The first rule of council is: you do not talk about council

Talking about work outside of work can be a drag. So maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Adelaide City Council staff floated a plan last week to (sort of) ban the practice altogether.

Councillors adopted a new “Council Member Staff Interaction Policy” on Tuesday night, a document with the stated goal of providing “direction on interactions between Council Members and staff to assist both parties in carrying out their day-to-day duties professionally, ethically and respectfully” – something that’s not always occurred at Town Hall.

But the new policy wasn’t adopted until councillors amended a peculiar recommendation, presumably from council’s director of fight club services, on talking about work outside of work.

The now-omitted clause stated: “If Council Members and Council staff are present at non-Council events eg. social and community events, both parties are to refrain from discussing matters relating to Council business.”

The clause drew the ire of Deputy Lord Mayor Phillip Martin – evidently the leader of council’s “Team speak with staff at parties” faction – who reminded councillors last week how much he enjoys speaking with council mandarins.

“I am uncomfortable about… where it is suggested that council members and council staff present at non-council events should not talk to each other about council matters,” he told a committee meeting, “I’ve got to tell you chair that at every such occasion, that is the only subject.

“And it’s quite an affable thing to say to a staff member, ‘gee, I love the way that project’s unfolding’.

“They are generally civil conversations. To have them pretty much banned in this policy is, in my view, an unnecessary step.”

An untold amount of future councillor-staff small talk was saved on Tuesday night when Martin successfully amended the policy to remove the fight club rule.

The policy instead stipulates that work conversations between councillors and staff outside of council “must be respectful” with no “unreasonable behaviour”.

“It’s a sad day when we actually have to put this in writing because it’s just such a no-brainer,” councillor Carmel Noon quipped on Tuesday.

Martin couldn’t get the amendment through, however, without some old wounds from the last council opening up.

North Ward councillor Mary Couros, who voted against Martin’s amendment, highlighted the rift between staff and councillors during the last term,

“I get what the Deputy Lord Mayor is proposing and it seems quite reasonable and it seems like a normal thing to do to have those normal conversations,” Couros said.

“But history has suggested that… some councillors have not acted very appropriately at some events in the past, and I guess that’s what we’re drawing from.”

Some clarity on EV chargers

While we’re on the topic of council, Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith wants you to know that she doesn’t hate all electric vehicle chargers, just the “extremely ugly” ones.

Lomax-Smith made her disdain for bulky on-street chargers known last week, adding them to the list of things she’s described as “hideous” during her first year at Town Hall.

“I do not support any of these on residential streets,” Lomax-Smith said on Tuesday, October 17.

“It’s fine to be on an open lot car park… but to have this on an aesthetic street is an abomination – we can’t do this.”

The comments appeared in InDaily last Thursday and, inevitably, prompted criticism from electric vehicle enthusiasts, some pointing out that council parking meters aren’t particularly aesthetic either.

Telsa Superchargers in Franklin Street, Adelaide. Supplied image

Speaking from the Lord Mayor’s chair on Tuesday, Lomax-Smith thought it was necessary to “clarify my comments” about on-street chargers.

“I’m absolutely supportive of this strategy, but my complaint is that some of those double height, A-frame standard EV charging points are extremely ugly,” she said.

“There are plenty of cities around the world that have bollards that are the size of a fire hydrant that you can plug in, or on light poles.

“I think producing light and electrical facilities that are unobtrusive and aesthetic will be important on our streets rather than more clutter, and the double height A-frame style things are just so large, they’re unsightly.”

Councillors unanimously adopted an EV transition roadmap on Tuesday night, paving the way for hundreds of new charging points to be rolled out across the city and North Adelaide, predominately in parking facilities.

Muck up or Trade up?

End of school antics are well underway for the state’s Year 12 cohort as final lessons draw to an end.

As thousands of youngsters take on the celebratory rites of passage and get set to rage into the wee hours, InSider could not help but notice a Housing Industry Association report bemoaning the nationwide shortage of tradies.

The association’s senior economist Tom Devitt says most recent data shows Australia’s home building sector is still constrained by some of the most acute shortages of skilled tradespeople on record.

South Australia currently comes in second behind Queensland as the states struggling most to find tradespeople.

If any of those Year 12 graduates are looking for job advice once the exams are over and the festivities slow – the big tip from the September quarter is those most in demand are bricklayers followed by roofers, carpenters and ceramic tilers.

Standing ovation for KI’s cruisey week

It’s been a big week for Kangaroo Island after the premium travel hotspot was ranked number two by Lonely Planet in its 2024 Top Regions Hotlist.

Hot on the heels of that press release landing in editorial inboxes was another from Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison heralding the arrival of the first cruise ship to negotiate South Australian waters this season.

Grand Princess’s first stop was at the lauded Kangaroo Island destination before it delivered its 2,600 passengers and 1,100 crew members to the state’s less highly recognised – albeit newly renovated – cruise terminal at Outer Harbor.

Bettison claimed its arrival marks another high point for SA tourism saying the cruise ship schedule for SA is set to “blow last season’s record-high out of the water”.

There are now 124 cruise ship visits headed our way – 21 more than last year.

On the list is Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas – one of the biggest cruise ships to visit Australia – carrying up to 4,180 passengers and 1,500 crew.

InSider can already picture the maritime crowds rising to their feet and applauding that one.

Stuff you should know…

Sometimes InSider gets to Friday and realises the world has passed us by… which is the case for this week’s discovery. Yep, we know, the entire world has been watching these bears since June. But if you haven’t, enjoy.