Up to $7.5 million has been cut from South Australian courts in the past six financial years, according to the State's Chief Justice.

Chris Kourakis said the cuts resulted in an annual budget of about $90 million and operations were no longer "sustainable".

"We've lost the equivalent of 81 full-time employees," he said.

The courts have mostly dealt with the cuts by not replacing retiring judges and magistrates.

But the Courts Administration Council (ACA) is progressively closing Port Adelaide, Holden Hill, Mount Barker and Tanunda's magistrates courts for what it calls a "response to the pressures and competing demands on available resources".

Justice Kourakis said the proposed closure of the Port Adelaide court could be avoided if the Government fronted more money.

He also asked for $20-30 million to replace paper court files with an electronic system.

Government backbencher Frances Bedford today introduced a bill giving Attorney-General John Rau the power to tell the courts where to spend its money.

Mr Rau said it was "not sustainable" to separate the decisions of the ACA from "public accountability".

He said Ms Bedford's bill was a direct consequence of a "decision by the courts to shut, in particular, Holden Hill Magistrates Court".

"I would be happy to talk with the Courts Administration Authority about savings options that can be achieved by merging their administrative functions with the Attorney-General's Department," Mr Rau said.

He said there would be no need for the proposed legislation if talks were "to occur and be successful".