Elsie Adamo
THE mayoral positions in Robe and Kingston could be vacant for four months, from November 2022 until March 2023, following a lack of nominations for the position.
Kingston District Council chief executive Nat Traeger said initial discussions with the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) might not start the supplementary elections until the November elections have concluded.
The current process for the November elections has taken around three months, if a similar timeline is followed for the supplementary elections, it could be into 2023 before either town has a mayor.
“There is every likelihood we won’t have a new mayor until March next year,” Ms Traeger said.
“The Local Government Association is currently getting some legal advice for how we manage in that interim period.”
“We have more than enough area councillors…so we can at least form a Council.
“As I understand it, Council will likely be given two options, to appoint an acting mayor and a deputy mayor…or elect a deputy mayor and they act as the mayor.”
A more pressing unknown for Ms Traeger is what would happen if an elected councillor decided to run for mayor, which she views as a likely scenario.
“They may have to resign as the area Councillor giving up their seat, and there could be someone out in the community could run against them resulting in a councillor losing their seat,” she said.
“I do not know if any of them will want to do that.
“So there is every chance our mayor could end up being someone who was not favoured by the community in the first instance.”
The ECSA changed Council Election protocols this year for nominee identities to be kept secret until nominations closed, and outgoing Kingston Mayor Kay Rasheed said the change impacted the nomination results.
“In the country where you have limited numbers of people, I think if we had known beforehand that there were no nominations, I would have rallied around and tried to find someone,” Ms Rasheed said.
“The fact we did not know made a difference, I think. I was surprised that no one put their hand up.
“We did get nine nominations for seven councillors, so it is not as though there is no interest, I think people are still keen to see things go from good to better in town.”
But for Ms Rasheed, a lack of nominations should not kickstart any talk of amalgamation, a hot topic in the region after Premier Peter Malinauskas announced a plebiscite to gauge interest in joining to other Limestone Coast councils later this year.
“I don’t think we should be forced into an amalgamation, that is my personal view,” Ms Rasheed said.
“This is the first time that [no nominations for mayor] has ever happened that I am aware of.
“We had the chance to amalgamate when the last lot went through, and there were quite strong feelings that we should be stand alone.”
Robe Mayor Alison Nunan echoed Ms Rasheed’s comments about the impact on candidate turnout from the new nomination process, but also said that being a small Council meant there were less potential candidates for the position.
“I think people are aware of the time commitment that is required to do it, and not everyone can give it that sort of time,” Ms Nunan said.
“It is a big role, and a complex role and if you are going to take it on you have to be prepared to do it justice and that requires a lot of time.
“Not everyone has an interest in Council, in a small community by the time you take out the people who are not interested in Council.
“Certainly, being a small community has had an impact on it.”
More clarity on the process for the two councils moving forward is expected in the coming weeks.
