OPINION: Coober Pedy Together – Or Just Together in Spending?
Posted on: 2025-03-31 12:44:44
In a town struggling with the rising cost of living, dwindling health services, and ongoing education concerns, the community should be asking one very important question: What exactly are we getting in return for the $80,000+ per year we’re spending on a "facilitator" who neither lives in Coober Pedy nor seems to understand it?
The so-called Coober Pedy Together group was formed under the leadership of this fly-in, fly-out facilitator, who has now cost the ratepayers more than $420,000 since the role began. Despite this hefty investment, tangible outcomes remain few and far between — aside from a heavy dose of virtue signalling and photo ops, of course.
Let’s not confuse criticism of the group’s leadership with criticism of the volunteers. Many locals have genuinely tried to bring life to the facilitator’s ideas, but unfortunately, goodwill alone does not equate to meaningful community progress. When measured against outcomes, the question remains: do we really need a $400K+ outsider to guide us through community engagement? Or are we capable of mobilising our own?
Take, for example, the infamous "Dusty Wicket" documentary — initially pitched as a $30,000 exploration of cricket in Coober Pedy. In a town known more for its Eastern European heritage than its cricket fans, the idea was wildly out of touch. Even the supposed documentary partners began reshaping the storyline to "How to Save a Town," prompting Cricket Australia and the Coober Pedy Council to back away from the project entirely. The documentary now allegedly lives on, with a revised fundraising target of $2,000 — of which just $690 has been raised. A fitting metaphor, perhaps, for this entire saga.
Then there’s the recent Fringe Festival effort. Much was made of bringing “Adelaide Fringe” acts to Coober Pedy, some 800km away from the actual festival. What sounded exciting on paper quickly turned into yet another event that underdelivered. Speaking with local accommodation providers revealed no noticeable increase in tourism. It appeared most attendees were prize winners, invitees, or a small circle of locals. While the re-opening of the outdoor movie theatre received a bit of media attention, the actual Fringe events went largely unnoticed — a missed opportunity dressed up as a triumph. One glaring question remains: how much did these acts cost to bring in, and who footed the bill? Were they self-funded, supported by grants, or quietly subsidised with ratepayer dollars? Once again, the community is left in the dark.
And about that movie theatre — its repair was the group’s most visible achievement, but even that came about through a successful tender submitted by a group member. Would that outcome have been any different without the Together Group? It’s fair to ask whether the community needed a facilitator’s involvement at all for that to happen.
Beyond failed projects and lacklustre events, the real concern lies in how this group operates. Is Coober Pedy Together truly representing the broader community? Multiple venues in town — the RSL, John's Pizza Bar, Big Winch 360, the Italian Club — weren’t involved in the Fringe Festival. Were they even approached? Were tour operators consulted or included? Or was this another inward-looking effort for a select few?
This week brings fresh controversy, with the group reportedly granted an audience with the Minister for Education. One member of the group has children at the local school. Were other community members consulted or even notified? There’s no mention of the meeting on their social media. Their website is, as always, devoid of meaningful content. Who is making decisions on our behalf — and why aren't we being told?
The group continues to operate in isolation, never consulting with other community collectives like the Coober Pedy Community Alliance — an organisation consistently drawing concerned locals in search of practical solutions. In contrast, Together Group meetings appear to lack both community engagement and meaningful representation.
It’s time we asked the hard question: Are we paying over $80,000 a year for someone to deliver failed concepts and ignored concerns from 800km away? We’ve already seen — through the repeated failures of fly-in fly-out administrators and CEOs — that this model doesn’t connect leadership with the community or its needs. If the FIFO approach doesn’t work for local government, why would anyone believe it would work for community engagement? Coober Pedy isn’t a fly-in, fly-out kind of town — it needs boots on the ground and leadership that lives, listens, and understands. Couldn’t those funds be better spent addressing the real issues we face — health, education, services, infrastructure?
Community engagement should empower locals, not outsource leadership. Coober Pedy deserves better than a leadership model that appears more performative than productive. The Together Group may still believe they’re making a difference — but until there's actual, measurable impact, we’re left footing the bill for very little in return.
Author: Jason Wright