The City of Unley is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

in the

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

metropolitan region,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is located directly south of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...

. The Corporate Town of Unley was created in 1871, when 2,000 signatories to a petition from residents of the several towns of Unley, Parkside, Black Forest, Goodwood and Fullarton requested the Governor allow them to form their own municipality and thus sever from the District Council of Mitcham. The first town hall was built in 1880. It became the third municipality in the State to gain city status in 1906 (after the Cities of Adelaide and Port Adelaide), becoming the current City of Unley.

History

Located on traditional lands of the

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kau ...

people, the City of Unley is rich in history, character and atmosphere, and centrally located only minutes from Adelaide's city centre. In 2011, the mayor Lachlan Clyne was arrested by police for fraud and other things. However, all charges were thrown out of court in 2012. With the Police Ombudsman recommending that the police officer who led the failed investigation face internal disciplinary charges.

Environment

Unley is one of three suburban Adelaide councils to be awarded a "

Tree Cities of the World Tree Cities of the World is a worldwide program managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Arbor Day Foundation in the US, whereby municipalities of any size can apply to earn the designation "Tree City o ...

" designation from the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(FAO) and

Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...

, along with the

City of Burnside The City of Burnside is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the South Australian city of Adelaide stretching from the Adelaide Parklands into the Adelaide Hills, Adelaide foothills with an area of . It was founded in August ...

and the

City of Mitcham The City of Mitcham is a local government area in the foothills of southern Adelaide, South Australia. Within its bounds is Flinders University, South Australia's third largest, and the notable, affluent suburb of Springfield which contains som ...

, which are the only three in Australia.

Climate action

In 2020 the City of Unley joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and pledged to measure its GHG emissions, set emission targets, and develop a plan to support emission reductions. However, the City of Unley hasn't declared a climate emergency, nor banned fossil fuel advertising on property it owns.

Council corporate emissions

The City of Unley's CO₂ corporate emissions represent about 1% of total community-wide emissions. Its total corporate emissions for 2020 were estimated as 3,600 tonnes equiv, comprising 1,700 tonnes equiv Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and 1,900 tonnes equiv Scope 3 emissions. To address its corporate emissions, the City of Unley developed a draft Climate and Energy Plan (CEP) that proposed attaining

carbon neutrality Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

by 2030. To achieve this goal the City of Unley's intends: staged adoption of electric vehicles; an electrification strategy to progressively switch from gas to electricity for space and water heating; more solar PV installations including at community centres; continued energy efficiency upgrades including LED lighting and building upgrades; and sustainable procurement improvements aimed at supporting local low-carbon industry suppliers. These measures will reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions while procurement policies will work to reduce Scope 3 emissions. However, the CEP acknowledges that to become carbon neutral the City of Unley must eventually purchase carbon offsets for its Scope 3 emissions.

Carbon neutral date brought forward from 2030 to 2023

In mid-2021 a local community group, Unley Voices for Climate Action (UVCA), made a detailed submission to Council, signed by more than 70 residents, arguing for a more ambitious plan including an earlier carbon-neutral date. In September 2021 Council approved its Climate and Energy Plan which included a carbon-neutral date brought forward from 2030 to 2023. Councillors who voted in favour of the December 2023 carbon neutral date anticipated buying high quality carbon offsets with co-benefits of indigenous employment and biodiversity.

Carbon neutral date setback from 2023 to 2030

Following the South Australian local government elections in November, 2022, Michael Hewitson was re-elected as Mayor. Six new ward Councillors were elected, and six ward Councillors were returned. At the City of Unley Council meeting on 27 February 2023, a majority of Councillors voted in favour of the motion by new Liberal Party councillor, Jack Gaffey, to amend Council's Climate Change Policy. The amendment reverts the target carbon-neutral date of Council's corporate emissions from December, 2023 to December, 2030 by bringing forward carbon abatement measures specified in the CEP. Funds which were allocated to purchase accredited carbon offsets starting in December, 2023 will instead be spent on accelerating carbon abatement measures with the amount to be determined during the Annual Business Plan and Budget process. The outcome of the 27 February 2023 Council meeting shifts the purchase of carbon offsets from December, 2023 back to December, 2030.

Community-wide emissions

The remaining 99% of community-wide emissions originate from residents and businesses comprising: transport (45%), electricity (30%), gas (20%) and waste (5%). The City of Unley doesn't have a formal strategy or a target carbon-neutral date for community-wide emissions but it is encouraging the reduction of waste and transport emissions. It supports and encourages its residents to move food waste into organic bins for composting rather than landfill, and by providing more investment in cycleways and pedestrian friendly streetscapes.

2022 community climate change focus group surveys

As part of its commitment to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, the City of Unley will need to set a community-wide emissions reduction goal. In 2022, the City of Unley commissioned market research surveys using focus groups to better understand community views on

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, barriers to community emissions reduction, and to gather ideas for how Council can support community emissions reduction. To help guide future work to support reduction of community-wide emissions, the City of Unley wanted to understand the breadth of community's views on climate change. As such, focus groups were used to support hearing a spectrum of views, rather than just the strong community voices for or against climate change action.

Key feedback from focus groups

A total of 43 residents in 5 community focus groups across Council wards took part. The most common responses to the question: "''How can the community reduce its emissions''?" were: • Retain green spaces and trees and plant more • Drive less – ride walk, catch public transport, or use electric vehicles • Use less energy at home • Create less waste and recycle better • Install household solar generation and storage • Build sustainable houses • Use consumer and citizen influence • Change attitudes of those around you The most common responses to the question: "''What can Council do to help reduce community emissions''?" were: • Advocate for more renewable and affordable energy and vehicles • Support community solar or bulk purchase schemes • Provide additional waste management services • Provide green streets and public spaces • Provide safe and attractive walking and cycling routes • Advocate to State government for better public transport • Educate the community about how to reduce their environmental footprint • Improve development outcomes through assessment and advocacy for policy reform • Provide grants, incentives and rebates for greening and sustainability improvements • Lead by example with technology adoption

Council

The council, and the councillors' registered interests, are:

Suburbs

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

- 5035 * Clarence Park - 5034 * Everard Park - 5035 * Forestville - 5035 * Fullarton - 5063 * Goodwood - 5034 *

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

- 5063 * Hyde Park - 5061 * Kings Park - 5034 * Malvern - 5061 *

Millswood Millswood is an inner-southern mainly residential suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. It was named after Scotsman Samuel Mills, who arrived in the colony in 1839. Description The suburb is dissected by Goodwood Road, Adelaide, Goodwood Roa ...

- 5034 * Myrtle Bank - 5064 * Parkside - 5063 *

Unley Unley is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, within the City of Unley. The suburb is the home of the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Unley neighbours Adelaide Park Lands, Fullar ...

- 5061 * Unley Park - 5061 *

Wayville Wayville is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. It is most notable for hosting of the Royal Adelaide Show at the Adelaide Showgrounds. The suburb is bordered to the north by Adelaide's South Parklands, to the west by Ade ...

- 5034

Mayors

Sources: * John Henry Barrow (1871–1872) * L. Scammell (1872–1874) * Henry Codd (1874–1877) * J. H. Bagster (1877–1878) * W. Townsend (1878–1881) * James S. Greer (1881–1884) * George Howell (1884–1886) * W. A. Hubble (1886–1887) * J. G. Jenkins (1887–1889) * W. Shierlaw (1889) * W. A. Hubble (1889–1890) * J. O'Connell (1890) * James Viner Smith (1890–1891) * *

John Herbert Cooke John Herbert Cooke (3 August 1867 – 30 July 1943) was an Australian politician, variably referred to as "J. Herbert Cooke" or "J. H. Cooke". History He was born at Payneham, South Australia, the third son of Ebenezer Cooke (ca.1832 – 7 May ...

(1904–1907) * Alfred Samuel Lewis (1907–1909) * John Henry Chinner (1909–1912) * Walter Dollman (1912–1914) * Thomas Elliott Yelland (1914–1916) * William Norman Parsons (1916–1918) * William Harold Langham (1918–1920) * Herbert Richards (1920–1922) * Alfred Ernest Morris (1922–1924) * Ethelbert Bendall (1924–1926) * George Illingworth (1926–1928) * Benjamin John Sellick (1928–1930) * Charles Mayo Read (1930–1932) * Frederick James Barrett (1933–1935) *

John McLeay Sr. Sir John McLeay, (19 November 1893 – 22 June 1982) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1966, representing the Division of Boothby in South Australia. He wa ...

(1935–1937) * James McGregor Soutar (1937–1939) * Colin Dunnage (1939–1941) * Keith Bentzen (1941–1943) * Henry Dunks (1943–1946) * William Morris Harrell (1946–1948) * Samuel Gild (1948–1949) * Claude Stanislaus Coogan (1949–1952) * Joseph Young (Joe) Woollacott (1952–1953) * Theodore Fergus Ballantyne (1953–1955) * Alfred G. M. Freeman (1953–1955) * George S. Barlow (1957–1959) * Claude F. Page (1959–1961) * John McLeay Jr. (1961–1963) * Leonard Iles (1963–1965) * Alexander L. Hood (1965–1967) * Lewis G. Short (1967–1970) * Clement Colman (1970–1972) * Eric H. Parish (1972–1974) * Laurence K. Simon (1974–1975) * Lloyd K. Lovell (1975–1977) * John H. Southern (1977–1980) * Cecil S. Rowe (1980–1982) * Denis A. Sheridan (1982–1985) * Barry L. Schuetz (1985–1987) * David H. McLeod (1987–1991) * Michael Keenan (1991–2006) * Richard Thorne (2006–2010) * Lachlan Clyne (2010–2018) *Peter Hughes (acting, 2018–2018) *Michael Hewitson (2018–present)

References

External links

City of Unley websiteCity of Unley community profileCity of Unley Concert Band website
{{Coord, 34, 57, S, 138, 36, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU_source:dewiki, display=title

1871 establishments in Australia