaide Hills Council.

One that supports our right to

live and farm on the land for

future generations of Suth

Australians.

Retain Wards Our country and rural communities

are in favour of retaining the ward

structure. Lobethal's 175 years in

Torrens Valley/Onkaparinga Valley

area born for freedom of religion,

expression and vote for democracy

in the Adeliade Hills Council and

beyond.

5 Retention of five wards the

Adelaide Hills Council is too large

for reduced wards and our

elected Mayor and the local

councillors easier to

service/communicate face to

face with the ratepayers he or

she represents.

12 12 councillors to adequate

represent the electors we

believe suburban and rural

ratepayers have different issues

relating to their location. All

ratepayers must be given a fair

and adequate representation

best served by 12 councillors.

Status quo/historical,

keep the names

(current) for the five

wards the same.

We believe thos rapepayers nd

residents that responded to the

elector representation reiew. In

particular those ratepayers and

residents who attended public

consultation/workshop at

Gumeracha (rural living/farm

communities) . Close to or 100%

were not in favour of no wards,

retain wards for the democracy of

our rural communities in the

Adelaide Hills Council. Election of

local people to support us.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


372 LOBETHAL Mayor Ratepayers would expect to

vote for the mayor in the AHC.

A person who they believe will

be the best person to represent

them in the Adelaide Hills. Our

democracy retained.

Retain Wards Please keep AHC wards. AHC is too

large an area for councillors to

adequately attend care for

ratepayer issues and concerns in

the suburban area and rural areas.

5 Keep five wards. Ratepayer elect

a local person to care, vote and

service all ratepayers

issues/concerns in their ward as

above the AHC is too large an

area for smaller wards. Does

the AHC expect councillors to

drive and work all day meeting

ratepayer face to face personal

council issues.

12 12 councillors will provide the

fairest andmost adequate

reprsentaiton to the ratepayers

and residents in the AHC. Again

AHC too large an area for less

councillors. 12 is more

democratic.

Again, I beieve we

should keep the

same names of the

current wards -

Manoah, Mt Lofty,

Torrens Valley,

Onkaparinga Valley in

favour of the above

five wards retained.

Keep AHC five wards as I was

given a map at a meeting

(Gumeracha) on the 6 October

2016. Enclosed is a map AHC I

have used Adelaide Hills Coucil

Option 1, but with my boundary

ajustment and the fitures of

electors 28,766 not the August

2016 representation Option paper

page 6 of 28,362 electors.

373 ASHTON Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 retain existing names

374 ASHTON Chairperson 1If two able people stand for

Mayor only one can be eelcted

and we lose the second as a

councillor 2 most committees

etc elect someone with whom

they can work constructively

Retain Wards AHC covers a wide area with a

number of significat major

industries/interests - grazing,

orchards, vineyards, large and

small manufacturing, tourism.

These tend to be grouped into the

wards and hence need a ocal

product champion.

5 5 appears to work well - why

change it

12 seems to work well but an odd

number with the chair having a

casting vote (preferably just

one vote) makes for clear

decisions

current names seem

appropriate but

Manoah has no

significance for me

We have a reaonable arrangment

with many advantages especially

feeling that we are represented.

The danger of no wards is the

proven tendency for party politics

to intrude and to dominate. The

recent comments in the Courier re

Barossa Council refer to a very

different circumstance/

balances/environments.

375 SOUTH

PLYMPTON

Abolish Wards See Attachment 2 for comments

376 NARRABUNDAH Abolish Wards See Attachment 2 for comments

377 UPPER

HERMITAGE

Mayor Abolish Wards 0 None Other None Greedy, uninterested

(until elections) self

interested, hidden,

irrevelevant

This council seems to have a

ruling elite attitude we see

nobody from council ever. You

raise a separate rate and force 6

residents to pay for the sealing of

Verrall Rd North end, we have

aksed for (north end) the sides of

the road to be cleared of

weeds/cactus/olve trees and

general fire fuel - no response no

feedback no action nothing at all,

so I beieve you are no value at all

to the area I live in, our rate would

be lower which can only be a

good thing

378 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 Larger wards - 2, smaller wards -

1

ok as is

379 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 For fair and equal

representation of home owners

property owners concerns

10 Larger wards - 2 councilors

smaller ward - 1 councillor

doesn't matter - ok to

continue with current

names

380 HUMBUG SCRUB Chairperson The councillors would probably

be best placed as to who would

make a better leader amongst

the group

Retain Wards seems to work as is 5 keep what we have 10 Two per ward (if wards are

divided equally by population)

stay as is

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


381 GUMERACHA Mayor Our principle member of

council should be a person to

whom the shole electorate

respects and not a person who

is popular amongst elected

councillors

Retain Wards The ward system as it currently

stands provides all areas of the

Adelaide Hills Council with a voice

that understands and represents

their own area of the council

5 I see no reason to change a

system that works well and is

seeing to the needs of the

ratepayers

12 as above. I see no reasonable

argument as to why this should

change

Ward names should

be relevant to the

area that they cover.

I'm sure our elected

members can do this

thing correctly.

I believe very strongly that if the

wards are removed from Adelaide

Hills Council then it would mean

council will be heavily biased by a

majority of members from the

more heavily populated areas

leaving the more outlying areas

basically forgotten. It is hard

enough already to get anythign

done in Torrens Valley ward.

Removing our ward coucnillors

will mean we will be totally

forgotten as ratepayers.

382 KERSBROOK Mayor The Mayor should have an

interest in all wards and not

just the ward he resides in

Retain Wards Each ward should have one

representative that resides in that

ward

5 The 5 wards have worked well 12 Keep the existing

wad names

The 90% of residents who

opposed the removal of wards

should be respected. The

councillors who attempted to

remove the wards in such an

underhand manner should be

removed form the council. They

have shown themselves to be

without integrity.383 GUMERACHA Mayor Isn't this still a democracy? Retain Wards At the northern end of the council

we need representation. Without

wards this representation will

diminish. Some towns in the north

still do not have running water in

2017.

5 a number of wards so individual

districts within council receive

representation.

12 adequate representation This is not an

important and does

ot reflect the issue.

Over 90% voted in favour of

retaining wards last time. Council

officers including the Mayor

refused to acknowledge this

during meetings. Democracy is

still a way of life in the country

isn't it. I hope councillors start

listening.

384 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 12

385 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 The same name

386 WILLIAMSTOWN Chairperson I misread the question. The

Chairperson must be

ambivalent and understand

fully the requirements of a

chairperson. He also must be

chosen by a free vote of the

councillors, according to the

constitution thereby.

Retain Wards It is important that wards remain

as is, to give all

persons/residents/owners a say in

the governing of their district, and

through their specific

representative (local member)

5 Refer to above comments 10 This gives 2 electoral/elected

councillors per ward

The names of the

wards is

understandable as

printed on the map

of Adelaide Hills

Council ward areas.

Thewards so named

are adequate,

recognisable and

already legal.

387 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 Remain the same

could consider

Warren instead of

Torrens Valley Ward

388 HOUGHTON Mayor Retain Wards 5 10


No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs



391 RIDGEHAVEN Mayor It's appropriate (and better) for

the Mayor to be upholden to

voters rather than other

councillors

Retain Wards AHC is georgraphically and socially

disparate. Wards allow that

diversity to be adequately

reflected. The abolition of wards

would allow the southern end of

the AHC to be ignored.

5 Current system working well 12 12 is a reasoanble number and

fairly standard across the

metropolitan area. It gives AHC

access to a cross section of

talents and expertise

n/a The elected members should pay

close attention to the results of

the consultation

392 KERSBROOK Mayor If elected by the people he or

she is more likely to be less

likely to be influenced by the

councillors

Abolish Wards Hopefully we can reduce the

number of employees

not

stated

5 One for each ward if retained Names after the

major town in each

ward

Torrens Valley ward is by far the

largest area land wise. If as I

suggested each ward has 1 rep

maybe Torrens Valley would be

represented a lot better

393 NOT SUPPLIED See Attachment 2

Copy of letter received from Tom

Kenyon MP with handwritten

comments394 ALDGATE Chairperson the councillors will know the

person more particularly than

the general voting population.

Our last experience of the

mayor using a casting vote was

totally against the will of the

people.

Retain Wards A ward resident councillor will not

only know the people better they

will also understand the local needs

and because of this they will care

more for us and what we desire. A

representative residing in eg

Gumeracha wouldn't know Mylor

existed

5 5 wards 10 representatives a

very manageable number in any

meeting

10 Two councillors in 3 wards and

3 in 2 wards? The number of

electors shouldn't be

considered, it's giving the 2

wards unfair advantage, the

area should also be considered.

retain our current 5

names. They are

sensible, local, and

constantly changing

names achieves

nothing. Keep our

familiarity.

I have heard that some councils

that have changed to the non

ward system are contemplating

returning to the ward system.

How much would it cost to

change? Is the cost (any cost)

worth it.

395 STIRLING Mayor Having a mayor gives all the

councillors the opportunity to

choose their leader

Retain Wards This gives the opportunity for less

densely populated area to have a

representative from their area.

The ward system allows but does

not stop them selecting

representatives from anywhere in

the council area. This is the reason

Federal State Parliamentary Lower

House seats are created. If no

divisions system was used it would

be possible for all federal

politicians to come from the 1.7

million people on the eastern

seaboards - wards are more

democratic.

5 Gives the opportunity for more

reasonable representation for

the varied areas in the council.

Population variations can be

easily adjusted.

12 Existing numbers are

satisfactory

Satisfactory as they

are - why change and

confuse people

It is disappointing that this review

was not in the Hills Voice or

advertised to encourage people to

respond. People I have been

talking to were not aware of the

first survey and feel it’s a waste of

time submitting a review as the

publicity after the previous review

appears to be reluctantly

accepted. Of course it may result

that the anti for wards have

organised a reversal of the

numbers.

396 NOT SUPPLIED Mayor A lot of councillors are corrupt

and just in it for the money.

Imagine the dogy deals that

could happen

Retain Wards I went through the amalgamation

of Gumeracha with Stirling thanks

to Milton Checker many years ago

and look what happens to poor old

Gum - nothing, Stirling gets

everything

5 I think 5 is quite acceptable 10 Let's get rid of a couple and

save some money

Leave them as be NOT TO BE INCLUDED AS IT DOES

NOT CONTAIN THE DETAILS OF

THE SUBMITTOR

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


397 GUMERACHA Chairperson Allows members of council to

stand for chairman without

risking departure from the

council if not successful. But

he/she could still be called the

Mayor

Retain Wards Torrens Valley ward is large,

remote and enough on its own for

a councillor to get to know and

serve. (Electioneering personally is

impossible for the whole council

area)

5 It is population based now 10 The map provided by AHC

shows 5 wards so why are there

12 councillors? 2 per ward - 10

councillrs

As before -

geographically

indicative

Why change it? Reasons to do so

have not been provided. We

remain unconvinced.

398 PARACOMBE Mayor Because the Mayor has been

elected by the community and

is the popular representative of

the entire council area

Retain Wards The wards system ensures that

every community has its own

representative with local

knowledge

5 The greater numer of wars the

better representation of each

community. The review of

community opinion undertaken

in 208/2009 shuld be upheld as

little has changed

12 Twelve provided each ward is

reprsented on a per capita basis

Most wards seem

appropriately names.

Manoah ward could

be renamed Scott

Creek in keeping with

the other

georgraphical ward

names. Sturt Valley

couuld be another

option for Mnaoah

Ward.

Even if only a relatively small

proportion of hills residents

respond to the review it is vital

that council listen and respect the

views of those who have made

the effort. Also as with polls these

views would represent the

broader community view.

399 ONE TREE HILL Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Existing names ok

400 HUMBUG SCRUB Chairperson Retain Wards This iwill insure better

representation for my area

5 same reason as 2 5 one for each ward current ward names

are fine401 GUMERACHA Mayor Why should councillors be able

to choose one of their mates as

mayor

Retain Wards Wards must be retained to give all

areas representation. Our

neighbour at 774B and us at 774a

Forreston Road are frustrated with

the way we are treated by council

regarding any work on what is new

road which leads into our

properties

5 Could almost be six to divide in

half Torrens Valley Ward

12 It it was 2 councillors each for

Manoah, Mt Lofty and Marble

Hill warsd and the other six for

Torrens Valley and Onkaparinga

it would perhaps stop the

emphasis on the Stirling,

Aldgate areas

as is As I said frustrated as we are

amost to Barossa Council

boundary. For example the

council tip truck with approx 10

ton of rubble out the front

approached foreman of group

making mess of forest area fo 2

shovels of rubble for small hole in

water pipe across our entrance

was told that's your problem

402 FORRESTON Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 same as before why change some thing that is not

broken just for the few403 ONE TREE HILL Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Existing names ok

404 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 stay as is

405 GUMERACHA Mayor directly influenced by

ratepayers

Retain Wards better representation for areas of

lower population

5 no need to change 11 equal representation of each

ward (2 councillors per ward,

plus Mayor)

no reason to change

406 ingLEWOOD Mayor I feel this powerful position

needs to be held by a person

who is as unbiased as possible

someone who is less likely to

be influenced by fellow

councillors if he/she is not

elected by them

Retain Wards no wards would make it too easy

for the more poulated and capital

intensive areas to be given too

much influence/finance

5 5 wards allows for better

representation by lowering the

coucnillor/resident ratio. It

would also educe the workload

for a conscientious councillor

10 I feel we should have

representation similar to the

Australian senate ie the same

number of councillors for each

ward ie 5 wards - 10

councillors. Councillors in the

more populated wards could be

given more staff to help with

their higher workload.

I feel the naming of

wards is not an

important issue. The

current names are

fine.

I have real concerns about hidden

agendas that these people

pushing for no wards may have. I

have yet to hear a good/valid

reason for doing away with wards.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


407 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 4 Put Mt Lofty & Manoah toether

as one

8 don't need 12 to do what has to

be done

no ideas can't get roadwork done on Stone

Quarry Road (1 a year). Be good

to have something done around

our town like other town have

Kersbrook forgotten all the time.

408 KERSBROOK Chairperson This would prevent an elected

mayor from exercising a casting

vote contrary to convention as

recnetly occureed when

elected members voted - in the

absence of 2 councillors who

didn't support abolishing wards

with the mayors casting vote in

support of abolishing wards,

winning the day. Convention

sees casting votes supporting

the status quo.

Retain Wards Adelaide Hills is a diverse

municipality. Communities such as

Kersbrook need representation by

people who know th eparish pump

issues. Our current representatives

exemplify they care.

5 retain the status quo and realign

the bounaries - simple. Just like

federal and state electorates.

12 It isn't broken why fix it? The

bigger wards could have 2 +

elected members. Determined

by area to be covered rather

then numbers on the roll.

Not Spragg ward.

Why is this an issue

now?

I have made previous responses

and when push came to shove my

community participation was

ignored by 7 people. Why I

wonder will this be any different?

409 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards council has not managed to

convince me as a resident of

Inglewood that my interests will be

adequatley represented by

someone residing in Stirling

5 11 or

10

can drop some Crs off wards

that have 3 and rezone so it is

fairer

I really don't mind

what you call them

provided I have local

representation to

assist us

410 INGLEWOOD Blank Retain Wards 5 10 review ward boundaries to

achieve 2 councillors per ward

411 INGLEWOOD Mayor a mayor should be elected by

the community not be a

possible block of biased

councillors

Retain Wards no wards could lead to more

centralisation of funds spending

5 12 would suggest some wards

(because of size) have up to 4

councillors et Torrens Valley

ward vs Mt Lofty ward. With 4

councillors Torrens Valley ward

may be able to attract more

funds

Names do not

matter. It is the fair

distribution of funds

which is our primary

concern.

We like the majority of ratepayers

in Inglewood believe we are the

forgotten town of the Adelaide

Hills Council. The only activity we

see from the council is bin

collection and the arrival of rates

notices.


413 KERSBROOK Mayor is more representative of the

people

Retain Wards remain as current 5 12 more councillors are able to

spend adequate time on

matters of its members

remain the same



416 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards keep wards - maintain broader

representation across the

electorate

5 to ensure the outlying areas

have a voice

10 2 from each of 5 wards no comment

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


417 INGLEWOOD Mayor the community should decide

our elected leader

Retain Wards Loacl issues need to be taken to the

person elected to our immediate

area. Our ward certainly needs a

voice in coucnil

5 maintains an even spread of

councillors across the council

area

12 stay the same historical and

geographic description

the council need to

listen to us the

electros and not push

their own agendas.

Ward abolishment

would put all of the

power in the high

population areas.

418 KERSBROOK Mayor we are a democracy. Let each

person have a say.

Retain Wards 5 12 remain unchanged Local knowledge very important.

Local councillors very important.

In the old Gumeracha Council

days Dad as mayor and well

known councillors treated others

as extended family, but without

wards I think many would be

neglected.

419 PARACOMBE Mayor the people should have the

right to choose their mayor

they are the ratepayers

Retain Wards without wards the bigger

communities will get the most

attention as they already do. The

smaller communities are already

forgotten by council.

4 Mt Lofty & Manoah should be

merged

8 4 wards 2 councillors from each Keep the same

except Mt Lofty

Maoah which should

be called Manoah

when merged. Mt

Lofty doesn't truly

reflect the ward.

420 KERSBROOK Mayor democratic way Retain Wards council is too big and councillors

need to represent the people in

their area not try and know

everything in the oversized council

area. Then we have a dedicated

person to listen to our concerns.

5 council area is too big 12 council area is too big and too

diverse

Unimportant and

inconsequential

Mayor should be impartial and

accountable


422 INGLEWOOD Mayor makes for a fairer

representation of public

opinion

Retain Wards makes it fairer on the less

populated wards

3 perhaps join Torrens Valley with

Onkaparinga, and Marble Hill,

Mt Lofty & Manoah

10 Torrens Valley/Onkaparinga,

Marble Hill/Manoah

423 ONE TREE HILL Mayor Retain Wards leave as is 5 Humbug Scrub needs to be

recognised as part of Adelaide

Hills Council

12 How about a Humbug Scrub

ward

we reside in Humbug

Scrub and seem to be

forgotten. We even

have to call the

council to grade our

road occasionally.

We pay high council

rates for very little

return.

424 FORRESTON Mayor Let the communityi decide not

the factions

Retain Wards better fairer representation 5 local representation of local

issues

12 equal representation same, makes no

difference

This reminds me of the

circumstances surrounding the

formation of the Hills Council

(amalgamation) the majority of

Gumeracha residents voted no

but our councillors voted yes.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


425 HUMBUG SCRUB Mayor unless. How would a

chairperson work out money

wise? Would a chirperson be

as committed timewise as f full

tim, heavily paid mayor. If a

chirperson would mean less

money paid out thus more

money for ratepayers (off

page)

Retain Wards the area is very big - sections under

a ward are still neglected so

imagine if it was just one big ward

5 6 six would be even better if

Humbug Scrub could be in a

smaller represented ward.

10 don't see our rep now so

reduce this area to to wards

and put extra money into more

actions in the wards

leave them the same

thus no more costs to

rename and thus no

extra need to put up

rates

why haven't we received any info

from Cr Malcolm Herrmann on

this? Or from the Mayor?

Someone is expecting a big win

from no wards and it will certainly

not be the local residents.

426 PARACOMBE Mayor this removes the mayor from

direct affiliation with any

particular ward

Retain Wards each ward should have a direct say

without council members from

higher population wards

controlling proceedings

5 five wards is adequate but

should be increased to spread

ratepayer participation

especially in areas of high

population density

12 same reasoning as for number

of wards

names should relfect

the particular areas

as commonly known

as with some governments

council should consider having

meetings in respective wards to

give ratepayers the opportunity to

see how the system works


428 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards Kersbrook is the poor relation in

the hills at present and without

ward will only be further

disadvantage

5 10

429 PARACOMBE Mayor Retain Wards we need to have wards so that our

voice in districts such as

Paracombe, Inglewood, Houghton

etc are heard. Without

representation we would be

completely forgotten about

5 12

430 NOT SUPPLIED Mayor prefer the democratic process Retain Wards more representative of people's

opinions in local areas

5 keep it local 12

431 KERSBROOK Mayor would prefer mayor elected by

vote

Retain Wards I feel as we are small townships we

need our own reps

3 easier to manage 10

432 KERSBROOK Mayor I want choice Retain Wards we want equal representation and

not little towns being overlooked

5 keep at 5 but maybe even up

the areas

12 much fairer decision making

process, smaller number makes

worse decisions

keep as is

433 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards wards ensure representation from

all across council

5 5 allows council to be divded

smallish areas to ensure every

one is represented

10 2 from each ward should do names are not

particularly

important. Keep the

same.434 ingLEWOOD Mayor Protects from in house

partisanship and allows

residents to elect the mayor

they feel will represent them

fairly

Retain Wards ensures local representation 5 or morethere appears to be an unfair

bias to Stirling, Aldgate and

Crafers. There should be more

wards to ensure fair

representation, eg 7

7 There should be 1 councillor

per ward otherwise how do you

ensure fairness in voting and

decision making. For example

the number of wards should

increase to say 7 and the

number of councillors decrease

to match. Saving the council

and residents heaps of money,

supporting councillors.

don't really care

about names just

about fairness - they

could just be

numbered - it doesn't

matter

whilst we understand that the

majority of population lives in

Stirling, Aldgate, Crafers and

Bridgewater they shouldn't justify

where all the funding for

footpaths, green waste collection,

street lighting and other basic

services should go. This has been

allowed by an over representation

of councillors from these areas -

clearly unfair and undemocratic.


No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs



437 KERSBROOK Mayor Try and keep some sort of

independence and lack of bias

Retain Wards better would be to admit council

amalgamation failed and make it

back to all rural and suburbs ie split

AHC into 2 councils

5 more the better 12 more the better stop corruption who cares The mayor should behave and

follow the intent of the law has

heard of democratic process -

obviously no

438 PARACOMBE Mayor I live in Paracombe where there

is very little expenditure in the

area by the council to begin

with. By having other

councillors vote in their choice

would leave ratepayers without

a voice as to who get in as

councillor, particularly (off

page)

Retain Wards We need to main wards to retain

our identity when negotiating

works in our area

5 12 maintaining 12 councillors gives

a better opportunity for fair

representation

why change? Not

broken.

439 PARACOMBE Mayor Ratepayers to have a say

instead of friends (councillors)

only have a say

Retain Wards being in Torrens Valley Ward (the

ward furthermost distance from

southern wards). We would be

forgotten even more. Do not

remove wards.

5 14 More for Torrens Valley remain the same More attention to roads & verges

(broaden roads) especially in

Paracombe area. Bikes-cars-

trucks & walkers do not fit.

Verges need repair. Torrens Valley

ward is so far from the council

centre (the fogotten race)

difference between town/city &

rural 440 ST AGNES Mayor elected by the many, not the

few

Retain Wards fair say by all 5 reasonable 10 2 per ward leave as it

441 PARACOMBE Mayor we pay rates and should have a

say in who the principal

member of council should be

Retain Wards we definitely need wards to

safeguard our voice in local

government

5 The current number of wards

should be representative

enough

11 2 per ward and the mayor

should be adequate

the ward names are

ok and quote

irrelevant

442 KERSBROOK Mayor the mayor represents the

people not the counillors so

should be voted in by the

people

Retain Wards small wards will be looked after

individually in what they need

5 the people vote in the

councillors to do what the

people want

12 it has worked well in the past,

why change it?

one, two, three, four,

five why complicate

things?

I think it is in the interest of

ratepayers to be represented by a

coucnillor living within their area.

Otherwise it would be unfair

when the monies are allocated to

each district. They are obviously

going to be in favour of where

they live.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


443 KERSBROOK Chairperson It seems when we have a

mayor (like Spragg) it goes to

their head and they can't see

the big picture

Retain Wards having wards gives us all a better

go. We find areas like Stirling have

the best don't worry about those

over that way. It was the

Gumeracha coucnil that got them

out of hot water when we

amalgamated.

5 it makes it easier for people to

get their area seen to.

12 these people are doing their

best to keep the country going.

Sometimes less is best. But it

allows the coucnillors to take

with the people on good terms.

As it is seems to work

ok. Old saying if it

ain't broke leave it

alone

I feel the council office is

overloaded. They said when

computers came in they wouldn't

need so many in the office. Some

of these people need to get out in

the ground force. Check how

many gardener they have in

Stirling. Only 14 blokes to do the

hard work. This doesn't add up to

me.

The contracter you have in this

area can't follow plans. Checker

Hill will show how to straighten a

corner. The plan we were given at

the resident meeting did have a

straighter corner. But it seems it

got too hard for them to work

out. Build upon bottom side

would have made it better. Gravel

trucks that use this road can tell

you its not as easy now to get

around the bend. if another truck

comes along one has to stop to let

the other pass. On the Gum side

it wasn't 12 months and the road

became potholes because no pipe

was put across the road to take

the water. So the coucnil boys

had to come and fix it. I would

have thought it would be up to

the contractor to come back and 444 KERSBROOK Mayor Mayor should be determined

by the community he or she is

elected to govern over

Retain Wards residents should be able to raise

matters that affect them in their

ward to ward representative to

their loal issues can be heard and

dealt with

5 see comments above in question

2

12 This will allow residents to raise

local issues that affect them to

their councillor who is living in

that area. We do not want to

lose our voice.

I am happy with the

current ward names

My area of Kersbrook already

does not receive enough attention


446 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards so small communities will still be

represented

5 10 same as now

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


447 HUMBUG SCRUB Chairperson reduce costs to ratepayers.

Mayor elected by population

centre (Mt Lofty ward) Stirling

to Bridgewater area. Mayoral

terms too long and expensive.

Retain Wards wards guarantee local, direct

reprentation and protect smaller,

forgotten areas like Humbug Scrub.

When contacting coucnil the

majority of staff don't know

Humbug Scrub is in counnil area let

alone where it is.

5 current wards provide some

protection for former council

areas taken over by Stirling

Coucnil. Wards ensure local

councillors can support their

local areas. Reduce costs for

potential councillors and council

for elections and supplementary

elections.

11 3 councillors for Mt Lofty, 2 for

all other wards - chairperson to

come from this number an

donly have vote if impasse

Torrens Valley to

become Gumeracha.

Onkaparinga to

become Woodside.

Marble Hill to

become Norton

Summit. Manoah to

become Mylor. Mt

Lofty to become

Stirling. These names

would then show the

origins of the wards

and their

geographical

location.

The mayor and councillors have

wasted ratepayers money with

this exercise in centralising power

and those who support this

proposal should be personally

responsible for repaying all costs.

Retaining wrds will allow those

without council or political

support can afford to run.

448 WILLIAMSTOWN Mayor do not trust council not to just

rotate a chairperson around an

interest group that hold sway

in council

Retain Wards wards help the whole area of the

council to be represented

4 Join Mt Lofty & Manoah

together

10 2 per ward and 2 independent Southern, Northern,

Eastern and Western

Hills

449 INGLEWOOD Chairperson this provides better

representation of the interests

of wards with smaller

population which are often

forgotten.

Retain Wards for reason contained in this paper

mail out.

Inglewood/Houghton/Hermitage

and Paracombe have since time

immemorial lived at the extremity

of Highercombe, Tea Tree Gully

and Gumeracha coucnils (now Adel

Hill) an dhave been ignored.

5 more wards provides better

local representation and

communication

12 see no 3 above no change is required You need to be living in the

district to understand the needs

of the district. Torrens Valley &

Onkaparinga Valley wards are

significantly different in needs to

Manoah and Mt Lofty Wards

450 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards small communities may not get a

representative at all. Large

communities could get unlimited

representatives.

5 10 same as now



453 BRIDGEWATER Chairperson the would be mayor has

already gone thorugh one

successful election why do it

twice? Just a waste of public

money, let the councillors

choose.

Retain Wards wards give residents a feeling of

belonging, an identity within the

broader community. If it aint

broken, why mess with it?

5 a broader representation

provides a more democratic

society and allows for localised

issues to be identified by local

coucnillors.

12 twelve councillors should

provide fair and adequate cover

of my suggested five

(minimum) wards and prevents

a dictatorial small group

deciding every issue without

challenge.

Nothing fancy choose

names that clearly

identify the ward

area so its residents

can relate to same.

within the Adelaide Hills there are

a number of smaller communities -

the residents in these small

villages do not deserve to be

conveniently buried and forgotten

- Forreston springs readily to

mind.



No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


456 INGLEWOOD Mayor A chairperson elected by

councillors could allow a group

of councillors undue influence

and corrupt practices as has

recently happened in Sydney

with property developers on

the council.

Retain Wards Adelaide Hills Council is

geographically large with a

population concentraton in one

area that seems to dominate. We

want representation by a ward

centric councillor. We didn't want

Gumeracha Coucnil amalgamated

into Hills Counicl because we knew

we would become irrelevant and to

a large extent, that has happened.

Consultation found over 80% didn't

want it but it happened anyway.

No wards would complete our non

representation.

4 Preferred option is option 2.

Twelve councillors and four

wards. More even distribution.

12 Each ward should have the

same number of

representatives.

Torrens Valley,

Onkaparinga Valley,

Marble Hill, Mt Lofty

why did we get this form and

information about this issue from

our State MP? A cynical person

migh conclude that council had a

certain outcome in mind,

especially waiting for some

members to absent for the vote.

The consultation was deemed

unsatisfactory as well, leading a

suspicious peron to question

sneaky procedures to get an

outcome certain councillors

wanted.

457 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards if wards are abolished we would be

left out and the major areas eg Mt

Lofty Ward would have more say

5 every ward has different types

of living some rural areas and

others more residential. The

smaller areas have more

residents and more say.

12 we are the largest area and

need councillors from this area

who understand our problems.

Toreens Valley and

Onkaparinga are more rural and

require diffent outlooks to

Marble Hill and Mt Lofty which

are more residential areas.

I like the ward names

we have. We live in

the Torrens Valley

Water Catchment

area with reservoirs

that supply the city,

so the name is

appropriate.

we need to be represented by

councillors who understand our

areas and can help us with any

needs or problems.

458 KERSBROOK Mayor democracy Retain Wards democracy 5 11 Paradise ward

459 NOT SUPPLIED Mayor Retain Wards to ensure local representation 5 Minimum of 4 but preferably 5 -

to ensure fair representation of

all residents across all areas

10 minimum of 10 No specific

suggestions but

names should be

representative of the

areas the wards

cover460 GUMERACHA Chairperson Retain Wards Because Adelaide Hills is a vast and

varied area - needs local

representation

5 Because Adelaide Hills is a vast

and varied area - needs local

representation

12 The more councillors we have -

hopefully will lead to varied

opinions which reach a sensible

outcome

OK as now

461 BIRDWOOD Mayor Give residents a choice in

process

Retain Wards To give all areas a voice in council 5 To broaden the influence of

residents

12 Maximise resident influence As is

462 INGLEWOOD Mayor Mayor needs to be elected by

the community on the basis of

open policies and vision for the

district

retain Wards I'm very much against abolising the

current wards. The 'no wards'

approach would allow special

interest groups to take over

5 I would only agree to increase in

number of wards if population

was increased. Alternatively

retain same number but vary

boundaries to balance

population /ratepayers per ward

required

12 Current names are

fine

463 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As they are

464 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 Same as present

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


465 KERSBROOK Mayor Must be elected by community Retain Wards To provide a fair representation fo

all residents especially farmers and

landowners who often are

overlooked compared with highly

populated towns

5 It is a huge area - needs to be

covered by as many wards as

possible

12 This is a large physical area with

a large population of many

different requirements

leave as is

466 KERSBROOK Mayor The mayor should be serving

the people so should be voted

in by the people

Retain Wards Kersbrook is already last on the list

for anything if we do not have

wards we will be completely

forgotten

5 12 What is wrong with

the names we

already have

467 INGLEWOOD Mayor Democracy at work Retain Wards Fairer representation 5 Any lesser number would mean

no representation in smaller

populated areas

12 Any lesser number would mean

no representation in smaller

populated areas

Inglewood as one.

Remainder don't care


469 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards To properly represent all of the

Adelaide Hills area

5 To ensure the northern hills

zone is properly represented

12

470 NOT SUPPLIED Mayor Any other method is despotic

and not truly democratic

Retain Wards Abolishment would mean

dominated by more popular areas

like Stirling

5 11 11 in addition to mayor so

mayor does not have in effect a

veto power by his vote tipping

the balance if there were an

even no of councillors as is now

the case.

Irrelevent issue

471 ONE TREE HILL Mayor Retain Wards We must be represented. We need

basic services in our area

5 12 As a resident of Humbug Scrub we

are very concerned about the lack

of services in our area. It gives us

no joy to receive glossy brochures

showing all the spending that is

spent on the other side of the

hills. When will it be our turn to

get basic services?

472 KERSBROOK Mayor I believe that the Mayor Elect is

the best way to represent the

community where a single

person is to be the

representative

Retain Wards Kersbrook as an outer suburb will

be represented by our choice of a

local representative

5 The system works now. Why

reinvent the wheel

12 12 for the AHC appears to be

working well. 2 from Torrens

Valley

No change in ward

names

We are very happy with our

elected representatives but most

unhappy when important

decisions are made in their

scheduled absence.473 INGLEWOOD Mayor People to elect mayor - not

some unknown councillor

Retain Wards Withour wards most councillors

would not know where Millbrook is

5 10

474 GUMERACHA Mayor community to have a say as to

representative of council, not

just councillors

Retain Wards Better representation 5 Better representation 12 Remain the same,

why change?

475 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 Happy to leave as

they are named476 INGLEWOOD Mayor The whole community should

have a say to prevent

corruption and the 'you scratch

my back and I'll scratch yours'

mentality

Retain Wards Adelaide Hills council area is too

largenot to have representation in

all wards. Torrens Valley is the

biggest and we want our say on

what happens here

4 Mt Lofty ward is the smallest but

gets the lion's share of the $s, It

should be subsumed into

another ward eg Manoah

10 to represent the current

ward structure (2 per ward). If

Mt Lofty ward was to be

incorporated into another ward

to make 4, there should be 8

councillors otherwise give TV an

additional one to recognise the

size

Leave as is although

TV ward could be

called the 'ignored

ward'.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


477 KERSBROOK Mayor My preference is for a person

that has been elected by the

community

Retain Wards I feel it is important for the five

wards to be equally distributed

5 My preference would be for an

addition ward rather than

decrease to less than 5 wards

12 Maintain the status quo I see no reason to

change


479 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As they area

480 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As named

481 FORRESTON Chairperson If 3 people run for mayor the 2

who lose are not able to

participate in council. The

leader should be a normal

councillor who leads the 'team'

not someone in a gown on a

pedestal

Retain Wards It's not broken - don't try to fix it

I value being able to know and

speak with a councillor who I know

and who lives in our local

community

5 It's not broken - don't try to fix

it.

I suspect there will be no

difficulties if there are less wards

ie it doesn't cose more to have 5

wards than it does to have 2 or 3

wards

5 wards is enough to feel like we

have local representation

12 It's not broken - don't try to fix

it

The ones we have are

fine by me

Please don't insult your residents

by 'consulting' then taking no

notice of the results of your

consultation

482 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards Fairer for all areas 5 So that more areas will have

representatives as each

area/ward is different and has

different needs etc

12 To ensure fairness No problems with

current names

483 PARACOMBE Mayor Retain Wards 4 Remove or amalgamate Marble

Hill and Mt Lofty as 1

8 2 councillors per ward As is + Mt

Lofty/Marble as 1484 INGLEWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 10

485 PARACOMBE Mayor Retain Wards 5 12

486 FORRESTON Chairperson Retain Wards 5 10 Keep as is

487 KERSBROOK Mayor If populous areas of council

have most representation -

their councillors will elect the

one that suits them as mayor -

a closed shop

Retain Wards As is said - council would be

dominated by the most populous

areas of council

5 5 if wards are roughly equal in

population

12 As is - do not understand the

repercussions of having less

Why change from

status quo

Sounds like th 'no wards'

proposition is a takeover by the

more populous areas of council.

Why was the proposition even

pursued. Egos abound!

488 WOODSIDE Retain Wards Finally, I wish to put on the record

my absolute support for the

retention of Wards in the Adelaide

Hills Council. It is vital that we do

not end up unrepresented in this

particular area. The situation could

easily arise whereby the Council is

dominated by representatives of

other areas, say Stirling. The

importance of having a local

council representative is critical to

the Council, as a whole, being

properly informed of the concerns

of local ratepayers. Remember, the

councillors are there to represent

all the ratepayers.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


489 PARACOMBE Chairperson We believe in a chairman

position rather than a

presidential position as this

removes any personal bias

Retain Wards We strongly believe in the

retention of the Ward system.

As the AHC is a very diverse region,

we believe that the rural and

suburban interests must have

equal representation, to ensure

there is no overly strong any one

particular regional control.

5 Having reviewed the Options

Paper, we strongly believe in a

council of varying opinions,

supporting all regions. We

believe that the best way to do

this is to retain the 5 Ward

system.

12 We support the current system

of 12 councillors.

Due to the high population of

some regions, we do support


councillors as we believe that

this fairly represents all

constituents.

We have no

particular opinions

about ward names

and are happy with

the current names.

We strongly believe in a

democratic representation which

by definition gives all regions an

equal voice.

By balancing the numbers of

electors in each Ward gives

support to the principal of one

person, one vote.

490 URAIDLA, SA Mayor we want to have a say in our

council officers

Retain Wards otherwise the more populated

areas will have all the decision

making

Five (5) as above 12 leave as is

491 LOBETHAL, SA Chairperson The councilors should be aware

of the most competent and

impartial person on the board,

so therefore it should follow

that they are best positioned to

make a decision on the

chairperson.

Retain Wards I don't believe that the abolition of

wards will best suit the ratepayers

who may be further afield from the

town of Stirling. It appears that

little resource and time is spent by

the Adelaide Hills Council in the

northern areas of the council. That

said, I have seen more AHC trucks

in the district in the past 4 months

than I have in the previous 12

months. Perhaps the last ward

review has provided a squeaky

wheel response - and reminded the

AHC that there are towns north of

the freeway.

Five (5) 12 I see no reason to amend the

current status quo.

I don't have an

opinion either way on

this. I'd prefer equal

representation across

the council - ward

names mean nothing.

My concern with abolishing wards

is that there is a possibility that

the representation on the AHC

could be biased towards the

towns that have the highest

population of people, People will

more often than not vote for a

local person, so it means that

Stirling with a population of

approx. 45,000 will have a far

greater chance of getting better

representation than that of

Birdwood with a population of

approx. 1300. And I don't believe

that an elected councilor living in

Stirling township would have any

idea of the issues affecting a rural

ratepayer outside Gumeracha or

Birdwood - nor particularly care

about them. They would be

focused on their own local

issues....

492 LOBETHAL, SA Mayor Retain Wards Five (5) 12

493 SUMMERTOWN,

SA

Chairperson I am sure the coucillors would

be able to select someone that

could be their spokesperson.

Retain Wards Local people know the needs of

their neighbours and friends and I

think would do a better job

Five (5) I think the current system works

well.

12 Our population is growing so

surely the same amount of

councillors is needed

Same as they have

been

494 OAKBANK, SA Mayor Fairer Retain Wards Better control Five (5) Cover the area more efficiently 12 Better coverage

495 OAKBANK, SA Mayor Retain Wards Fairer and better coverage Five (5) As above 12 Better attendace

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


496 TERINGIE, SA Mayor I believe the mayor ( chair)

should be a choice of the

people in order to prevent

cronyism as has already been

seen

Retain Wards This system has worked well over

the past 20 years and I see no

reason to change it. It will also

enable our LOCAL elected member

to look after our needs

Five (5) provide a good ratio for the

above

12 Maybe 12 that will listen to our

wishes, as opposed to the last

debacle when only 6 members

listened and the rest of you

ignored us

as they are now There is no doubt what so ever

that the wishes of rate payers

were ignored last time. Please

remember, you were elected to

represent us and our wishes must

count, particularly when the

weight of submissions clearly

showed you we do not want the

current system changed. PLEASE

LISTEN TO THOSE THAT ELECT

YOU497 LOBETHAL, SA Chairperson Allows members to rotate the

position allowing greater

diversity

Retain Wards Wards ensure that a member lives

in and represents the area in which

I live, understands the issues and is

contactable. The area is diverse

and local knowledge is imperative

that local views are undersood,

Five (5) The diversity of the council area

means that rural, semi rural and

township representation is

determined by the geographics.

I have reviewed the boundaries

and think this is the best

number.

10 Alows for 2 per ward with one

of the 10 being the president

who could be rotated.

Same as currently.

498 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor This is the most open,

transparent and democratic

way of deciding who leads

council and choosing someone

who represents the wishes of

the majority of ratepayers.

Retain Wards I believe that this will better ensure

that the wishes and needs of all

parts of the council area are

represented as equally as possible

despite population density

differences and geographic

isolation from the centre of the

council area. Those of us who live

at the fringes of the council area

often feel that we are in forgotten

territory - less so if we have a local

representative who is aware of

local issues on a first hand basis.

Five (5) The current system has worked

well for us in this area and to

reduce the number of wards

would risk us being represented

by someone who does not see

local issues first hand and who

may be more predisposed to

tackle issues which are more

personally relevant to their area

of residence.

12 The more councilors their are

the more views and issues can

be raised and represented i.e. a

broader representation of the

council electorate.

Not sure. I believe that the council should

follow the wishes of the majority

of ratepayers in this matter.

499 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor The community must have

control of who is elected

Retain Wards It is our view that micro areas

(wards) within a big council area

must be able to have dedicated

local passionate representation to

effect unbiased decision making.

Five (5) Again micro environments

within such a big diverse area

need an understanding and

proactive local voice to allow an

effective area management.

10 Two per ward should be

adequate keep a balance in

management of council

business process

No comment really---

keep things as they

are would be a good

start and get on with

doing solid council

work! Names are

just that ----names,

and mean absolute

little to how a good

management

structure is effected.

It is the councillors

and the council staff

quality that are

important. Why the

heck are we wasting

so much valuable

resources on such

petty power games.

It is a sad time we are going

through and if we see councils in

general power playing rather than

doing the correct "local" council

work then we would suggest

scrap councils and reduce tax

payers money and let state

governance do the lot. Councils in

general are beginning to delve

into issues that have nothing to

do with maintaining "local to

those area" basic area

management issues.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


500 LOBETHAL, SA Mayor The community should be able

to say whom they want to be

the council's Principal Member

to avoid political control

Retain Wards The community needs local

representation, especially in the

more isolated areas.

Five (5) It works reasonably well at the

moment.

12 It works reasonably well at the

moment.

Keep the Ward

names the same as

they are.

Keep things as they are it works

reasonably well at the moment,

and the community knows their

local councillor.

501 KERSBROOK, SA Mayor Seems fair for the whole

Council area to vote on the

Mayor who is supposed to

represent the whole Council

area

Retain Wards The Kersbrook Resident's

Association (KRA) is in favour of

retaining Wards as we do not

believe that we would be able to

have strong local representation

without a Ward structure. Our

current situation is a case in point,

since 2005 the KRA has been

advocating with Council on

flooding in Spring Street, in the

middle of last year we had Peter

Bice as a guest speaker to discuss

options and what is needed. Peter

made a few promises and that was

the last we heard. Then earlier this

year Matt Wittwer came and spoke

at our meeting and stated that

there had already been many

engineering reports, paid for by

ratepayers and submitted to

Council for consideration in their

budget deliberations. Matt

discussed some things that

residents could do to alleviate the

situation and there was some funds

available that Cr's Green and

Herrmann had fought for, that

could be used to start some work

to relieve some of the issues. Then

we receive an email from Peter

Bice indicating that there will need

Three

(3)

Having three Wards would

enable Wards to be created with

similar communities within them

and enable the Councillors to

"specialise' in their local areas

issues, providing better

representation to those

communities.

11 Having an odd number breaks

the stalemate of 6 v 6 all the

time, except when Councillors

are away. Hopefully when this

vote is taken all elected

representatives will be present.

Not bothered about

names of Wards as it

would depend on

how many and how

the boundaries are

aligned.

The KRA has made this submission

in good faith that the elected

representatives on Council will

listen to submissions in the same

manner. If majority of

submissions are in support of No

Wards we will support that, if the

majority of submissions are in

support of retaining Wards then

we will also support that, which is

true democracy. What we fear is

that Councillors will make an

assumption for the people who

have not submitted a submission

that supports their personal view,

you cannot assume that because

people have not made a

submission that they support the

proposal, some people are not

even aware they can have a say.

Councillors can only vote

according to the submissions

received and hopefully will vote

democratically. We thank you for

the opportunity to make a

submission on behalf of the

residents of Kersbrook. The

Secretary, Pauline Gill

502 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor Fairer Retain Wards Local Birdwood area recognised

better

Five (5) 12 All contribute something Torrens valley

503 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor Retain Wards Fairer Five (5) All valuable input 12 All have a role Torrens valley

504 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor Fairer Retain Wards Better representation for Birdwood Five (5) All contribute 12 All contribute something Torrens valley

505 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor We can all have a say Retain Wards Out lying areas have a local point of

contact

Five (5) Status Quo 10 2 per ward Leave as is

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


506 ST AGNES, SA Mayor There are too many Councillors

who ignore what the people

who elected them want, so this

would give the ratepayers a say

in who chairs the Council.

Retain Wards The abolition of wards would allow

the interests of Stirling and the

surrounding area to be looked after

even better than they are now, to

the detriment of the smaller areas

which are further afield. It would

allow Councillors to be elected who

understand and care about their

local area, and who are willing to

look after their constituents. Local

Councils have become renowned

for interest groups and political

parties getting their members

elected, and maintaining the ward

structure would lessen their ability

to hijack council.

Five (5) This allows Councillors to look

after their local area without

that area becoming too large.

The bigger the area, the more

diverse the issues and the more

travel that needs to be

undertaken by Councillors,

many of whom are already

spending a lot of time working

hard for their area.

Other Each ward needs at least two

Councillors to look after their

area and some of the bigger

areas may need three.

I don't see any need

to change the ward

names, considering

any change such as

this comes at a cost,

such as changing

stationery, etc.

I would like to think that the

Council will listen to the feedback

that they receive this time and

retain the Ward system to ensure

that each area continues to be

represented in a fair and

equitable way.

507 LENSWOOD, SA Mayor It is much more democratiic

that way

Abolish Wards Where I vote the result is a

foregone conlusion. Abolishing

wards makes my vote count

12 It gives enough diversity of

oponion.

508 LOBETHAL, SA Mayor This selection by the

community adds dignity and

respect to the position.

Retain Wards Again I believe the community

gains respect and dignity from a

connection to proximity of name

and place.

Five (5) Close connection to historic

place.

12 Ability to gain fair

representation.

Current names fit

past outcomes,be

they good or

bad.Give an ability to

reflect on these and

learn from them.

My previous comments

concerning the abolition of wards

and the subsequent deflection to

political party alignment proved

true.

When it was thought the wards

would be abolished there was a

rush to do just that. For

example,here in Lobethal three

councillors turned up to NXT

forum and about six locals with

five minders,work out the

percentages.

509 OAKBANK, SA Mayor A mayor appears to be the

more democratic of the two

options.

Abolish Wards There is no evidence that the

existing wards are better

represented by their councillors

(who don't have to live in them).

Also, without wards, particular

community sectors are more likely

to be able to elect representative/s

to reflect their interests.

12 Reducing the number of

councillors below 12 would also

reduce their ability to represent

electors adequately.

Why change them?

"A rose by any other

name would smell as

sweet".

510 PORT AUGUSTA,

SA

Mayor Abolish Wards 10

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


511 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor This keeps them honest and

truly representing the people,

instead of their own agendas

Retain Wards To get a better coverage of voices

for the whole council area.

Five (5) as above 12 Less people, who put forward

their thinking, their views,

means less true representation

of the greater community.

The names are a low

priority.

I think this is a huge step

backwards. If the already in place

Mayor keeps pushing this agenda

of abolishing wards, whilst the

majority of the community keeps

saying no, he's already showing us

that the fewer voices on the

council about the whole area, the

less true representation of the

greater community. We voted

them in for a reason, we need to

be heard. Going backwards just

narrows the viewpoints, and

allows personal agenda's to

happen rather than the

community.

512 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor Retain Wards It provides a greater level of

representation and more

importantly ensures an even

spread of representation. This is

particularly beneficial for the more

rural areas of AHC that feel more

remote and often alienated.

Five (5) Essentially this maintains the

status quo

12 To ensure adequate

representation across the

entire Council area

I think the current

ones that reflect

geographical

localities are suitable

I think it's important to maintain

local representation, given that

there is potential for areas of the

Council district that have an

increase in voter turnout to have

increased representation on

Council. Through maintaining

wards, all areas of the Council

district are guaranteed a local

voice.

513 PETERBOROUGH,

SA

Mayor An elected Mayor in my

opinion is more representative

of the voice of the electorate

Retain Wards In such a doverse region as the

Adelaide Hills 5 Wards offer a

chance for more

Issues to be recognised

Five (5) As above 12 Issues too important to be

resolved by less

Councillors

Why change?

Who benefits?

Although now living in

Peterborough I previously lived in

the Adelaide Hills for 38 years and

have welcomed the opportunity

to contribute to this survey

514 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor People get to have a choice. Retain Wards Worried if 1 ward smaller towns

wont get a fair go.

Five (5) Why change something that

works

12 More people more

opinions,more ideas,

Whats wrong with

names already have?

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


515 BIRDWOOD, SA Mayor Retain Wards I like local representation for my

local area. This maintains a

community of interest in support of

a local ward representative. My

concerns can be expressed to my

local Councillor.

Five (5) It's what we have, provides best

representation at a local level,

and I find the case for change

unpersuasive.

Other The 12 Councillors we currently

have is a system that serves us

well. I could imagine that, with

demographic changes in our

Council area, it is conceivable

that a slight increase may be

appropriate, but I have no

strong opinion on that. Again, I

find the case for change

unpersuasive, especially a

change that might have the

effect of reducing the ability of

Councillors to respond to issues

from residents in their Ward

areas.

Retain the current

names.

My understanding is that previous

submissions were, in general, in

line with my present submission.

My present submission is that the

current system serves us well and

do not change it. My

understanding is that Council

attempted to make changes

contrary to the majority of views

expressed. I find this

unconscionable behaviour. The

ability of Councillors, elected from

a local or Ward area, to focus on

the issues from that area is of

great value, and should be

retained. I have concerns, in line

with those expressed in the

options paper, about the costs to

Councillor candidates and to the

Council (hence ratepayers) of

conducting elections on a Council

wide basis, particularly for casual

vacancies. I also have concerns

about particular groups finding

opportunities in a no-Ward

system to achieve unwarranted

representation in Council

elections. I have concerns that a

Council-wide community of

interest is of less benefit to a

resident than a Ward community 516 OAKBANK, SA Mayor I feel it is more democratic Abolish Wards I feel abolishing wards will give a

more diverse selection of

councillors.

12 I think it is better to retain the

present number of councillors

to give adequate

representation to residents.

Keep the same

names.

517 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Mayor I would like a say in my

representative

Retain Wards I want local representation Five (5) We would be cut out of the local

ward structure due to distance

from the council head quarters

10 2 per ward Happy with Marble

Hill ward

518 NORTON

SUMMIT, SA

Mayor I want a say in who is my

council head.

Retain Wards Ever since the amalgamation of the

hills council areas, I have been

singularly unimpressed with the

local representation for the

previous East Torrens Council area

and the imposition on other council

areas' debt.

Five (5) I would like good representation

for residents - more wards

would provide a more focused

representation.

10 5 wards with 2 councillors each. Don't care.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


519 CRAFERS, SA Mayor This will give more authority to

the mayor if any contentious

matters arise in Council that

require the Mayors vote to

address a deadlock. If the

Mayor is elected by the

Councillors the Mayor may feel

compromised in such a

situation.

Retain Wards The wards were established at the

time of Council amalgamation to

recognise the historic makeup of

the Council - and to ensure that all

residents of the AHC can be sure

that the interests of their area/

ward of the AHC is appropriately

represented.

Five (5) This aligns with the existing

ward structure - it does not

need to be changed .

12 Maintain the status quo.

NB The representations Options

Paper does not provide any

information as to the reason for

the number of Councillors vis-a-

vis the requirements that

Councillors are required to

undertake in the capacity as a

Councillor.

Maintain the status

quo - I see no reason

to change these

names which were

selected at the time

of amalgamation.

I understand that there is a

Resolution in the records/

minutes of meeting of AHC

moving to abolish the Wards - I

strongly believe that this

resolution should be revoked.

520 CARNEGIE, VIC Mayor Abolish Wards Wards restrict the candidates I am

able to vote for. By removing wards

it allows me to vote for a candidate

who best represents me.

12 I think wards should

be abolished.

521 CRAFERS, SA Mayor Provides more support to the

position of Mayor - when in

Council.

Retain Wards Provides better representation to

all regions that comprise the AHC.

Five (5) Maintain the status quo - no

need fro a change.

12 Maintain the current

representation - to represent

the interest of each Ward.

Leave as is - no need

for a change. These

names were selected

at the time of council

amalgamation fro

good reason.

522 COBURG, VIC Mayor Provides more flexibility and

freedom of choice to more

people

Abolish Wards Provides more flexibility and

freedom of choice to the people all

over.

12

523 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor Maybe we'll get it right next

time

Retain Wards Councillors tend to service the area

they live in, so a ward

system is more practical. also I do

not think politicizing councils

works as agendas materialize and

distract from council's real

business.

Three

(3)

there needs to be an odd

number if as we don't need a

mayor

with a casting vote.

12 i would say 11 if it wasn't that it

would be a councillor from

the northern regions that

would be disappear.

Northern, Central,

Southern.

Given that the mayor and council

have decided they want to

remove wards this second process

is a waste of time and

council money.

524 BALACLAVA, VIC Mayor Abolish Wards 12 Districts I feel very strongly wards should

be abolished.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


525 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor This is the best way for the

community to get the right

person ;one that truly

represents the people. not a

person who may have a hidden

agenda that is not available to

all;needs to be a good and

honest person ,not a liar and

deceitful person who is hell

bent on defaming innocent

people who speak for the

people

Retain Wards In the U.K the ward system in some

areas has been gotten rid of to the

detriment of the community it is

now political factions there is

enough of that in true government.

It is known that the head of the

state councils is a Labour pusher

well be a politician and don,t push

your political agenda to us the

ratepayer. We want true

representation of each individual

local area.

Five (5) Best to represent areas;a true

local not some redneck money

ego driven own agenda idiot

12 Best representation as we know

what is happening now;good

people for a good job the more

people in; keeps the others

honest and stops the ego

maniacs;and liars who are

hidding what there true agenda

is . Serve the RATEPAYERS

name after pioneers

of south australia.

FLINDERS,LIGHT,KIN

GSTON

name after animals in

the hills.

Kangaroo,KOALA,WO

MBAT

name after the water

ways Torrens ,and

other rivers in the

area.

Brooksby;named

after Bob Brooksby

who has done more

for our area in his life

time than anybody

would imagine a truly

honest and caring

local(GUMERACHA

area)his agenda is to

serve.

Make it honest and decent don't

turn up to areas to steam role

over the top of us and then try

and shut us down; to demonise

those people who are concerned

about the community. the Mayor

aught to do his job and not push

his own agenda;we love

everybody;what we don't like is

what they do that is to lie and try

to deceive people.

526 FORRESTON, SA Chairperson Councillors best placed to elect

a suitable leader from within

their ranks. Mayoral candidates

should be able to run for

council.

Retain Wards To enable some local

representation. Ward councillors

will be known by their constituents

Four (4) Still aligns well with existing

boundaries but enables level

representation of 3 councillors

per ward

12 Gives good representation to

varied electorate and large area

maintain names of

cultural and/or

geographical heritage

527 KERSBROOK, SA Chairperson Allows changes to this position

so more people can gain

experience. Cheaper for

ratepayers, and reduces

individuals power to pass

proposals for their own gain

Retain Wards Gives representation to ratepayers

who live in areas with lower

population rather than

representatives being voted from

high population areas that have no

knowledge or interest in areas

outside their own.

Four (4) This is a good balanced division

with fair representation.

12 Allows for cover of councillor

illness and distribution of work

Names are

unimportant .

In Kersbrook we feel that we are

ignored by council to a great

degree and without the ward

system in place, we would be

completely forgotten.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


528 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor I believe that the Principal

Member of Council should be a

representative of the

community and, as such,

should be elected by the

community, in that capacity.

Retain Wards I believe that each area of the

council needs to be represented

equally in order to have their needs

addressed. If there were no wards

then decisions may be made which

benefit the more populated areas

of the council and the more rural

areas will be disadvantaged. People

who live in rural areas should be

entitled to good services. I feel that

individuals can be better served

and heard by their local councillors

who represent their ward and

understand the needs and services

of that ward. I believe we know our

local councillors and feel

comfortable approaching them

about matters and that they know

our local area well. I am concerned

that we will lose our voice within

the council if we lose our wards.

Five (5) I believe that the current

arrangement of wards is

working well so there is no need

to change it.

12 I feel that the current role

model provides fair and

adequate representation and

does not need to be changed

I feel that the current

names of Torrens

Valley, Onkaparinga

Valley, Mt Lofty and

Marble Hill are

suitable as they

readily identify the

area that they

represent. I am not

familiar with the

background for the

name Manoah and

am unsure whether

that represents that

area adequately but,

because I do not live

in that area, i don't

feel qualified to give

an opinion as to

whether that is the

most suitable name

for that ward.

I am disappointed that this review

has to be done again. I had hoped

that the council would have

considered the results of the

previous review and, with the

overwhelming majority of electors

responding against the

abolishment of wards, accepted

that the electors do not want the

council to abolish wards. If the

council persist in pursuing this,

then it shows that they have their

own agenda and do not truly

represent and support their

electorate. It seems that they are

just 'going through the process'

rather than taking notice of what

the electorate want.

At the public meeting in

Gumeracha, the Mayor said that it

was up to the electorate to prove

to the council why we should

continue to have wards, rather

than the council prove why they

should abolish wards. This seems

wrong. I would have thought that

things should remain the same

unless the council can prove to

their electorate why it should be

changed.

529 GUMERACHA, SA Mayor I don't have a strong opinion on

this as I can see some merit in

both systems

Retain Wards I believe the current system is

working well.

People are more likely to approach

councilors representing their local

region

Adelaide hills council has a great

diversity of environs with township,

semi rural and rural regions I think

wards best allows these different

regions to be represented.

Abolishing wards would make it

easier for different political groups

or self interest groups to be over

represented.

Five (5) No need to change. Allows

fairest representation across the

whole council region

12 current system seems fair Best if name helps

identify location of

the ward. Current

names do this

although i am not

familiar with Manoah

I am not sure why the responses

from the initial survey are not

being considered . I am concerned

that many of those who

responded previously may not

this time due to lack of awareness

or concerns that their views may

ignored as they felt they were the

first time.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


530 MACKAY, QLD Mayor Abolish Wards With regard to councils divided into

wards or undivided; our experience

in the last Queensland election saw

that 11 of the 22 councils that are

divided into wards have political

parties and other groups stand

candidates, and in Townsville the

Jenny Hill team had a clean sweep

of all positions. Of the 54 undivided

council's only 4 had groups

standing candidates.

12

531 CABANANDRA,

VIC

Mayor Stay with current system Retain Wards Happy with this system, elected

member intouch with each ward.

Five (5) 12 Happy with current system

532 WOODSIDE, SA Mayor Prevents a block of councilors

maintaining an unpopular

chairperson. I support direct

accountability.

Retain Wards Gives representation to all areas of

the council not just the highly

populated Adelaide-centric

commuter belt.

Five (5) No change required. Less

disruptive.

12 No change required. Current

system works well and ensures

sufficient representation of a

range of views at the ward

level.

Geographic - similar

or the same as now

Hopefully, this time, the Council

will have due regard for the

opinion of the vast majority of the

electorate.

533 UPPER STURT, SA Mayor I feel the election of Mayor by

the people of the Adelaide Hills

Council electorate provides

clear authority from the

people.

Retain Wards The Adelaide Hills Council area is

diverse in the population's

lifestyles, business enterprises and

environments. Because of this I feel

the whole of the electorate's

diversity is best represented

through the retention of the wards.

Five (5) The cost of change is not

necessary when we have a

system that works, protecting

the unique thing that the

Adelaide Hills are.

12 The recent example of the

manipulation that was

attempted to pass unwanted

policy is most closely controlled

by a balanced representation as

we currently have.

The names we

currently have draw

on the history from

within the individual

wards - leave it be.

The region we live in is delicate,

unique and worth protecting.

Unbalanced representation could

allow un-repairable damage to

occur. We are proud of our

lifestyles, space and diversity, let

it continue to be represented in

the way that supports just that.

534 FORRESTON, SA Mayor Elected by the people Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct


council area.

Enable ward councillors to focus on

local as well as council wide issues.

Lesson the ability of single interest



Potentially provides cost savings to

council in regards the conduct of


elections.

Five (5) Prefer 5 but at least 3.

The more wards there are the

more local the councillors are to

their ward.

12 Retain existing ward

names.

Only an expense to

change names.

535 WOODSIDE, SA Chairperson Less risk of an inflated ego

keeps campaigning costs to a

minimum

Retain Wards Reduces risk of political

interference

Members are more aware of local

issues

Less cost for candidates when

campaigning

Five (5) Current system works perfectly 12 Current system works well

Spread of knowledge and talent

Too few Councillors would

place unnecessary workload on

them

Maintain them as is Keep wards! Otherwise the

Greens will take over

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


536 FORRESTON, SA Mayor Principal Member needs to be

elected by the electors.

Retain Wards Wards guarantee of direct


council area.

Enables ward councillors to focus


issues.

Lessens the ability of single interest



Enables and attracts candidates to

contest ward elections.

Reduces the cost and effort


election.

Potentially provides cost savings to

council in regards the conduct of


elections.

Five (5) Prefer 5

3 minimum

12 Need at least 12 to provide fair

and adequate representation to

the electors.

No need to change

names its just

another expense.

537 WOODSIDE, SA Chairperson Retain Wards Representatives know their

electors better. Rural wards get a

fairer go

Five (5) this system works well. retain

the status quo

12 wide area of diverse areas to

cover. lessen workload for

individuals. opportunity for

reps of different

interests/knowledge/backgrou

nd

why change what

already exists

maintain the wards. the present

system works.

538 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As is Works well as is

539 ROSTREVOR Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 No changes needed Realigning ward boundaries to

maintain elector rations is to be

expected and welcomed. But to

abolish wards. Or the right of

ratepayers themselves to elect

their mayor would erode

democracy and remove the 'local'

from local government. Ward

councillors effectively reflect local

concerns and help guard against

the potential indifference of single-

issue groups.

540 ROSTREVOR Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Morialta Keep Local government focussed

on local issues, with local ward

representatives541 ROSTREVOR Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 As is at present Nil

542 ROSTREVOR Chairperson Retain Wards Don't

know

No

opinio

n

No opinion A chairperson elected by the

elected councillors is more likely

to result in cooperative behaviour

of the councillors and is more

democratic. The title 'Mayor'

could be retained for historical

reasons.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


543 URAIDLA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Sensible names that

at least feature one

well-known road or

landmark in the

ward.

Nil

544 UPPER STURT Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 Retain the names

that we have now.

They have served us

well.

The necessary councillor/voter

ratio can be secured by minimal

changes without too much

destruction of communities of

interest and varying infrastructure

needs.545 ROSTREVOR Chairperson Retain Wards 5 10 Nil Nil

546 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Manoah, Mount

Lofty, Marble Hill,

Torrens Valley,

Onkaparinga Valley

Nil

547 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 3 9 Heysen,

Onkaparinga,

Torrens, Playford

More staff to clean drains, pipes,

roadside debris, overhanging tree

branches, pot holes, garden

rubbish, etc.548 STIRLING Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Same names Nil

549 GUMERACHA Blank Retain Wards Blank Blank

550 NOT SUPPLIED Chairperson Retain Wards 4 10 Manoah, Mount

Lofty, Marble Hill,

Valley

Rural areas must be adequately

represented.

551 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Leave as is Hope this is 'consult and decide'

not 'announce and defend'.

552 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 1,2,3,4,5 with largest

number of electors

starting with 1

The current systems works well,

why change it? The word

'parochial' mean petty or narrow.

Is this how a sense of community

is being viewed, is it? What a

disgrace! Long live small

communities that help each other

in the time of need, unlike

'suburbia'!

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


553 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Leave names as they

are

Cut out Crown Land. Change

boundaries to make it ratepayers

only. No rates money to Govt

owned land. Sampson Flat reveg

the like (no road repairs in Crown

Land). Elect councillors that know

something and reduce the

number of consultants/employed.

'Useless' voted out. Councillors

not allowed to nominate in wards

to gain a seat on council - they

must live in the ward. Important

to land owners to have a

representative that knows people

and can give a voice. We can't

have a mob of greenies running

the Hills Council and bringing

ways to push out the farmers - as

is the case now.

554 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Leave as is - names

are familiar to

residents

Important to have representation

for our rural areas at the northern

end of AHC who live in the area

and know the needs and 'give us a

voice'.

555 URAIDLA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 No change If practical endeavour to have

approximately the same number

of electors in each ward.

556 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 Leave as they are Leave system as it is.

557 GUMERACHA Chairperson Retain Wards 5 10 To remain as they are Change not considered necessary

558 MT TORRENS Chairperson Retain Wards 5 12 Retain status quo Nil

559 MONTACUTE Blank Abolish Wards N/A 12 N/A One page submission regarding

the no wards approach

560 UPPER STURT Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 As is

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


561 FORRESTON Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 I am, happy for the

name of our ward of

Torrens Valley to

remain the same as it

indicates exzactly

where we are. I can't

speak for the other

wards though.

I feel that it is important to keep 2

councillors in our ward of Torrens

Valley. The councillors we have

both work hard for us and give us

lots of support at various events

and activities and are always

there to help with any issues we

have. If the wards are reduced

(and councillors) that I feel we

could be left "out in the cold" due

to the geographic location of your

ward. We deserve to have our

own representation! I would

prefer to have an elected Mayor

as this way we get some idea of

who the person is as opposed to

being elected " in house".

562 MT TORRENS Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Why chane current

names?

Nil

563 MT TORRENS Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 No need to change

ward names

Nil

564 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 4 12 Torrens Valley,

Greenhill,

Onkaparinga,

Longwood

I think it is good to try and keep

the rural wards separate from the

more metropolitan type areas if

possible to ensure representation

does not become skewed towards

more densely populated areas.

565 LENSWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 3 9 Nil Nil

566 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Nil Nil


568 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Retain current ward

names

Nil

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


569 MT TORRENS Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 I see no reason for

change

It is important to me that I have

reason to feel that I am effectively

represented by a local councillor.

Five wards is the minimum that I

consider would achieve that. I

have faith in councillors' ability to

stand above "parish politics" in

discharging their responsibilities.

It is really important to me that

my local council does everything

possible to prevent the entry of

party politics or the mounting of a

single issue takeover based on

high population density favour.

Multiple wards make it difficult

for such manoeuvers to succeed.

570 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 I believe we keep the

same names as

current for the wards

- Manoah, Marble

Hill, Torrens Valley,

Onkaparinga

I was given by Adelaide Hills

Council at a meeting on the 6th

October 2016 a map of the AHC

area with registered voter

numbers. I have enclosed an

adjusted ward boundaries 1-5.

The map numbers of the electors

are 28,766 but the AHC elector

representation review figures are

28,435.571 BIRDWOOD Blank Retain Wards Blank Blank Emailed to Council Member's

personal email and forwarded

through572 LOBETHAL Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Status quo - Keep

names for wards the

same.

All ratepayers and residents that

respond to the Elector

Representation Review in each

ward decide the outcome of the

review. Torrens Valley ward is one

part of the AHC and the people

decide its outcome in the

Adelaide Hills.573 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 3 10 Torrens

Valley/Onkaparinga,

Metro Hills, Southern

Hills

Dedicated councillors to wards

are important to all residents so

as to ascertain local commitment

and local structures. Dedicated

contacts.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


574 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 3 or 5 12 Largely geographic

region names -

Torrens Valley,

Onkaparinga. Retain

existing or similar

geographic names -

even combinations

Local Government is best

represented and respected by

local connections. Unknown

councillors too centralised

become "them" against the local

"us". Councillors should relish

their "local" links and knowledge

etc. and especially so in rural

council shires.

The Mayoral role is the unifying

factor and should be retained and

actively promote the "federation"

style of the "regional" council.

Best wishes for the future.

575 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Remain as is Nil

576 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 4 8 Locality, not people Nil

577 MYLOR Chairperson Retain Wards 4 12 For Option 2 Wards

1,2,3 use existng

names, Ward 4 Mt

Lofty or Maniah

I think that Options 2 would be

improved if Bridgewater was in

Ward 4 and Upper Sturt in Ward

2.

578 KERSBROOK Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 as they are now Preserving wards allows for

novice candidates to run for

election. Easier to persuade and

gain support from a smaller

section of the community in the

first instance. Ward counsellors

'get' local issues.

579 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 torrens valley ward i think that all wards should only

have two votes and the two

bigger wards have three

councillors but only two votes

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


580 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Same names as

present

I think that it is imperative for

wards to remain in a Council as

geographically, socially and

culturally as diverse as the

Adelaide Hills Council area. Option

1 of the "Representation Options

Paper" is the option that I support

and appears to provide the best

and most equal voice to all

residents of the Council.

Importantly, it maintains wards

around specific communities of

geographic interest, and

essentially a "fail-safe"

mechanism that there will always

be elected members from 5 very

distinct parts of the Council area

(i.e. each of the wards).


582 BRIDGEWATER Mayor Retain Wards 4 12 Torrens Valley

Marble Hill

Onkaparinga Valley

Mt Lofty

Nil

583 CUDLEE CREEK Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 As currently Nil

584 GUMERACHA Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 I would like to see


choose Peramangk

words for Ward

names. For example,

Karra-watta is the

name of the clan who

lived from Lobethal

to Williamstown. It

would be great to

choose appropriate

Peramangk words for

each Ward.

Nil

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


585 KERSBROOK Chairperson Retain Wards 3 10 Depending on the

boundaries, names

should have some

meaning to the ward.

Ward 1 should retain

Torrens Valley as no

matter which option

is adopted Ward 1

takes in the Torrens

Valley. Ward 2 could

retain Mt Lofty and

Ward 3 could be

Onkaparinga.

It is important that the Ward

structure be retained as the less

densely populated areas would

struggle to have local people

elected that understand the local

issues.

586 GUMERACHA Chairperson Retain Wards 5 12 Retain as current. I feel very strongly that the

Torrens Valley Ward should be

retained and have two

representatives, as at present.

Our ward is the furthest north in

the Council Region and needs

strong representation, which we

have at present.587 STIRLING Chairperson Abolish Wards N/A Blank the AHC area has been constantly

mired in litigation on many

significant developments.

Developments that the state

government had to step in and

rectify by over ruling councillor

decisions. The case of this is

uneducated unqualified

councillors. a classic case if you

cant do - then teach. councillors

need to have a minimum

education and business

qualification standard. Not Im old

and poor and want to keep the

area old and poor. The area ( as is

the entire world ) is changing

rapidly. Dotty old councillors

arent stuck firmly in 1950.588 HEATHFIELD Chairperson Retain Wards 2 12 North and South

589 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Names are

inconsequential to

the efficient running

of a council. If money

and time is to be

wasted on changing

ward names then our

council needs to take

a serious look at

itself.

If the Council does go down the

track of abolishing Wards then

members of a Ward have the right

to secede from the Adelaide Hills

Council and join another Council.

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


590 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 stay as they are Nil

591 KERSBROOK Chairperson Retain Wards 5 12 As they are unless

there is a

geographical need to

change

Nil

592 KENTON VALLEY Mayor Retain Wards 5 10 Remain as is Retain Mount Torrens in the

Torrens Ward. Move Crafers into

the Monoah Ward Move Verdun

and Bridgewater into the

Onkaparinga Ward Move Mount

George and Cleland into the

Marble Hill Ward Mount Lofty

Ward should be just Stirling and

Aldgate with 2 Councillors Each

Ward should have a maximum of

2 Councillors This represents a

logical redistribution of electors

within the Wards to meet LGA

rules.

593 URAIDLA Chairperson Retain Wards 3 9 Gumeracha

Uraidla

Stirling

Gumeracha is a former LG area

and of Aboriginal derivation

Uraidla is an old historic and

Aboriginal derived name

Stirling is a major hub and former

LG name

594 BIRDWOOD Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Leave them as

already named for

gods sake.

The current system works well.

Leave it alone.

595 MT TORRENS Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Doesn't really matter It is important that all ratepayers

believe that they and their

immediate areas are actually

represented by one or more

councillors. A no wards system to

me runs the risk of politicisation

of local government and a

diminution of attention to

genuine local issues. Knowing

one's local councillors and feeling

confident in them is a very

important thing. I have gone for 5

wards and 12 councillors to

maximise the level of grass roots

representation and to provide

sufficient elected members to

effectively fill the needs of

governance.

596 ROSTREVOR Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 The current system is adequately

democratic

No. Suburb Mayor or

Chairperson

Comments Wards or

No Wards

Comments No of

Wards

Comments No of

Crs


597 ROSTREVOR Mayor Retain Wards 5 12 Retain existing ward

names but adjust

boundaries

periodically to reflect

population changes

Local representation is crucial in

retaining the 'local' in local

government

598 ROSTREVOR Mayor Retain Wards 3 12 Morialta for one of

the wards

Nil


Page 16

Attachment 2

Detailed submissions

Please find following comments to be considered in the deliberations on representation and election

of Councillors to the Adelaide Hills Council.

1. I am in favour of the Mayor being elected by the community and believe this is the best way to

ensure a person who is not aligned to any factions on the Council is elected to this role, and

additionally provides greater continuity in the role over the term of the elected Council.

2. I am in favour of 12 Councillors being elected for the Adelaide Hills Council and feel this number

of elected members provides a workable ratio to electors.

3. I am in favour of the abolition of wards and the resulting council-wide or “at large” elections. I

believe this is the only model that will ensure all communities of interest have an opportunity to

stand candidates and be represented in the elected Council. Additionally, a ‘no wards’ model will

optimize proportional representation with electors able to preference candidates who best

represent their interest and without restriction of voting for a limited number of candidates

standing in a geographically determined ward or even worse having no opportunity to vote

when only the required number of nominations for the ward occurs and no election is required.

I have reviewed the seven models put forward in the Representation Review Options Paper and

believe Option 8 can most effectively provide for representation of all and any communities of

interest and best provides for the following matters which are required to be taken into account

under Section 33(1) of the Act (Local Government Act 1999).

(a) the desirability of reflecting communities of interest of an economic, social, regional or other kind; A no ward structure provides for candidates to stand on issues that are not limited to the interest and values of electors in a Ward, but have broad relevance across the whole Council District such as the Arts, orchardists, bushfire management, dog ownership or sustainable environments. As a self-funded retiree, I know electors in the same situation are distributed across the Council and would benefit from the opportunity to vote for a candidate who they believe would best represent their interest on Council. I don’t believe any configuration of wards could be created that did not disadvantage these interest groups and reduce their ability to get adequate representation on council. Social and regional interests in the Adelaide Hills are held across and beyond the current ward boundaries and are not reflected effectively in the options put forward in the Review Paper. The current ward structures and Options 1-7 are based on geographic and population numbers. Neither of these factors addresses the desirability to reflect communities of interest other than regional, and as was very evident in the first stage of the Representation Review a strong allegiance to a geographic ward fosters an adversarial approach between the Wards and Ward Councillors.

(b) the population of the area, and of each ward affected or envisaged by the proposal; No wards guarantee ‘one vote one value’ across the whole Council district. A no wards structure overcomes the current inequalities where the actual quota to be elected varies from ward to ward. Unsuccessful candidates can get more votes than required for success in other wards and still not be elected. In the 2006 AHC elections, a candidate in Manoah ward did not get elected despite getting more first preference votes than the quotas required to be elected in Torrens Valley, Marble Hill and Mt Lofty. Additionally, the ‘no wards’ structure overcomes the need to redraw the ward boundaries which is indicated given the current ward elector numbers. This raises the issue of whether the interests of those electors change now that they are in a different ward. In 2003 AHC put a portion

117 To Whom it may Concern

pwilliams

Text Box

Submission 117

of Bridgewater into Onkaparinga ward to correct a ward quota problem. This split Bridgewater between two wards when the whole of Bridgewater clearly has a closer association with Stirling and Aldgate than with Woodside or Lobethal. Will this happen again if wards are maintained? Having no wards means each town and locality is not forced into an identity relationship which makes no sense.

(c) the topography of the area, and of each ward affected or envisaged by the proposal; While some natural lines of the Adelaide Hills topography may be natural boundaries for wards, they are not sufficiently significant to persuade me that the council district should be divided into wards that reflect the topography.

(d) the feasibility of communication between electors affected by the proposal and their elected representatives; The ‘no wards’ model is will safeguard feasibility of communication between electors and their elected representatives. The current availability of online communications and increasing mobile phone coverage in the hills is continually improving communications and elected representatives will readily be able to establish communication channels that focus and target their communication with interested electors. The Council has in place a range of communication strategies including community forums that support elected representative in communication with electors across the Council district. During the first round of the Representation Review some members of the community claimed that a ‘no ward’ model would remove local representation. I refute this and also suggest that the current ward structure does not guarantee local representation. As you know Adelaide Hills Council currently has 4 Councillors who do not live in the wards in which they were elected. They don’t live locally, don’t necessarily have local knowledge and may or may not find it conflicting to prioritise the needs of other wards in front of those needs at their own back door. A ‘no wards’ model provides confidence that issues of importance to me can be represented, rather than a person living locally who may or may not feel the same issues matter.

(e) the nature of substantial demographic changes that may occur in the foreseeable future; The current provision for new electors in the Woodforde development will see demographic changes. These future electors can be best accommodated into a no wards model, as the development is such that electors are unlikely to share a sense of local within any of the ward boundaries described in options 1-7. Option 8 provides the best way forward for this substantial demographic change.

(f) the need to ensure adequate and fair representation while at the same time avoiding overrepresentation in comparison to other councils of a similar size and type (at least in the longer term). As shown in the Representation Review Option paper P.11 a ‘no wards’ model with 12 Councillors will retain a ratio of 1 elected member to 2,406 electors and be consistent with similar Councils.

It is unfortunate that a repeat exercise has been required to finalize the Representation Review for

Adelaide Hills Council, however despite having heard a range of voices claiming that Wards must be

retained, I have heard no convincing arguments for why they necessarily provide for representation

on issues of importance to me. Given this and my continued thoughts on the matter I am till strongly

of the opinion that a ‘no wards’ model will provide best representation for all electors in the

Adelaide Hills.

I submitted my initial submission on the matter in 2016 and ask that this submission be added to my

previous submission for considered in the Council’s deliberations.

pwilliams

Text Box

Submission 143

30 JUN 2011 Adelaide Hills Council

Elector Representation Review

PO Box 44

WOODSIDE. SA. 5244

28th June 2017

ELECTOR REPRESENTATION REVIEW

We respond to the renewed request for submissions regarding Council representation.

On Monday 12 June 2017, the Committee Meeting of the

, unanimously resolved to submit the following:

Our concern, based on our perception of the Council's undemocratic handling of the issue

to date and its apparent disregard of the Community responses.

The A was formed to help preserve not only the town's history but also improve

town's amenities in the interests of local residents and visitors. We believe that a dedicated

local representation on the Council will best help us to achieve our aims.

The AHC area is clearly divided in two quite different demographics. Metropolitan, e.g.

Stirling, Aldgate etc., and Rural, e.g. Lenswood, Birdwood etc., and the community needs

and interests in these areas are quite different. Having local Councillors fully informed about

the issues of concern is vital to the efficient use of Council resources and, in the end, the

best outcomes for the AHC.

If the proposed "NO WARDS" change were to occur, the unanimously agreed there

is a considerable risk of (a) the Council being dominated by "Metropolitan" Councillors and,

as a result, then (b) the Council's effectiveness becoming diminished and therefore not truly

representative of all ratepayers.

The Committee requested the Secretary to convey these submissions to the Council in

writing and has asked for confirmation of receipt by way of a written reply addressed to the

postal address shown on the s letterhead.

Yours sincerely,

pwilliams

Text Box

Submission 250

YOUR DETAILS

Please provide your full name, email address and postal address (as Council wishes to keep

respondents advised on the progress of the review).

Please return your completed

Chief Executive Officer


PO Box 44

WOODSIDE SA 5244

Email: [email protected]

form by close of business on Friday 14th July 7w,to HILLS COUNCIL

SCANNED RECEIVED 1 3 JUL 2017 13 JUL 2017

For further information regarding the Elector Representation Review, please see Council's website

(www.ahc.sa.gov.au) or contact:

Lachlan Miller, Executive Manager Governance and Performance

8408 0400 1 [email protected].

pwilliams

Text Box

Submission 355

raLAIUL I1ILL UUUlsitAL

Set roNrir, RECEIVED

13 a_ 2017

13 JUL 2017 Principal Member

I prefer the principal member to be a councillor selected by the councillors to be a chairperson/mayor.

Reasons: It is consistent with the State and Federal Government selection methods.

A competent person who decides to stand for the position of an elected mayor may fail to be elected and then cannot be a councillor.

The opportunity exists for more people to gain experience within the elected term of a council, thus improving the overall knowledge of the council.

The Options Paper has introduced the view that a Council has similarities to the Board of a commercial company. A Board appoints the Chair from within their ranks and the shareholders can 'spill' the Board and the Chair when it fails to perform adequately. They get one year after a 'Formal Warning' from shareholders to improve their standard and may then be dismissed should they not improve.

An elected mayor can acquire an inflated personal view of having a superior status. When combined with differences in opinion between a mayor and councillors this easily leads to bullying and intolerance of alternative viewpoints.

The manner in which this mayor has dealt with this Elector Representation Review has demonstrated that the council area is not being well served by this mayor.

Wards/No Wards

Council should retain a ward structure.

Reasons: It is a clearly stated requirement that councils are to encourage the participation of local communities and to provide for these local communities. Localised representation within a large council area that is informed and knowledgeable about these local communities is the most effective way of achieving this.

In a council such as AHC, maintaining wards will provide a fair and equitable representation of the diverse communities within the council area.

Alexandrina Council is not alone in recognising that having wards avoids the potential to concentrate representation from the larger urban centres and dilute representation from the less populated areas.

AHC being a country council has obvious topographical boundaries that are rare in metropolitan councils.

AHC has existing diverse communities with very different aspirations and requirements. There are population concentrations mostly just to the south of the SE Freeway that are predominantly for residents who work in the metropolitan councils. The less densely populated areas to the centre, north and east have residents who are much more likely to be associated with primary production, agriculture or wine production.

„II A council is better informed when councillors bring local awareness to the broader and collective decision making process.

Dividing the council area into wards is consistent with larger areas being subdivided as happens with both Federal and State elections.

It is a fallacy to claim that democracy can only exist within a council area by applying entirely different criteria than apply at Federal and State levels.

Number of Wards

I support AHC being divided into 5 wards. . - -

Reasons: The current ward boundaries predominantly align with the existing communities of interests.

I recommend that the existing ward boundaries should be kept with a few minor adjustments and the more substantial change that must occur to put the quota for Mt Lofty Ward and Marble Hill Wards within allowable limits.

Since these wards were established in Dec 2009, the proportions of the populations within each ward have been remarkably consistent.

Only Onkaparinga Valley Ward has shown a steady change large enough to make a substantial change in quota from —11.1% in 2010 to —7.6% in 2017. When the former Woodside Barracks becomes occupied this change towards zero will continue. Also there is residential development in progress in Magill. With increases in Elector Numbers from these developments in Marble Hill Ward and Onkaparinga Valley Ward these two wards should now have boundaries set to have a negative quota value.

I do not have enough information on the Electors to decide where a boundary between Mt Lofty Ward and Marble Hill Ward should be placed. Purely to see if such a solution could be possible, I combined these two Wards. A new boundary would then need to be drawn to once again subdivide this combined area. Together this area has 5 councillors with 12459 electors giving a quota of 2.6% (using correct ECSA Roll for Apr 2017). When the residential development at Magill gets added, this 2.6% may be too high alongside the —7.8% for Onkaparinga Valley Ward. Transferring Carey Gully and/or Mt George from Marble Hill Ward to Onkaparinga Valley Ward should improve these quota.

The current boundary between Torrens Valley Ward and Onkaparinga Valley Ward follows the Hundred boundary and divides Mt Torrens. It would make more sense to move all of Mt Torrens into Torrens Valley Ward. Torrens Valley Ward has had a slight reduction in the Number of Electors so it makes more sense to add more Electors than to remove more. People recognise postal boundaries more than they recognise Hundred boundaries and there will be the additional benefit of following the ABS Enumeration District boundary.

Number of Councillors

I recommend continuing with 12 ward councillors as at present.

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With both Options Papers for 2016 and 2017

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29000

28750

28500

28250

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Ward Names

Change the name of Mt Lofty Ward.

Reasons In Option 1, Ward 2 no longer contains Mt Lofty as this is now located within Ward 3. Selection of a new name should be by the residents of that ward with assistance from local Historical Associations, the ECSA and the Geographical Names Unit. I suggest selecting a geographically based name that is not the postal name of an existing suburb/locality.

Other Comments

For a divided council that has as its unswerving goal the 'prize' of abolishing wards none of these things really matter.

Just continue to treat the community with contempt. Be disrespectful to those who hold alternative views. Keep producing documents with numeric inaccuracies and assorted false statements.

Say and do anything to get your way. The Law, Council Policies, LGA Best Practices, the Community, contradictions with your past actions; let none of these deter you. You know that you are in charge. You have the power.

Inaccuracies and falsehoods in the Options Paper

The Elector Numbers (as in Table 1 and thus all Options) are wrong. When the first Options Paper was produced in Aug 2016 those were wrong. When the Review Report was produced in Dec 2016 they were quietly corrected. Now in May 2017 this edited Options Paper once again has incorrect numbers. All proposed Ward boundaries based on incorrect Elector Numbers will be unreliable.

This graph uses the Elector Numbers from the AHC Annual Reports that show a fairly steady increase but then shows that Electors were missed from the August 2016 Options Paper. Then in the December 2016 Review Report the Elector Numbers returned to the believable range. Now with this May 2017 Options Paper, once again the Elector Numbers become incredible.

The Elector Numbers provided to me on 23 May 2017 by the ECSA (the date that AHC approved this Options Paper) have 360 more Electors than stated in this Options Paper.

These Options Papers are Adelaide Hills Council documents (as is clear from the cover page). Knowing that the Elector Numbers were wrong last time, they should have been checked.

Making such checks would be the behaviour of someone "Act[ing] with reasonable care _ and diligence".

There are calculation errors in the document. When the Options Papers from Aug 2016 and May 2017 are read side by side these become very obvious. Comparing Option 1, in Aug 2016, Section 8.1.3 gave quota variances for ward 2 as +5.9% and ward 4 as —6.1%. Now in May 2017 the quota variances are +4.4% and —4.6%. But for both, the possible additional number of electors is given as 600 and 900. This is a mathematical impossibility.

Section 7.2.1 which describes Elector Numbers, is identical in both versions of the Options Paper. These statements are based on the numbers already known to be incorrect. They are therefore wrong.

Section 7.2.2 which describes Residential Development, continues to omit the existing 80 dwellings (with more probable) at the former Woodside Barracks at Inverbrackie from consideration.

Section 7.2.5 refers to Map E7 in the 30 Year Plan. In this Plan, Chapter E is stated: "not to be interpreted as a definitive outcome". Chapter D contains information intended for regional and council planning and the corresponding Map D7 indicates that, during the 30 years of the plan, unlike Mt Barker, Victor Harbor, Goolwa and Murray Bridge, all the 9 townships listed are not planned to have any State initiated population increase.

For both Council Employees and separately for Council Members there is a responsibility "to provide accurate information to the Council and to the public at all times". As there is a repeated issue with the accuracy of information in the Options Papers, this looks very much like a breach of Council Policies.

It is hard to better the statement made elsewhere: "Alternative facts are not facts, they're falsehoods".

Adelaide Hills Council is not a metropolitan council

For some reason that is never explained, the Options Paper repeatedly categorises AHC as a metropolitan council and not a country council.

I know that Wikipedia includes AHC in the 'Metropolitan Adelaide' area, but this is wrong.

For someone who goes beyond the Bridgewater, Aldgate, Stirling area which is about 4% of the council area into the other 96% of the Adelaide Hills Council, the visual clues are many: paddocks with horses, alpacas, cows and sheep; vines, fruit trees and hay;

4

businesses selling fodder or agricultural machinery; the CFS instead of the MFS; every road not lined with houses, shops or businesses.

How often do people get told to visit the Adelaide Hills area because it will remind them of metropolitan councils like Glenelg or Unley or even Payneham? Really?

But even for those that never leave the office, the answer can be found: on the LGA map, they do not put AHC in the Adelaide Metropolitan Local Government Region, instead it is one of the six councils that make up the Southern and Hills Local Government Region; the Electoral Commission SA (who approves or rejects the result of this review process) has always classified AHC as a 'country council', even back in the days of being the State Electoral Office.

How surprised the ECSA must be to find that AHC thinks that it is a 'metropolitan council' is a matter of conjecture.

Unauthorised alterations made to the Options Paper

At the Council meeting of 23 May 2017 at Item 14.4 approval was given for the Draft Options Paper to be made available for public consultation.

The CEO was given authority to make non-significant grammatical and/or content changes.

Between this Council meeting and the Options Paper being made available to the public more extensive changes were made:

part of a comment about the Electoral Commissioner's prior decision was removed from the Introduction

the order of Option 3 to Option 7 was shuffled. This does not obviously make an improvement to the document, but will make collating responses from last year more complicated than previously would have been the case

Draft Option 6 which became Option 3 has an additional table with a different number of councillors proposed

Draft Option 7 which became Option 4 has an additional table with a different number of councillors proposed.

Legislative problems with the Options Paper

Option 2 proposes a ward that includes Montacute with other suburbs/localities to the north. Reference to a road map (or oversight by someone with local knowledge) clearly shows that it belongs with other localities to its south. The only connecting road between Montacute and the north is Corkscrew Road, which is repeatedly chosen during the Tour Down Under because of the challenges in traversing this road. Corkscrew Rd meets Gorge Rd which is often inaccessible (perhaps more than any other road within the AHC area) by accidents, rock falls and flooding events. The 4 fatalities on Gorge Rd from 2008 to 2012 were the highest on any road in the AHC area during that period.

Option 4 proposes a Ward 2 where once again the northern localities of Paracombe and Cudlee Creek are connected to the southern section only by Corkscrew Rd.

Section 33(1) of the Local Government Act stipulates that topography and communication between electors and their elected representatives are to be taken into account when setting the boundaries of wards.

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Option 2 and Option 4 fail to comply with the stipulations of the Act.

Option 7 proposes a Ward 1 where the topography makes north-south travel extremely difficult and a Ward 2 that has an impractical north-south distance.

There are thus deficiencies with over 40% of the Options relating to wards.

These matters indicate that representation and governance issues have not been well considered or examined in the preparation of this Options Paper (cf Sections 12 (4), (5) and (6) of the Act).

I am surprised that someone who has the preparation of these documents as a substantial part of his business should have proposed ward boundaries without making reference to a road map.

I am unsurprised that no-one in AHC cared enough to check. _

The decision of the divided Adelaide Hills Council

Because the Council was equally divided in the Councillors vote, the Mayor used his casting vote in favour of abolishing wards. This decision was despite being informed that that over 90% of the expressed interests of the community were to keep the Ward structure.

Very early in Feb 2017 AHC knew by legal advice that it had failed to undertake the Representation Review according to the legal requirements.

Despite this the Council decided to continue the process, voting to abolish wards and submit the Report to the Electoral Commissioner on 24 Mar 2017.

Because AHC had not met the legal requirements, the Electoral Commissioner did not approve the AHC Final Review Report.

Also the Electoral Commissioner was critical that AHC did not sufficiently inform people that the situation had changed and that the Report sent to him made no mention at all of the legal error.

The CEO responded that because "interested persons" was not defined in the Act, it might have an alternative meaning and that the Electoral Commissioner did not give advice early enough and in any event it was flawed advice.

Another of the managers reaches for his dictionary of euphemisms whenever the failure to satisfy the requirements of the Act needs to be referenced.

This decision to keep going for almost 2 months after knowing that the legal requirements had not been satisfied has cost money. But that is paid for from our rates. Instead when council knows there is a legal problem they should put it right, not gamble with a cover-up and hope.

I also want to be sure that AHC complied with the Procurement Policy when placing the contract for this Representation Review.

When AHC last conducted an Elector Representation Review in 2013, this was done internally instead of using a contractor to prepare the Options Paper. Bill Spragg was Mayor and Andrew Aitken was identified as the 'Responsible Director' for the Review.

The Agenda for the SPDPC meeting on 25 Jun 2013 included the 2 submissions received. One from a Gumeracha resident wanted Wards retained. The other was from a political lobby group with an address in South Plympton that wanted Wards to be abolished. The

views in the letter are so closely aligned with the views of the Mayor that he could have written them himself.

No one rejected the submission because it was from an "interested person" from outside the council area. We must ponder how well Bill Spragg has survived opening Pandora's Box in June 2013. Getting a response from "anywhere" was not a problem then. No one then it seems, was overcome with anguish about accepting input to council's consideration by people who were not affected by it.

No one calculated what percentage of the electorate those two letters were, as a pretext to diminishing their value to the decision making process.

The Mayor and CEO had no reluctance in accepting these two submissions and acting within the law in 2013. Possibly the views expressed in the submissions have a bearing on how they will be accepted or whether percentages must be calculated to justify ignoring them

There is "no telling" whether Bill Spragg will cope with living in a community populated by so many "negative" people.

The response of the community to such a positive and invigorating personality as possessed by the mayor has already been hinted at in the opinion and letter columns of the local press. The Options Paper makes the democratic principle of "one person, one vote, one value" inviolable.

But the mayor insisted that the recent vote on the Representation Review took place when two people who disagreed with him were absent.

The mayor recently called the [GA a "bit pathetic" because they would not approve his proposal of Optional Preferential Voting.

Optional Preferential Voting is a method of voting where different votes are allowed to have different values (one person may vote for a single candidate, another for the maximum number).

It seems that some democratic principles are not as rigid as may at first appear.

Several councillors who want to abolish wards claimed that changing the date so those with opposite views could vote would set a precedent.

However in July 2013 exactly that happened when those councillors who wanted to retain wards allowed a delay upon request by Cr Hosking and Cr Kemp.

This gives the impression that in this divided council, how prepared you are to accept alternative views depends more on which side of the argument you are on than anything else.

In 2013 when council last did an Elector Representation Review they did both stages of the consultation and then abandoned the process because it "would not be completed by 31 Dec 2013".

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This was entirely a self-imposed deadline.

If the Review had been completed by 31 Dec 2013 then the 2014 election would have taken place with wards abolished. If the Review had been completed during 2014 then the decision would have been made to abolish wards, but it would not have come into effect until the 2018 election. The councillors would have gone to a 2014 election still with the wards in place but having already voted to abolish wards.

Their decision to abolish wards would probably have adversely affected their own re-election prospects without a guarantee that wards would definitely be abolished at the 2018 election.

This was a political decision: prospective electoral self-interest trumped other considerations. - - -

Money was spent on the review with no result.

Some of what went wrong last time

Last time the mayor and some of the councillors made their decisions stating reasons that had no connection to the Options Paper and the written submissions.

Cr Lovejoy explained that she had been elected despite the 'Back to Basics' group and this proved that the public supported her decision to abolish wards.

This is a matter that is of personal interest to Cr Lovejoy. However Cr Lovejoy's election was not an issue arising from any of the submissions. Nor had it been put for consideration in the Options Paper.

Cr Daniell determined that because the Barossa Council does not have wards this is the reason why AHC should not have wards.

This is despite the Barossa Council never appearing in the Options Paper and not mentioned in any of the written submissions. There are 9 councils surrounding AHC. Eight of these nine councils, or almost 90% have wards. Barossa Council is the only council without wards.

All of the councils that AHC has put in Table 2 have wards. These are the councils that AHC considers are of the same "size and type" as AHC. If AHC thought that we should be compared with the Barossa Council it would have been included. But they made the decision that it was not sufficiently similar to be included for consideration.

(I think that there is reasonable justification to include the Barossa Council as a council of a similar size and type, but as a result of the strange meaning given by AHC to "size and type" that is different to that in the Act and used by the ECSA, Metropolitan Councils of only 5% of the size of AHC get included instead of more relevant Country Councils.)

(Actually "barossa council" is included in the Options Paper if you know how to find it.)

Cr Vonow also favoured the Barossa Council. But he also had some threshold of submissions that had to be attained before he would consider them worthy of a response.

What this threshold was, was never clarified. He wrote that he made his decision based on what other councils do, and that this took precedence over the interests of his own community. This is a complete reversal and contradiction of his role as a councillor as described by law. He also gave more importance to conversations that he had had rather than the written submissions received. The Act requires councillors to respond to written submissions; there is no hint that various conversations held should be considered. In the absence of evidence properly recorded, these conversations seem to have no more substance than the interaction that a shaman or a seer may have.

Mayor Spragg did make occasional mention of submissions, frequently completely reversing the meaning of what was written. He has made it very clear that no matter what the submissions said, nothing would stop his determination to abolish wards. He has stated that he does not intend to seek re-election, so there is no longer any constraint imposed of being accountable to the community if that interferes with his personal wishes. He labels the respondents in the community as "negative", tells others that he is "very disappointed" with them, calls the LGA "pathetic". He lodges multiple formal complaints against councillors who disagree with him. But the person at the LGA processing a complaint is not a "reasonable person" as they dismissed a complaint. I do not know what has caused such overt contempt for the community. His decision and attitude in this matter has been incredibly corrosive to trust in him as mayor and to the standing of the council.

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Scirmtmo 14 JUL 1617

13th July 2017 Mr Lachlan Miller gott4rwilai dOUNdite Manager Governance & Risk ' u-AdCiVE0 Adelaide District Council PO Box 44 I 4 JUL 2017 WOODSIDE SA 5244

Dear Mr Miller, Elector Representation

I would like my previous submission on this matter to stand, but that Council also consider the following compromise.

Is it not feasible to retain the ward structure, with each having its allotted number of candidates, but allowing voters to also vote for candidates that they prefer from any other ward or wards? (Votes per elector would of course not change). Thus each could receive votes from electors within their ward and from electors in any other ward/s. A ward would then be represented by their local candidates only if they were considered the best councillors for them by the local electors, as good or better than other candidates from across the whole Council area. I believe that would result in the most representative council possible.

All candidates and the wards they represented would be on all the voting slips, and counting of votes from all wards could be done at one station - both would presumably save time and cost. If this proposal was implemented any amalgamation of wards would not be necessary, many people preferring to retain traditional boundaries.

I hope this idea receives Council's consideration. When I mentioned it to Councillor Linda Green a while ago she seemed to think it had merit

Yours sincerely

pwilliams

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Submission 361

ADELAIDE HILLS COUNCIL REPRESENTATION REVIEW

Submission from the July 2017

The electoral structure for the election of Councillors

In 2013, the made a submission to the Adelaide Hills

Council Representation Review arguing that there be no wards.

In 2017, view remains the same, reinforced by the fact that one of the main reasons for

the current Review is that the variance in the number of electors in each of the current wards ranges

from exceeding the 10% quota tolerance in the Mount Lofty ward to 9% below in the Marble Hill

ward, with the Council itself doubtful if this ward could remain within the quota tolerance. If there

were no wards, there would be no need to be continually concerned about differing representation

ratios moving further apart as anticipated development activity is concentrated rather than uniformly

spread.

recommends that the Adelaide Hills Council not be divided into wards and that all

elected members of Council be elected across the whole Council area.

The dividing of a council area into wards creates artificial divisions in an otherwise supposedly

united area

Having no wards ensures that the greatest choice possible of candidates is available to all voters and

maximises the number of voters who find their votes actually electing the representatives of their

choice.

Discussion

Dividing the Adelaide Hills Council into wards has created problems and this will continue.

It is difficult to form wards which are uniform in character, and as a result there are currently two

wards with three members and three wards with two members

When Councillors are elected from the total Council, they can be free from small sectional influence,

and they can make decisions in the best interest of the whole Council rather than from the viewpoint

of a small ward. With no wards, Councillors are usually drawn from reasonably well-dispersed areas,

and from representative groups, and usually appear to be a satisfactory representation of the

ratepayers.

If the Adelaide Hills Council is to be seen and considered as a uniform area, we submit that for unity

the Council’s councillors should be elected at large.

In the past, one of the perceived disadvantages for at-large elections had been the cost to candidates

of canvassing the whole Council area. But with postal voting, and the posting of candidates’ material

with the ballot papers, at least all electors receive written material.

Proportional representation is the method of election for all local government elections in South

Australia. Proportional representation not only allows all electors the maximum choice, but ensures

that nearly all who vote will find they are represented by the candidates of their choice. To be

pwilliams

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Submission 375

assured of election a candidate must win a quota of votes. This means in effect that each elected

member represents the same number of electors.

Proportional representation works better the greater the number of vacancies to be filled per

“electorate”. The higher the number of members to be elected, the greater the chances of an elector

being represented by a person of their choice for the Adelaide Hills Council. This can be achieved by

electing all members of the Council from across the whole of the Council area.

Not only is this more likely to mean there will be an election across the whole Council, it could well

be with no wards, that with more positions to be filled and with more candidates, this may encourage

voter turnout.

The current ward structure has not served the Adelaide Hills Council well. At the 2006 election 19%

of those who voted found their votes did not elect anyone. This figure increased to almost 22% at

the 2010 election of those voting who found their votes wasted but then dropped back to 20% at the

2014 election. Interestingly when comparing three-member wards with two-member wards at both

these elections, more people found their votes counting towards electing someone and there were

more candidates in the three-member wards.

As tinkering with wards for the Adelaide Hills Council has been found wanting, it is now time for

the Council to change by abolishing wards and electing the Council as a whole.

Proportional representation with a single Council-wide electorate is the most democratic method that

can possibly be used, as:

all entitled to vote have the same choice of candidates;

all could vote for these candidates;

there can be no manipulation of ward boundaries; and

this is the fairest method in ensuring that nearly all will find their votes electing

someone and vote wastage is kept to a minimum.

If wards are to be considered, there should be the same number of members from each ward and all

wards should have at least a minimum of three members, but preferably more. On no account should

one or two-member wards be considered.

If Option 8 (no wards) is not accepted, would reluctantly support Option 7 (two wards

with five members, though this means two fewer councillors), or even more reluctantly Options 3

and 4 (both with four-member wards).

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VOTERS NOT WELL SERVED BY CURRENT WARD

ARRANGEMENTS

Submission to the Adelaide Hills Council Representation Review

July 2017

and its constituent branches work to

obtain and maintain effective voting for public and private elections through the use of the

single transferable vote form of proportional representation. Through that means, wasted

votes are kept to a minimum, candidates are encouraged to come forward and electors are

given a real choice about the future. If an odd number of vacancies is filled, a majority of

votes always translates into a majority of elected places.

While Adelaide Hills Council enrolments have been changing little between elections and are

currently lower than in 2000, individual ward representation ratios continue to diverge

beyond maximum allowed tolerances and would require adjustments of boundaries in future

also.

Controlling for enrolments and turnout, the very difference between having two-councillor

(quota for election just over 33.3% of formal votes) and three-councillor wards (quota just

above 25%) would explain a 12.5% variation in quotas in the five current wards. However,

the largest quota has been 30-45% greater than the lowest at the last three elections. Elected

councillors are not on the same footing in terms of having to persuade residents and

ratepayers that they are worthy of support.

At the last three council elections, in all but one instance in two-councillor wards, there have

been just three nominations. In that time, only once have electors in three-councillor wards

had comparable limited choice of candidates.

The adjoining undivided Barossa Council had noticeably greater participation levels in both

2006 and 2010, likely to be in large part associated with a greater choice available for

electors. Mount Gambier Council abolished wards before the 2010 elections and Murray

Bridge Council did likewise before the 2014 elections.

Proportional representation using the single transferable vote

As in most preferential elections, when the single transferable vote is in use it is important to

understand that each person has just one vote. The marking of preferences on a ballot paper

indicates the order in which the voter wishes (what remains unused of) that vote to assist

individual (continuing) candidates.

The fundamental aim when applying the single transferable vote is to have as many people as

possible voting effectively, by directly helping to elect one or more candidates to fill

pwilliams

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Submission 376

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available vacancies. In other words, wasted or ineffective votes are deliberately kept to a

minimum.

No wastage of votes on candidates who don't need them

The quota is the lowest number of votes at which candidates are mathematically certain of

being elected: it is calculated by dividing the total formal votes by one more than the number

of vacancies to be filled, and increasing the answer to the next highest whole number. A

majority of votes will therefore always translate into a majority of quotas when an odd

number of vacancies are being filled.

Once someone reaches the quota, there is no need for more votes to be piled up. In fact, to

minimise wastage of votes, any surplus beyond the quota is distributed to the continuing

candidates (those neither already elected nor excluded) in accordance with the wishes of

those electors whose whole vote hasn't been used up in the process. Any transfer from the

elected candidate will usually be at a fractional value.

No wastage of votes on candidates who can't get elected

If there isn't a surplus to distribute, the candidate with the fewest votes is excluded. All ballot

papers credited to that candidate are transferred to the next available continuing

candidates, as individually indicated on each of them. Because these ballot papers have not

helped the excluded candidate, they move on at the same value as that at which they were

received.

Finally, the exclusion of a candidate may mean that there are exactly as many continuing

candidates as there are vacancies still to be filled. In that case, all these continuing candidates

are declared elected.

Finding the next available (continuing) candidate on any particular ballot paper

When ballot papers are being transferred, the number next to the name of the elected or

excluded candidate involved must be smaller than that alongside the name of any other

candidate not yet excluded or elected. Provided that there are no duplications or omissions of

numbers in between, the ballot paper will next be credited to whoever of the remainder has

the lowest number alongside (this is the same as having the next highest preference).

By marking later preferences, electors cannot diminish the prospects of election of those

whom they most strongly support.

Adelaide Hills Council experience

Ward representation ratios continue to deviate by more than the 10% maximum allowed

above or below the overall council representation ratio. Anticipated significant development

activities are concentrated rather than spread uniformly throughout council’s area. It can

therefore be expected that representation reviews dealing with the current ward structure will

result in a need to further amend ward boundaries. The ongoing haggling involved in

finalising such tinkering will detract from efforts to advance the interests of the entire

Adelaide Hills community.

Where enrolments are balanced and turnout is fairly uniform, the quota in a two-councillor

ward will be roughly two-thirds of a standard council parameter, while that in a three-

councillor ward will be three-quarters of that standard value. The difference in current ward

3

sizes can therefore on its own explain quotas in three-councillor wards being 12.5% greater

than those in two-councillor wards.

Table 1 shows the much greater ranges in quotas that have applied at the last three elections.

The largest was about 40% greater than the smallest in 2006, 30% more in 2010, and 45%

above in 2014. Such variations, reflecting differences in representation ratios and turnout and

to a lesser extent informal voting, are quite alarming from any perspective that seeks to unify

the community by having ratepayers and residents feel that their voice is equally effective in

contributing to council’s composition, no matter where they live or own property.

Table 1: Quotas for election in individual wards

Manoah Marble Hill Mount Lofty Onkaparinga

Valley

Torrens

Valley

2006 625 456 537 567 483

2010 559 502 659 625 530

2014 567 496 726 531 529

Marble Hill Ward had a noticeably lower quota for election than elsewhere on all three

occasions, while Mount Lofty Ward took over the mantle of a growing highest quota from

Manoah Ward at the 2010 election. As all elected candidates have achieved their respective

quotas in each instance, some after distribution of preferences, it is fair to observe that in

2014 two electors in Marble Hill Ward had almost as much influence as three electors in

Mount Lofty Ward: such disparities are not conducive to promoting community-wide

perspectives throughout the entire council area.

Eight councillors were elected on first preferences in both 2006 (when four wards had only

one nomination more than vacancies to be filled) and 2010 (when each two-councillor ward

again had just three nominations), both occasions on which the overall ratio of nominations to

vacancies was below the statewide ratio. The increase in total candidates from 21 in 2010 to

26 in 2014 saw just three councillors elected on first preferences.

Table 2 highlights the stark differences in choice available to electors at the last three

elections. Only once (Manoah Ward in 2014) have those enrolled in two-councillor wards

had more than three candidates from whom to choose. By way of contrast, only once

(Onkaparinga Valley Ward in 2006) have electors in three-councillor wards had only one

more nomination to consider than there were vacancies to be filled.

Table 2: Nominations in individual wards

Manoah Marble Hill Mount Lofty Onkaparinga

Valley

Torrens

Valley

2006 3 3 5 4 3

2010 3 3 6 6 3

2014 7 3 6 7 3

In general, it is to be expected that electors will take a greater interest in elections the greater

the suite of choices before them and the more confident they feel that some of those

nominating will pursue matters of considerable importance to them. South Australia’s local

4

government experience has been that electors get greater choice the greater the number of

vacancies to be filled where they are enrolled. While there are local historical factors that

significantly influence turnout, it tends to increase when elections are at large in an undivided

area.

The adjoining Barossa Council has long been undivided. Its participation rate (proportion of

postal packs returned) was slightly higher than in Adelaide Hills in 2003 (35.3% compared

with 34.1%) and noticeably so in both 2006 and 2010 when 22 and 21 candidates nominated

for the thirteen and eleven available vacancies respectively (37.0% and 45.7%, compared

with 31.4% and 36.2% respectively). In 2014, when its mayoralty was uncontested and only

thirteen candidates nominated for councillor, participation fell to 34.1%, just below the

35.0% achieved in Adelaide Hills.

Council should note that nearby Murray Bridge Council abolished wards before the 2014

elections, and found participation rising from 39.9% to 43.9% as sixteen candidates

nominated for nine vacancies. Mount Gambier Council dispensed with five-councillor wards

when conducting a representation review before the 2010 elections and saw nominations

increasing from thirteen in 2006 to eighteen in 2010 and sixteen in 2014..

In view of its own experience and that elsewhere, Adelaide Hills Council should pursue its

unification objective by abolishing wards and putting electors and all potential candidates on

the same footing. Were twelve vacancies retained, the quota would be just less than 7.7% and

well over 90% of those voting would contribute to the election of one or more candidates. In

absolute terms, that would not be a very much greater ask over the entire council area than

was the quota in Mount Lofty Ward in 2014.

Should there be a strong belief that a majority of votes should translate into a majority of

quotas, consideration could be given to having either eleven or thirteen councillors.

Very much a second-best outcome would be any attempt to divide council’s area into two

five-member wards that might remain meaningful to the entire community and within

allowable representation ratio tolerances as anticipated residential development proceeds.

That step would increase the quota for election by nearly one hundred votes compared with

having an undivided area, and possibly result in as many as one-sixth of voters not

contributing to anyone’s election.

Member for NewlandTOM KenY Ong jp

20 June 2017

Elector Representation Review- Second Crack of the Whip

Dear Family,

As I am sure you are aware, the Adelaide Hills Council last year undertook a consultation into Council ward boundaries. Well over 90% of respondents opposed the move to remove wards. However, Some councillors, representing the other side of the Adelaide Hills and after waiting until two councillors who opposed removing wards were away, decided to

0= remove wards.

_c

Instead, they voted to allow the more populous areas of the Adelaide Hills such as Stirling and Aldgate to dominate who represents residents in your local area. If this proposal went ahead Paracombe would be unlikely to hear from their councillor again because they would

I

rely on the other part of the hills to be elected.

Luckily, the Adelaide Hills Council have been told by the Electoral Commission that _0 they did not consult broadly enough and have been told to do it again.

Paracombe is already neglected enough by the Adelaide Hills Council when it comes to footpaths, landscaping and capital investment. This would only get worse if the council's proposal to remove wards went ahead in its current form.

Many resideritc have told me that they believe that Paracombe is the forgotten part of the Adelaide Hills Council and it's important that the Council does not go ahead with its plans to strip the area of two local representatives.

I don't believe that removing wards is the best way to ensure that your concerns about council matters are heard and I am opposed to the proposed changes.

A t.

or° I have attached in this letter a community feedback response form and a reply, p *d envelope to my office, if you would like to fill out the form and send it back to me, I e mo e than happy to then take this to the Adelaide Hills Council Offices to make s your concerns are not ignored.

Continued over page...

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ffice 4/1757 Nodh Fad i Road Rid( ehaven S45097 Phone 8264 4482 Fax 8396 1737 Email newland@ adiamentsa ciov.au Web www.tomkenvon com.au

pwilliams

Text Box

Submission 393

If you would like to discuss this matter further with me, or any other State Governmen matter, please don't hesitate to contact me on 8264 4482 or send me an email [email protected]

Yours sincerely,

Tom Kenyon MP JP Member for Newland

P.S. You have until the 14'h July to provide the Adelaide Hills Council with your feedback.

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Page 17

Attachment 3

Suggested ward names

SUGGESTED WARD NAMES

Manoah

Mount Lofty

Marble Hill

Torrens valley

Onkaparinga Valley

Gumeracha

Inglewood

Norton Summit

Woodside

Mylor

Stirling

Uraidla

Morialta

Chain of Ponds

Torrens

Heysen

Mawson

Lofty

Cleland

Warraway

Wills

Burke

Sturt

Playford

Dunstan

Flinders

Light

Kingston

Barossa

Millswood

Para

Warren

Kangaroo Creek

Geographic locations

Indigenous names

North

South

East

West

Central

Kangaroo

Koala

Wombat

Brooksby

Greenhill

Longwood

Historical names of local significance

Local landmarks

Need thorough investigation and public consultation

ADELAIDE HILLS COUNCIL SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday 9 August 2017

CONFIDENTIAL AGENDA BUSINESS ITEM

Item: 5.1 Originating Officer: John McArthur, Manager Waste, Health and Regulatory

Services Responsible Director: Marc Salver, Director Strategy and Development Subject: Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre Management For: Decision

1. Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre Management – Exclusion of the Public

Pursuant to section 90(2) of the Local Government Act 1999 the Council orders that all members of the public, except:

CEO, Andrew Aitken

Director Engineering & Assets, Peter Bice

Director Strategy & Development, Marc Salver

Director Corporate Services, Terry Crackett

Director Community & Customer Service, David Waters

Executive Manager Governance & Performance, Lachlan Miller

Manager Waste, Health & Regulatory Services, John McArthur

Minute Secretary, Pam Williams be excluded from attendance at the meeting for Agenda Item 5.1: Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre Management in confidence. The Council is satisfied that it is necessary that the public, with the exception of Council staff in attendance as specified above, be excluded to enable Council to consider the report at the meeting on the following grounds: Section 90(3)(b) of the Local Government Act, the information to be received, discussed or considered in relation to this Agenda Item is information relating to the awarding of a contract for the management and operation of the Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre, the disclosure of which – (b) Information the disclosure of which –

Adelaide Hills Council Special Meeting 9 August 2017 Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre Management - CONFIDENTIAL

(i) could reasonably be expected to confer a commercial advantage on a person with

whom the council is conducting, or proposing to conduct, business, or to prejudice the commercial position of the council; and

(ii) would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest;

Accordingly, on this basis the principle that meetings of the Council should be conducted in a place open to the public has been outweighed by the need to keep the information and discussion confidential.

Adelaide Hills Council Special Meeting 9 August 2017 Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre Management - CONFIDENTIAL

3. Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre – Period of Confidentiality

Subject to the CEO, or his delegate, disclosing information or any document (in whole or in part) for the purpose of implementing Council’s decision(s) in this matter in the performance of the duties and responsibilities of office, Council, having considered Agenda Item 5.1 in confidence under sections 90(2) and 90(3)(b) of the Local Government Act 1999 resolves that an order be made under the provisions of sections 91(7) and (9) of the Local Government Act 1999 that the report and the minutes of Council and the discussion and considerations of the subject matter be retained in confidence until the contract for the management and operation of the Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre is executed, but not longer than 9 August 2018.

Pursuant to section 91(9)(c) of the Local Government Act 1999, that Council delegates the power to revoke the confidentiality order either partially or in full to the Chief Executive Officer.

notice of special meeting - ahc home · responsible director: terry crackett, director corporate...

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