Draft:Salisbury Smart Cities Controversy

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In 2023, the Adelaide northern suburbs council,The City of Salisbury, South Australia, developed a proposal for a smart cities initiative, which received significant community backlash, including from two elected members of the council who were later removed. It was described as "big brother technology", and compared to being in a concentration camp. The proposals attracted conspiracy theories, including that the council was enabling Elon Musk to mind control residents.

Background

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A conceptual image representing smart city technology.

There is no universal definition of smart cities, but the concept generally involves using technology such as sensors, cameras and IoT devices to improve data driven decision making relating to local government infrastructure and systems. [1][2][3] The concept was first introduced by International Business Machines Corporation in the late 1990's. [3]

In 2016, the Australian Federal Government established a $50m grants program to support projects to "apply smart technology, data-driven decision making and people-focused design to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits".[1] In the second round of the program, The City of Marion received funding to build a $1.7m "smart precinct" at Oaklands Park.[4][5]

In 2018, the Local Government Association of South Australia and the City of Adelaide established a 'Smart Cities Summit' with a range of experts and politicians, with speakers presenting information on how local government can utilise smart city technologies, including a newly established 10 gigabit data network installed around Adelaide. [6][7][8]

In 2019, the Local Government Association of South Australia established a 'Smart Cities' framework to support councils to use technology in planning, facilities management, such as identifying vacant parks, road congestion points, and apps for residents to report infrastructure issues such as potholes. [9] The intention was to increase efficiency and effectiveness of council services, improve community wellbeing and enable reductions in rates. [9] The proclaimed view of the framework was that:[10]

Smart cities use information and communications technology (ICT) to collect, communicate and “crunch” – or analyse – information. The analysis part can create a picture of what is happening now, and what is likely to happen.

In June 2022, South Australian Liberal Senator Alex Antic raised broad concerns about Australia's digital future being a surveillance and privacy risk, including that sensitive biometric data could be a target for hackers and malicious foreign agents. [11] In December 2022, Antic released a video about the smart cities programs as a "rise of the digital surveillance state" with concerns that is represented a dystopian future and claiming "your city is tracking you". [12][13]

In local government election campaign materials, Cr Alan Graham stated that he supported CCTV to target hoon and illegal dumping.[14] Cr Beau Brug stated that he supported CCTV cameras to "tackle crime, hoon driving and illegal dumping".[15] Following the election to Salisbury Council, Deputy Mayor Cr Chad Buchanan stated that he was "passionate about establishing a portable CCTV program to help prevent incidences of anti-social behavior including hoon driving, graffiti and illegal dumping at certain hot spots."[16] Cr Peter Jensen stated that he would "work to roll out a portable CCTV program to tackle hoons and illegal dumping". Cr David Hood stated his support of "rollout of CCTV to tackle hoons". [17]

Proposal

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Salisbury Council developed a proposal for a smart cities initiative to "improve the quality of life of residents", including increased safety.[18] The proposal was supported by newly elected Councillor Sharon McKell, who was elected partly on a platform of increasing security in public spaces. In 2005, McKnell's daughter was taken from northern suburbs and murdered, before being dumped at Mount Crawford Forrest and set on fire. [19][18] A $200,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest, but it remains a cold case. [19] McKell was a "strong advocate" of the Salisbury smart cities proposal, stating that increased CCTV could improve public safety and prevent similar crimes. [20] [18]

The Salisbury smart city program included plans for more CCTV cameras to address issues such as hoon drivers and illegal dumping, and technology to detect movements of cars and people to understand needs for services and protect residents. Salisbury Council stated "the CCTV system will not use facial recognition technology".[21]

Initial Criticism and Concerns

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A CCTV camera.

On 1st January 2023 Salisbury councilor Severina Burner compared the Salisbury smart cities program to "a concentration camp with pretty interactive lights".[22]

A group of residents called the “No Smart Cities Action Group" (NOSCAG) distributed tens of thousands of pamphlets to Salisbury residents describing it as "purchase, installation and maintenance of prison technologies on the City of Salisbury Streets" and as "big brother technologies". One pamphlet included an image of South Australian Liberal Senator Alex Antic who had previously criticised smart city initiatives, although he denied any involvement with the flyers and asked for references of him to be removed. [21][23] The group claimed that SMART is an acronym for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology, which is a hardware monitoring tool to detect signs of hard drive failures. [24][25] Salisbury councilor Grace Bawden said she was not a member of NOSCAG but that she agreed with its views, and stated that as long as there is capability for facial recognition, it could be used any time. [26]

Salisbury Business Association Executive Officer, David Waylen, provided support to council motions to re-affirm council's commitments to the use of smart city technology and developing a community communication plan to explain the use of the technology. The support was based on the "many positives" that smart city technology could provide for businesses, property owners and Salisbury community. [24]

Cr Burner sent an email to her fellow councilors purporting that the technologies enabled citizens to be tracked, traced, monitored, and recorded constantly and indefinitely, and that the information could be traded with anyone. She listed concerns that the technology included LED lights with strobe capabilities, light poles with drone docking stations, sensors in furniture, cameras with facial recognition, microphones with voice recognition, computers and other devices which would steal telephone data of everyone with a mobile phone, and "much much more". She claimed that all the information would be linked to digital ID's, and that the council were acting as the "foot soldiers" on behalf of powerful globalist bankers who had infiltrated the local government sector. [27]

On 22nd January, according to a report by Norman Waterhouse Lawyers, Cr Bawden published a post on Facebook stating that smart cities are designed to "concentrate power over people into the hands of a tiny, influential (usually corrupt) group of powerful elites" and stating that smart cities "embrace such concepts as: Net Zero, Geofencing, Geoengineering, Climate Lockdowns, Fourth Industrial Revolution, Decarbonisation, Cashless Society, Central Bank Digital Currency, Basic Income, Social Credit Score, Wealth Redistribution/ Restitution, Transhumanism & much, much more." [28]

The NOSCAG website called for a “massive presence” at the upcoming Council meeting and claimed to be undertaking a letterbox drop of 57,172 flyers to residents.[22][29] Mayor Gillian and Deputy Mayor Chad Buchanan criticised Cr Severina Burner and Cr Grace Bawden for encouraging the protests. Cr Bawden shared the NOSCAG information online, asking people to "share & support the Councilors who are fighting for your rights". [22] Mayor Aldridge stated that she was concerned for the safety of the council following the calls for everyone to come to the council meeting. [30]

Other Salisbury councilors reported concerns that residents were too scared to leave their houses as a result of smart cities conspiracies, including claiming that people genuinely believed that the poles in Salisbury's main street, John Street, had been fitted with 5g technology to kill and maim people. [31] Deputy mayor, Chad Buchanan was labelled a “lizard man”.[31]

Council meeting to discuss the proposal

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Council chambers inside the Salsbury Community Hub.

The Council had scheduled a meeting for 30th January 2023 to discuss the proposal. [26] There were concerns that protesters might enter the chamber, which had happened at the southern Adelaide suburban City of Onkaparinga two weeks prior, when protesters stormed the chambers to disrupt discussions about declaring a climate emergency, before being removed by police. [32][26] Members of that group were affiliated with NOSCAG[22] and it was described as "justified" by Salisbury Cr Burner.[33] About 100 protesters gathered outside the Salisbury Community Hub on the night of the council meeting, but the venue lost power, along with 1,200 other properties, resulting in the meeting being rescheduled to the following day. [26] Cr Peter Jensen thanked the protesters for exercising their democratic rights peacefully and said there was a need to educate the community about the councils proposed use of technology.[34] The protesters were criticised by SA Police for diverting resources from fighting crime. [23]

On 31st January 2023, the rescheduled meeting was held and the council passed a motion that it:

Re-affirms its commitment to providing appropriate smart city technology in the delivery of the Council adopted City Plan and Digital Salisbury [...] such as smart lighting, parking, city navigation, bin collection etc, and that Council does not support the usage of real time facial recognition software technology".

It also requested that the city administration develop a community communications plan to explain the extent and application of smart city technology. The motions were supported by all councillors except Cr Bawden and Cr Burner. [35][23]

Cr Burner delivered a seven-minute speech reiterating her belief in a number of conspiracies, including outlining details about Elon Musk's brain chips which had been installed into robots. She stated that four of the robots "went a bit funny" and when the workers were disassembling them, one used it's AI technology "to get on the net and find out how to repair itself, and then it killed nine employees".[27] Cr Burner later denied that she made claims about Elon Musk brain chips, stating "no-one has ever made any such claims that Elon Musk 'has inserted or is in the process of inserting &/or attaching to residents' brains [brain chips] to control the community". [36]

At the meeting, the council presented a motion to address a number of concerns, stating for the "avoidance of any doubt" that:

  1. The Council will not create a Social Credit Score System,
  2. The Council does not use technology "on behalf of powerful Globalist Bankers that have infiltrated all councils for many decades through various UN programs aimed at lobbying Mayors and local government officials",
  3. The Council does not support an agenda to create a new One World Government as part of the Great Reset,
  4. The Council does not support the rollout of elements within George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four or Animal Farm,
  5. Confirming that Smart technology does not introduce digital currencies,
  6. The Council does not not allow 5G towers to be used to "kill or maim people",
  7. The Council confirms that it is not aware of “a microchip that Elon Musk has produced which he has inserted or is in the process of inserting and/or attaching to residents’ brains to control the community”,
  8. The Council will not create policies to restrict travel through "climate change lockdowns",
  9. The Council will not segregate or "geofence" the city to reduce carbon emissions [37][31][36]

NOSACS spokesperson, Grant Harrison said some but not all of the claims made by the council motion were believed by NOSAG. [31]

On 7 February 2023 the Salisbury Council published an update reiterating it's commitment to implementing smart cities technology, and stating that it is "aware of and concerned about misleading information which has recently been circulated". The statement reiterated the intention of CCTV being community safety, and stated:

Council takes the right to privacy of members of the public extremely seriously and respects their freedom within the confines of the law. As a result, Council does not support the use of facial recognition software and this will not be used in relation to any CCTV that is installed by Council.[38]

On 8-9 February 2023, City of Salisbury General Manager of City Infrastructure was a presenter at the Smart Cities Conference in Melbourne, Victoria.[39]

At a Salisbury Council Meeting on 27th February 2023, a motion was presented to request that the Mayor and CEO write to Elon Musk "offering the opportunity" to speak to council about the Neuralink chip being developed, and invite him to comment on the public statements made by Cr Burner that the chip had been put into four robots, one of which had allegedly killed nine people. The motion also requested that a video conference option is offered to Musk "in consideration of his availability and the time zone difference". The motion was carried unanimously. [37][36]

Subsequent councillor behavioral issues

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On 25 February 2025, Burner spoke at an Adelaide Freedom Rally outside Parliament House. According to a subsequent behavioral standards panel report, she stated that:

Most councillors are blissfully ignorant about the global political agenda operating above their heads but in plain sight a select few however have been on payrolls for at least a decade ushering in the global fascist utopia which will require you to seek permission to speak, to eat, to travel to work, to even raise a family that’s if your family’s not dead by then, sorry. [40]

Cr Burner was accused of inappropriate behavior by making argumentative and negative verbal comments at a Council Public Policy and Planning Committee meeting on 20 March 2023 where she said "make it clear what exactly we're voting on and don't make us look like idiots, make it clear so I don't look like an idiot" before telling another council member to "F-- off". [41] [40]

In March 2023 Salisbury councillor Severina Burner posted a meme of a person contorting their body into a swastika with the caption "Me when I'm asked to kneel and apologize for being white", with the word "right" superimposed on the word "white".[36] She was also criticized for calling council staff and members "kapos" on social media. [42]

In June 2023, Cr Grace Bawden and Cr Severina Burner were removed in an unanimous vote during a special meeting of council for being absent in three consecutive meetings. [43] The decision has been appealed by Cr Barden and Cr Burner in the Supreme Court of South Australia, who have claimed that they were denied procedural fairness.[42]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nothing smart about smart cities falsehoods". www.rmit.edu.au. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  2. ^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "9. Smart cities". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-09-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b "What does living in a 'Smart City' mean, and what has it got to do with more cameras popping up where you live?". ABC News. 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  4. ^ Pisani, Ashleigh (April 10, 2019). "Marion Council to build $1.7m smart precinct at Oaklands Park".
  5. ^ "Oaklands Smart Precinct". City of Marion. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  6. ^ Thomas-Wilson, Simeon (April 12, 2018). "Google could be targeted to establish presence in Adelaide, thanks to 10 Gigabit".
  7. ^ "Adelaide holds Smart Cities Summit". www.govtechreview.com.au. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  8. ^ "Smart Cities Summit Gets Underway". City of Adelaide. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  9. ^ a b Smith, Matt (August 6, 2019). "Smart City: Adelaide councils using sensors to monitor everything from rubbish to roads".
  10. ^ Local Government Association of South Australia (1 April 2019). "Smart Cities Framework for Metropolitan Adelaide" (PDF).
  11. ^ Sky News Australia (2022-06-21). Australia's 'digital future' at risk of being 'one of surveillance'. Retrieved 2025-09-22 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Senator Alex Antic (2022-12-11). 🚨🚨 Your 'SMART' city is tracking you!. Retrieved 2025-09-22 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ 376K views · 18K reactions | 🚨🚨 Your city is tracking you. The City of Unley is openly displaying the type of information that it is gathering about park users! Watch as I explore what these so-called "smart" cities will do to your digital future | Senator Alex Antic. Retrieved 2025-09-22 – via www.facebook.com.
  14. ^ "Results". result.ecsa.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  15. ^ "Results". result.ecsa.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  16. ^ "Introducing The City of Salisbury's new elected Council". Issuu. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  17. ^ "Salisbury Aware Summer 2023". Issuu. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  18. ^ a b c "Emma's body was dumped in a forest — here's why her mum is backing a controversial CCTV plan". ABC News. 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  19. ^ a b "Adelaide murder victim's family urges killers to come forward". www.9news.com.au. 2023-11-30. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  20. ^ Duggan, Brinley (Feb 1, 2023). "Salisbury councillor, Cambodian genocide survivor lashes colleagues concentration camp comparisons".
  21. ^ a b Colquhoun, Lachlan (2023-05-01). "City of Salisbury: Smart City or Open Prison?". CDOTrends. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  22. ^ a b c d Duggan, Brinley (January 19, 2023). "Northern council prepares for Onkaparinga-like wild protests".
  23. ^ a b c "SA Police critical of protesters at council meetings diverting officers from fighting crime". ABC News. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  24. ^ a b City of Salisbury (23 January 2023). "Policy and Planning Subcommittee Minutes 23 January 2023" (PDF).
  25. ^ "What is S.M.A.R.T." www.r-studio.com. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  26. ^ a b c d "Adelaide council meeting on controversial CCTV camera program cancelled after blackout". ABC News. 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  27. ^ a b Duggan, Brinley (February 1, 2023). "Salisbury councillor Severina Burner sent conspiracy email to entire council".
  28. ^ "Final Report prepared by Norman Waterhouse Lawyers for City of Salisbury as published in City of Salisbury Minutes of Council - Monday 24 April 2023" (PDF). 18 April 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2024.
  29. ^ "HELP out! | NoSCAG". NoSCAG. Archived from the original on 2023-01-13. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  30. ^ Shepherd, Tory (2023-01-25). "Protesters against South Australian council's 'Big Brother' tech invoke Liberal Alex Antic's video". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  31. ^ a b c d Shepherd, Tory (2023-02-02). "South Australian council forced to dispel 'bizarre' claims of Elon Musk using mind-control chips". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  32. ^ "Council meeting halted after protesters tried to enter the chamber, police called". ABC News. 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  33. ^ Olle, Emily (February 7, 2023). "Councillors behaving bizarrely: Some of SA's biggest local government controversies".
  34. ^ "Council shoots down smart cities conspiracies". Information Age. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  35. ^ "Council Minutes – 31 Janurary 2023" (PDF). City of Salisbury. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  36. ^ a b c d "Councillor condemned for sharing swastika image as mayor writes to Elon Musk". ABC News. 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  37. ^ a b "Council Minutes – 27 February 2023" (PDF). City of Salisbury. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  38. ^ "January Council meeting update". City of Salisbury. 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  39. ^ City of Salisbury. "City of Salisbury Annual Report 2022-2023" (PDF).
  40. ^ a b "Interim Report 23BSP-0002 v1.0" (PDF). Behavioural Standards Panel, Government of South Australia. 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  41. ^ "SA councillor caught on video swearing during council meeting". www.9news.com.au. 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  42. ^ a b Fewster, Sean (Sep 15, 2023). "Two Salisbury councillors have appealed to the Supreme Court to reverse a decision that kicked them out after poor behaviour".
  43. ^ "Controversial SA councillors removed at special meeting". ABC News. 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
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