Naracoorte Lucindale ratepayers could wait an extra five months to elect their next council under extraordinary state government legislation.

The government’s move described by mayor Patrick Ross as an “extremely disappointing outcome” comes after deputy premier and Special minister to State Kyam Maher agreed with the warnings from the acting Electoral Commissioner Leah McLay that the Electoral Commission was not adequately prepared to deliver the local government elections scheduled for 11 November 2026, triggering a proposal to push polling day back to 7 April 2027.

Speaking to The [Naracoorte] News, Mr Ross said the five-month delay left councils facing uncertainty around budgets, governance, and election planning.

Last week, the state government announced it will introduce urgent legislation to Parliament to defer the elections.

Mr Ross said councils were still waiting to understand the full implications of the proposed changes.

“This is an extremely disappointing outcome and – like other councils – we will need to work through what it means for budgets, the election process and plans being progressed in 2026/27,” he said.

“The legislative changes would need to address a number of significant governance issues, and, at this stage, we have not seen the details.

“Once we have more information, we will work through the required steps and put relevant measures in place to comply.

“Obviously, this is an evolving issue, and we will keep The [Naracoorte] News updated in the coming weeks,” the mayor said.

In a statement, government said the decision followed advice from Ms McLay, who identified that because of inadequate frameworks, processes and documentation, planning and delivery for the 2026 election were occurring simultaneously creating a significant risk for the local government election process.

Concerns were also raised about the Electoral Commission’s ability to recruit and retain the workforce required to deliver the election, with the independent reviewer of the 2026 South Australian elections, Tom Rogers, supporting those concerns.

Mr Maher said the government believed it had little choice but to act.

“In the plainest of terms, the acting Electoral Commissioner has said that the Electoral Commission is simply not equipped to manage the local government elections should they proceed this year,” he said.

“It’s a warning we cannot ignore, and we have moved swiftly to respond to the Commissioner’s concerns and propose a sensible, pragmatic way forward.”

Mr Maher said the proposed delay would ensure local government could continue to function while giving the Electoral Commission additional time to prepare for an efficient and effective election process.

“It is now up to the Parliament to decide,” he said.

Minister for Local Government Rhiannon Pearce defended the proposal, saying maintaining public confidence in the electoral process was critical.

“Deferring the elections is a sensible response to ensure the integrity of our electoral processes and give South Australians faith in the management and oversight of these important elections,” Ms Pearce said.

“Local government services are vitally important to South Australian communities and it’s imperative that voters have faith in the electoral processes and institutions that help determine council leadership.”

She said the challenges currently facing the Electoral Commission warranted the delay, particularly given the complexity of council elections across more than 60 councils and hundreds of ballot combinations.

The government said shifting the election to April would also address a long-held preference of both the Local Government Association and the Electoral Commission to separate local government elections from state election years, with subsequent council elections returning to November from 2031.

The April polling date was selected following feedback from the Local Government Association to provide councils adequate time to complete their budget processes before the end of the 2026 27 financial year.

The announcement comes ahead of Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry’s resignation on 24 July, with Ms McLay to continue as acting Electoral Commissioner while a replacement is appointed.

This article appeared in The Naracoorte News, 24 June 2026.