The Town That
Forgot the Law.
In a small coastal city, not unlike Victor Harbor, there stood a proud building of steel and glass, the Council Chambers. Inside, the air was thick with ceremony and self-importance. The councillors spoke of “good governance” and “community outcomes,” while the people outside spoke of broken trust.
The Local Government Act was meant to be their compass, a fine and noble document crafted to guide democracy at its most local level. Yet, over the years, interpretation became invention, and invention became excuse. “It’s not illegal,” they would say, even as decisions bent the law until it almost snapped.
When councillors surrendered their delegated powers to the Chief Executive Officer, it raised a troubling question: why have councillors at all? If every decision is filtered, framed, or finalised by the administration, then elected representatives become little more than paid rubber stamps. The community could save a fortune by simply allowing the administration to make all the decisions themselves.
And if the State Government continues to pile its responsibilities onto local councils, perhaps the question should be asked more boldly: why have local government at all? Imagine the savings, one less level of accountability to worry about.
The people who bore the weight of biased decisions found no comfort in knowing they were right, for truth without enforcement is hollow. Those without deep pockets could never challenge a council in court; they simply learned to live with injustice disguised as “process.”
The burning question echoed from the gallery:
“If a road law is broken, the police come.
If a crime is committed, justice follows.
But if the Local Government Act is ignored — who comes for us?”
There was hush and then silence. No one answered.
When complaints reached the Ombudsman or ICAC, the replies were polite but distant. Reports were “considered,” “noted,” or “found to be reasonable.” The watchdogs seemed to guard not the people, but the comfort of the system itself.
And so, democracy in that coastal town became like a lighthouse with no keeper — still shining, but untended, its beam fading slowly in the mist.
The moral is clear:
Laws without enforcement are promises without meaning.
Until there are guardians for the guardians, until a body exists with real power to police the Local Government Act, the old saying will remain bitterly true:
“The law is an ass.”
Perhaps this may be catalyst for having no Local Government at all?
Council Watch Fleurieu Inc.
Accountability with Integrity.
Terry Andrews (Chair)
PO Box 1753, Victor Harbor SA 5211
Email: councilwatch44@gmail.com
Web: https://councilwatchvictorharbor.com/
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This correspondence is provided in good faith as part of Council Watch’s public interest oversight activities.
Council Watch Victor Harbor 