New Report Affirms Value of Local Government to South Australian Communities

‘Why Local Government Matters in South Australia’ is a major piece of social research on South Australian community attitudes to local government, funded by the Research and Development Scheme of the Local Government Association of South Australia and the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government. The research was undertaken by the Centre for Local Government at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS CLG). 

Key findings from the research demonstrate the growing role of local government and its value to South Australians in more than local service delivery. Local government matters because of its role as a place-shaper and its importance in meeting the needs that drive people’s emotional connections and satisfaction with the areas in which they live. 

Traditionally, the role of local government has been understood in terms of service delivery and local democratic engagements, with local government being considered the level of government ‘closest to the people’. The research found that people see a wide-ranging role for local government outside of basic service delivery. The research demonstrates that people see local government’s role in advocating for local needs as one of the most important. The majority of respondents rated local government’s role in planning for the future (81%), developing local economies (71%) and promoting local health and wellbeing (69%) as extremely or very important. 

The majority of South Australians support collaboration in government service delivery (73%), and almost 60% of respondents strongly or moderately agree that governments should use a mixture of public, private and not-for-profit organisations to deliver public services.

For South Australians, many responses differed if they lived in country South Australia or in Adelaide. For instance, South Australians who live in country areas outside of Adelaide report that supportive and cohesive communities are more important to them while the availability of public transport and convenient shops that are suitable for people’s needs are more important to people living in Adelaide. 

Based on a survey of 1,002 South Australians, four focus groups and data from the national ‘Why Local Government Matters’ online survey, the South Australian project reinforces the findings from the 2014/2015 national research project by UTS CLG. 

Director of UTS CLG and project leader Associate Professor Roberta Ryan said of the research: “Alongside local governments’ role in local democracy and service delivery, this research reinforces the importance of local governments’ role as an advocate for local communities. Following our national research ‘Why Local Government Matters’ over the past three years, the new report provides a detailed snapshot of how South Australians perceive local government and its role in society. The findings demonstrate that local government is increasingly being recognised by communities for its important role in advocating for community needs, planning for the future and economic development.”

Local Government Association of South Australia President Mayor Dave Burgess said the LGA places a high value on sound independent research and looks forward to working through the findings of the report with South Australian councils. “The ability to undertake research into local attitudes, but also compare and contrast the findings with the rest of the country is particularly useful,” Mayor Burgess said.

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