Charlotte Varcoe
THE 2026 State Election will look much different with the recent ban on election corflutes on public roads.
Earlier this week, the state government implemented the ban which prohibits the display of electoral advertising posters on a public road or road-related areas such as stobie poles and trees.
The legislation will not affect federal elections and is expected to pass in the Upper House as early as next week.
Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell supported the move which was first introduced by the Liberal Party in 2020.
“I supported the corflute ban when it was first raised by the liberal party as part of its electoral reform bill prior to the last election,” Mr Bell said.
“They are distracting on public roads, have a negative impact on our environment and serve very little purpose to the public.
“I look forward to the next election campaign focusing on the issues that are affecting our community and not the race to the stobie pole.”
Mr Bell also labelled the corflutes as an “eyesore” and said his view had not changed since it was first introduced.
Member for MacKillop Nick McBride also supported the legislation stating there was an environmental and visual impact of the posters, especially in the city.
“Nothing replaces the face-to-face engagement with your constituents,” Mr McBride said.
“However, in an electorate as large as MacKillop corflutes do serve a purpose in reminding people of candidates at upcoming elections.”
He said he was pleased the election posters could still be used on private property and believed there was still merit in investigating corflutes which could be disposed of responsibly or recycled entirely.
Member of the Legislative Council and former state candidate Ben Hood said the ban was “welcome and overdue”.
“We know it has widespread community support and we know they do little to educate voters about the candidates running for elections or the policies they stand for,” Mr Hood said.
“The banning of these corrugated polypropylene election posters is a natural extension of the work undertaken by the Leader of the Opposition when he was Minister for Environment and Water.
“Bans on single-use plastics in South Australia have received bipartisan support over the years and ridding the streets of our city and our regions of the physical and visual pollution created by the many tens of thousands of corflutes that pop up each election should have strong bipartisan support.”
Leader of the Opposition David Speirs welcomed the ban after advocating for the change across a number of years.
“I led by example at the last state election and chose not to display corflutes in public areas throughout my electorate – a move that received incredible support from my local community,” Mr Speirs said.4
“South Australians don’t like the visual pollution of these posters or the fact that they’re made of single use plastic.
“These new laws add to the South Australian Liberal Party’s proud history when it comes to practical environmental action, most notably banning the use of single use plastics.”
