Murraylands council watch: April 2026
Local councils demand fairer federal funding, vote on changing Murray Bridge’s name, wrap up an anti-drug program and more.
Here’s what the Murray Bridge, Mid Murray and Coorong councils have been up to this month. This story is now free to read. Help Murray Bridge News tell more stories like this by subscribing today.
Councils demand a fairer deal from the federal government
The federal government needs to pull its weight and reduce Murraylands’ councils reliance on property rates, the region’s councillors say.
Of the $223 million distributed to South Australian councils this year, almost three quarters was on a per-person basis, with the rest based on the size of a council district.
That favoured city councils, and made it hard for regional ones to maintain thousands of kilometres of roads while still managing rubbish services, sporting facilities, libraries, events and more, Mid Murray Mayor Simone Bailey suggested at a meeting last week.
Mid Murray councillors voted to keep lobbying for a fairer deal.
Murray Bridge’s councillors passed a similar motion at their April meeting, at the urging of Councillor Clem Schubert.
The current arrangements entrenched disadvantage in country areas, Cr Tom Haig agreed, and council amalgamations weren’t the answer.
“If we’re to have any hope of regional and rural councils surviving into the future, the cake must be divided more equitably,” he said.
Murray Bridge Mayor Wayne Thorley promised to take the issue to a national assembly of local government authorities coming up in Canberra in June.
Ms Bailey and acting Coorong Mayor Jonathan Pietzsch will also attend.
The Essential Services Commission of South Australia rated the Mid Murray Council as potentially unsustainable at its last review, while the Coorong council was mostly sustainable and Murray Bridge was in a sustainable position due to population growth.
City will stay rural for now
Changing the name of the Rural City of Murray Bridge could cost ratepayers upwards of $85,000, its councillors have been told.
Cr Fred Toogood suggested in February that the council consider a name change in line with its increasingly urban nature, and asked staff for more info about how a change could work.
A name like “City of Murray Bridge” would better reflect the city’s growth and might reset public perceptions or attract investors, staff advised.
“Farmers are still going to be able to purchase new tyres and tractors in Murray Bridge – they’re not going to worry if the place is not called the rural city,” Cr Toogood said.
But ditching the council’s current name would risk muddling its identity, alienating rural residents and creating extra paperwork.
John DeMichele suggested the “rural city” name was fine, while Andrew Baltensperger said there would be no value in a change.
Councillors voted 7-1 to note the advice and take no further action for now.
Corporate and innovation general manager Rudy Deco suggested that the best time to continue the discussion, if at all, might be at the council’s next representation review, due by 2027-28.
Planet Youth project ends
A seven-year experiment aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use among young people in Murray Bridge has come to an end.
The Planet Youth program was imported by the Drug and Alcohol Foundation from Iceland, where it had reduced the rates of drinking and smoking among year 10 students by about 90 per cent.
Teenagers here were also drinking too much, a local drug action team found.
In response, they focused on dispelling a permissive culture around drinking among parents, and on providing more structured leisure activities for high schoolers in Murray Bridge.
However, council staff reported that long-term support would be needed to make a bigger difference.
The program was discontinued in March, when its Icelandic funding ran out.
New rules for burn-offs adopted in Murray Bridge
New rules have been introduced for Murray Bridge residents who want to burn off green waste on their properties.
For at least the past 10 years, a permit has been required for burning off within town limits, but council officers had been making ad hoc decisions about when to say “yes” or “no”.
Now they have a clear set of criteria to work with, including:
- properties must be at least 3000 square metres
- burning must be the most reasonable and practicable option
- the date must be outside fire danger season, and not on a total fire ban day
The policy will take effect this Friday, after the fire danger season ends.
What’s in a name, or a number?
Street names and numbering have come up for discussion at both Murray Bridge’s and the Coorong’s council meetings this month:
- A new street on a land division in Murray Bridge’s west, off Lincoln Road, will be given the name Evergreen Court, after the property developer’s company
- A road at Cooke Plains will be renamed Kurralta Road, correcting the spelling from “Karralta” to match the historic homestead on the road, as well as the Adelaide suburb of Kurralta Park
- The house numbers on Fairway Court, Murray Bridge will remain as they are, despite being in a funny order, after a petition from residents; a new block will be given number 13A
In brief
- Hein Road dust addressed: The Murray Bridge council has agreed to spend $1000 on signs encouraging drivers not to kick up dust on Hein Road, Long Flat, rather than sealing the road or taking other preventative measures
- Events sponsored: Several local events have been awarded sponsorship by the Murray Bridge council: last weekend’s Anzac Grand Prix darts tournament ($2500), a recent visit by the Tom Curtain Outback Experience ($1500), the Murray Bridge Band Festival on May 30 ($2500), and an upcoming cabaret by Katherine Wicker and friends called So … You’re Divorced ($1000)
- Study hub not funded: The Coorong council has turned down a request for $5000 worth of funding from the Murray River Study Hub in Murray Bridge, which had argued that 21 of its graduates and seven of its current students lived in the district
