City of Playford

The City of Playford is the council area which encompasses the suburbs of Elizabeth and Munno Para, approximately 30 kilometres from the South Australian capital of Adelaide.

The strategic communications planner is Travis Murphy. He manages media relations for the City of Playford. He issues press releases on behalf of the council and handles media enquires. He manages internal council communications. He joined the council in June 2009.

The background of Travis Murphy: 2007 - present "Assistant Flower Technician" with Bare Flowers and Events.

He was restaurant supervisor at The Lane Vineyard in Hahndorf from January 2009 to July 2009. During the same period he was the senior research and evaluation officer at the Attorney General's Department at the South Austalian Government.

He currently (July 2010) heads the three person communications team at Playford. The other staff are Lilly Bukva and Kirsty Pragnell.

The team has handled communications on the "Ratings Strategy Review," to determine the policy and amount of annual rates levied on City of Playford residents and businesses. The team also handles the PR for the annual budget, which in 2010 was controversial because the City proposed a number of cuts to services, including its sponsorship of the highly successful Central District Football Club.

Journalists working in Adelaide say Murphy routinely blocks direct access to the council's senior staff and management, requiring reporters to submit questions in writing before preparing tightly managed written responses. This practice is commonly used when reporters seek comment from the Mayor, Martin Lindsell.