2026 Council Elections Cancelled; Next Elections Moved to 2027
Local Government (Elections - Periodic Elections) Amendment Bill 2026
House of Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
Introduced by: The Hon Rhiannon Pearce MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Hilton Gumbys ALP
“I rise to speak in support of the Local Government (Elections - Periodic Elections) Amendment Bill 2026, which proposes to shift the close of polling for local government elections from November 2026 to April 2027. This is not a decision taken lightly and I want to be direct about why it has been taken.”
Ben Hood LIB
“I rise to speak on this bill and place on the record a number of concerns from the opposition regarding both its substance and the process that has ultimately brought us to this point. At its core, this legislation is asking parliament to extend the terms of elected local government representatives and delay scheduled local government elections.”
Robert Simms GRN
“I rise to speak on the Local Government (Elections - Periodic Elections) Amendment Bill on behalf of the Greens and to indicate that the Greens will be supporting the bill, albeit reluctantly.”
Mira El Dannawi ALP
“I rise to speak in support of the Local Government (Elections - Periodic Elections) Amendment Bill 2026. In South Australia, we take immense pride in the quality and integrity of our democratic system.”
Rebecca Hewett PHON
“At the heart of this debate is a simple democratic principle: elections belong to the people, not to administrators, governments or parliaments to postpone when the process becomes difficult. The right of local communities to choose their representatives on time should not be delayed unless the case is overwhelming, unavoidable and clearly in the public interest. That threshold has not been met.”
Sarah Game NULL
“I rise briefly to speak on the Local Government (Elections - Periodic Elections) Amendment Bill. In my mind, it is a shame that we have come to this, where the Electoral Commission of South Australia has been so inept that we are having to postpone local government elections in order to ensure that things are not going to be botched like they were last year.”
Carlos Quaremba PHON
“I did have a speech prepared, but I think I might just wing this. What do you reckon, Cory?”
Cory Bernardi PHON
“It is very, very challenging to follow such a passionate speech and defence of democracy, but I will do my very best. This bill is an admission of failure. It is an admission of failure, not just by the Electoral Commission but I have to say it is an admission of failure by the government. The government has been in for four years now and some change.”
Kyam Maher ALP
“I thank honourable members for their contributions to this bill. We have been very clear as a government. I think some of the words that we have used for where we find ourselves include ’frustrating’ and ’disappointed’.”