by Carla Caruso

Keiran Snape is already experiencing the highs and lows of public office a month into the job.  

The former APA committee member was sworn in as the newest elected member of the City of Adelaide in August. The vacancy was created after Robert Simms resigned to fill a Greens seat in State Parliament, forcing a supplementary election for a replacement Councillor. 

According to Keiran: “The first deliberative [Council] meeting I’ve had, I had a couple of wins, and unfortunately, a couple of losses as well, especially in regards to the Park Lands, which is a real shame.” 

The success was having his first motion passed - on a climate change action plan. “That’s been a real win,” said Keiran, who also happens to be the assistant convener of the Greens in SA.

“We were effectively stepping off a precipice at the end of the year, where we declared climate change an emergency, but our Carbon Neutral Action Plan ran out. We weren’t going to do anything from January 1 onwards. I saw the gap.”

The City Council will now consult with stakeholders and the community on a new plan. “I definitely encourage people, when this consultation begins, to put forward real, genuine action on climate change – not tokenism; we don’t want tweaking around the edges.

“The idea being it really has to be a wholesale overhaul of how we do business – how we do our work, live, and play in the city. There’s no magic bullet with that.”

As for the losses – Councillor Alexander Hyde put forward a motion to show public support for Adelaide becoming a National Park City by signing the Adelaide National Park City Charter. 

Keiran sought an amendment to the motion to include the words “once the state government commits to cease further building on the Park Lands, including the Riverbank Precinct.” This was not supported by the majority. 

“I got some great support from a couple of councillors – Anne Moran and Phillip Martin – but unfortunately it was voted down,” Keiran said. “Then the subsequent motion went forward, and we opposed that on the basis that it was effectively greenwashing Adelaide while we were at the same time tearing down the Park Lands.” Again, the trio were outnumbered.

Another defeat for Keiran was losing the vote on standing up against the state government’s Riverbank Precinct takeover. The conquest will see swathes of your Open, Green, Public Park Lands re-zoned for development.

“The majority of the council is now supporting us creating a group to help workshop with the State Government on how these developments would occur, which is basically capitulation,” Keiran said.

Whether the State Government might be willing to risk pushing ahead with re-zoning in the face of Council opposition “isn’t the point”, according to Keiran.

“I think we need to be brave and stand up and be the voice of the people who actually care about the Park Lands, and for the Park Lands themselves. I wish there were more friends of the Park Lands on the Council. Right now, there are very few of us who genuinely want to see Open, Accessible Park Lands.”

Still, it’s not over until it’s over. “The thing is,” Keiran said, “we’ve got a State election coming up. [in March 2022].

“So, I certainly would encourage supporters to reach out to the other political parties involved and try to get some commitment to protect our Park Lands.”

Born in Manchester in England, Keiran moved to Adelaide when he was 17. Now aged 30, he lives with his husband in Wright Street. The pair got married last September on the rooftop at Sparkke at the Whitmore, overlooking Whitmore Square. “We’re looking maybe to build a family in the future; we’re not going anywhere,” Keiran said.

He plans to run for re-election in November 2022 and is happy for constituents to contact him via k.snape@cityofadelaide.com.au or ph 0481 475 613.

Keiran’s in his Council office on Mondays and Tuesdays.

On Thursdays and Fridays, he still works part-time in hospitality.