LGA bid to fill top job vacated in July last year
A long search for a new Local Government Association boss is coming under fire as one SA politician vows to fight for the entire sector to be cut.
Applications closed for the top job as new chief executive officer of the Local Government Association on September 29 last year but a new boss is yet to be named for the role.
Interim CEO Karen Teaha has been leading the association since Clinton Jury – who has been CEO of homeless sector not-for-profit St Vincent de Paul Society since October last year – left the role in July 2025.
CEOs running SA’s 68 councils are paid between $190,000 to $458,000, in mandatory wage bands set by the SA Remuneration Tribunal. Salaries for the CEO of LGA – the peak body of councils – are not made public.
When Jury quit the job after almost four years he said “it was time” for a new leader to take the reins and move the organisation forward.
An LGA SA spokesperson told InDaily it could not comment on how many candidates had applied for the job since recruitment started in September, or the cost of the search, while the confidential recruitment process was underway.
“The recruitment of a CEO has been a thorough and competitive process led by LGA’s Board over several months to appoint the best person to lead our organisation, represent the sector and collectively support councils in South Australia,” the spokesperson said.
“An announcement will be made very soon as the process is near completion.
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“Any suggestion the recruitment process is linked to external political commentary is incorrect.”
When Local Government Minister Rhiannon Pearce was asked about the months-long search for an LGA CEO, a spokesperson said it was “entirely a matter for the organisation”.
“The Minister for Local Government regularly communicates with the LGA, including the acting CE, to ensure both levels of government are working together to serve South Australians,” the government spokesperson said.
The LGA is funded by membership fees paid by the state’s 68 councils, which include ratepayer funds, and grants from state and federal governments.
The search for a new CEO was continuing as the local government sector was heavily criticised in March’s state election by continuing politician Sarah Game who represents her Fair Go party in parliament until 2030.
Game said the LGA position should be abolished along with the entire local council sector and Game intends to introduce legislation to parliament by the end of the year to “restrict wastage” within councils, including council CEO salaries.
“What a monumental waste of ratepayers’ money to fund the Local Government Association whose purpose is to lobby government on behalf of 68 councils,” Game said.
“We have too many councils with overpaid bureaucrats who don’t add value to communities.
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“The only way to get value for taxpayers is to abolish local government and with them positions like the CEO of the Local Government Association.”
Calls for a review of local government have also come from One Nation – which picked up seven seats at the recent state election – and SA Property Council executive director Bruce Djite, who believes the city council is a “barrier to progress”.
One Nation’s proposed council reform includes amending the Local Government Act to “enshrine the right of elected councillors to speak freely in opposition to council directions” and establishing a body to advise councillors on doing the job that’s separate from the LGA. Five of One Nation’s seven members are former regional councillors.
An LGA SA spokesperson said the organisation plays an important role in the tiers of government to work together, including saving councils money.
“As the peak body for SA local government, LGA supports councils with a range of services that create efficiencies through resource sharing, central policy and legislative work, bulk procurement and self-insurance that delivers significant savings across the sector and avoids duplication by individual councils,” the spokesperson said.
“In the last year alone, LGA’s mutual services delivered $65 million of collective value across the sector and generated $18 million of savings for councils through our self-insurance scheme when compared to Return to Work SA.
“Without this framework, councils would otherwise pay more for their insurance, without any of the additional services and support LGA provides.”
Greens leader Robert Simms said he was not aware of the LGA’s months-long search for a new CEO, but that the political backdrop of candidates criticising the sector “doesn’t help” recruitment and the new boss could face “headwinds” in the upper house.
When asked about Game’s proposal, Simms said his party would not support plans to axe local government. Simms is a former Adelaide City Councillor, and newly-elected Greens MLC Melanie Selwood is a former Adelaide Hills councillor.
“It’s the level of government that’s closest to the community and does a lot of service delivery, which is really vitally important,” Simms said.
Simms pointed to high salaries for council CEOs and government executives saying the Greens would be open to legislation that would examine pay packets set by the remuneration tribunal.
“You’ve got people that are often earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis… and a lot of councils are also reducing service delivery to try and balance the books. In that context, it doesn’t seem right that some CEOs are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.
“I think recruitment costs and the like should be disclosed. That said, it is standard in most organisations that they have quite a thorough process, particularly for senior roles, so it can sometimes take time but I think that should be transparent with the community about the costs involved.”
A state government spokesperson said the government has no plans or policies aimed at abolishing local government in this state.
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