‘Land grab’, ‘rates raid’ and ‘hostile takeover’ are just some of the ways Campbelltown City Council’s inquiry into the realignment of its council boundaries has been described.

With such angry words you would think something underhanded was happening here in the foothills. Yet in 2019 changes to the Local Government Act made it possible for Council’s to submit boundary change proposals directly to the Local Government Boundaries Commission. Previously, councils could only propose boundary changes with the Minister’s approval.

So that’s what Campbelltown did. They made an application to realign their boundary to include Woodforde and an annexure of Rostrevor tucked up near Morialta Conservation Park. I first moved into the area when this started and my first community meeting was at Rostrevor College where the community kicked off – on both sides.

I look back at that night and recall it being ‘wild’. Residents were furious at Campbelltown for suggesting such an inquiry, and yet there were just as many in the room furious at Adelaide Hills Council for their ongoing neglect. That meeting was the catalyst for me to consider running for local government. It was the perfect storm that forced me to ask, what are we getting for our rates?

Right now all Councils are looking at a rates rise. As we know, rates pay for more than just rubbish collection. They include road maintenance, lighting, footpaths and community services to name a few. The more I looked at this from the inside as a Councillor, the more I saw that residents of a suburban area like Woodforde do not travel 25 minutes up the hill to go to the library, community centre or even shop. We head over the road into Campbelltown for all that.

So our rates are not actually paying for services we use, but for services the rest of Adelaide Hills residents use. Now while I love to be altruistic, there is a cost of living crisis and I want to pay for what I use. So with that we need to take the heat out of this debate and use this to actually look at what our area needs.

Woodforde has almost doubled in size with the development of Hamilton Hill dead smack in its centre. We need footpaths, road maintenance, construction rubbish cleared and lighting installed just for starters. Our $1.7m in rates is just not delivering on this.

This year the Adelaide Hills Council provided the community with its long-term financial plan with its draft annual business plan. While I love the transparency, it drove home to me an alarming reality.

The long-term financial plan shows the Adelaide Hills Council returning to surplus in 2030 – all going well. To get there that includes “a reduction in expenditure especially around the development of new assets and infrastructure …”  So in five years, we may get a footpath that connects residents to one of only three bus stops in the area while around 200 additional residential properties come online.

In the meantime we will have to pay an anticipated extra 6.2% on our rates this year, while our neighbours over in Campbelltown are looking at just 3.5% – or the rate of inflation. They’re managing this while keeping their balance sheet in profit with just over $1m.

Now change is scary. Especially when we are seeing housing infill around us and growing demands on services that can’t keep up. Residents in the foothills want to protect their environment and keep overcrowding at bay. But if you take a moment and look at other foothills suburbs maintained by suburban Councils (including Athelstone within Campbelltown) you will see it is all possible.

With a housing and cost of living crisis, we need to get practical about debates like this. Let’s stick to the facts and let boundary inquiries like this be a moment for communities to take a good hard look at where they will get better bang for their rates buck.

And be brave while facing the tide of change.

To have your say in the Boundary Realignment click here.

Louise Pascale

Community Advocate

I passionately believe we need strong representation for foothills suburbs like Woodforde. Being on the fringes means we are often forgotten or overlooked. I have seen exponential growth in the foothills and with my background in advocacy continue to work for my community.

We live in a uniquely beautiful area with significant fauna, wildlife and Morialta Conservation Park on our doorstep. We need to be with a Council that understands what it is like to have a home and business in this environment. After spending 2 years on Adelaide Hills Council I am confident to say they are not the best Council to address our growing needs.