SA council unfair to Aboriginal community
A council in South Australia's north was unreasonable, unjust and acted contrary to law in how it managed the electricity and water debts of members of the local Aboriginal community, an investigation has found.
SA Ombudsman Wayne Lines investigated the actions of the Coober Pedy Council in response to concerns raised by the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement.
He found that the council had disconnected electricity to some customers, including at least one cut off on a Friday, without offering payment plans.
He said it also failed to identify those eligible for hardship provisions and asked for unreasonably high payments from people under those arrangements.
"At the core of this investigation is the very serious concern that Aboriginal community members of Coober Pedy have been allowed to accumulate considerable debts in relation to their electricity and water accounts," Mr Lines said in his report published on Monday.
"This in turn has had a significant impact on their quality of life.
"These debts appear to have accumulated over several years until the council determined that action needed to be taken to recover the amounts owed.
"In seeking to recover the amounts owed, the council has created hardship agreements that require oppressively high payments to be made by community members."
The Coober Pedy Council is currently being run by a state-government appointed administrator and Mr Lines noted that the issues with electricity and water charges occurred largely before that change.
Among his recommendations, he suggested the government consider alternative options to the council for the supply of electricity and water.
Mr Lines also urged the council to consider writing off some debts and to work on better communication with the Aboriginal community.
Premier Steven Marshall said the government was looking at both the report and its recommendations.
He said the Cooper Pedy region was a "precious" part of South Australia with some unique challenges.
