Murraylands council watch: March 2026
Here’s what Murray Bridge, Coorong and Mid Murray councillors have been up to during the past month.
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Ablution solution found at Johnstone Park
The Murray Bridge council will spend more than $600 a week, or up to $33,000 per year, keeping two portable toilets at the Johnstone Park netball courts until a permanent loo block can be built.
Councillors decided as much at their March meeting after an approach from the Imperial Netball Club.
With a previous toilet block demolished to make way for a third netball court, the nearest amenities were either 300 metres away across the oval, or 450m away across Adelaide Road.
The River Murray netball season will start on April 11.
Three-bin roll-out delayed in the Mid Murray district
The Mid Murray council plans to introduce a green waste collection service in Mannum and other townships, and a recycling service across its rural areas – but not quite yet.
The council had planned to begin public consultation about the extra services in February, with an eye on introducing the new services from July 1.
But at the council’s March meeting, councillors agreed to push that timeline back after contractors Solo Resource Recovery advised that more preparatory work was needed.
A working party was now meeting weekly, councillors were told, “to achieve a successful outcome for this significant project”.
Councillors will set a new timeline at a future meeting.
At present, properties in Mid Murray townships have two bins, for general waste and recycling; while those in rural areas just have an ordinary rubbish bin.
Funding sought for Wellington East infrastructure projects
The Coorong council will seek $2.8 million worth of funding for two projects at Wellington East as it prepares for more homes to be built in the area.
The first project would be a new wastewater treatment plant east of the Princes Highway, able to service 300 homes initially and 500 or more with future expansion.
The second would be a plan to subdivide “a large parcel of land suitable for land division” between the Wellington East marina and Pangarinda Botanic Garden, potentially into six allotments.
If both grant applications were successful, the council would spend a bit over $1.2 million of ratepayers’ money on the two projects, though most of that would be recovered through wastewater connection fees and from a property developer.
Homburg Park battery approved
A community battery will be installed at Murray Bridge’s Homburg Park after councillors decided hesitation from locals was not reason enough to derail the project.
The state government-owned battery will allow a 25 per cent power bill discount to be offered to up to 650 local households, starting with Housing Trust homes.
The proposal received some blow-back on social media, as residents expressed concerns about its location close to homes and the safety of the technology.
But six of 10 formal submissions received about the project were in favour.
The battery will be installed in the near future and remain in place for at least 15 years.
Melville Terrace residents will get to have their say
The Murray Bridge council will hold further talks with residents of Melville Terrace who are concerned about their street having narrowed since new houses were built along one side.
As Murray Bridge News reported in February, residents are worried about pedestrian safety and vehicle damage now that houses have been built on the western side of the road as part of the Newbridge development.
The residents presented a petition with 25 signatures to the council’s March meeting.
They urged the council to consider possible solutions, but “strongly oppose” the idea of making the street one-way.
Council elections are coming up
Finally, all of South Australia’s mayors and councillors will be up for re-election later this year.
Voting in council elections is open to anyone who is enrolled to vote in SA on or before July 31, plus anyone who owns property in a council district.
Nominations will open on August 25, lists of candidates will be finalised on September 9, ballot papers will be posted to all voters from October 15, and ballot papers will be due back by November 11.
All councils will go into caretaker mode from September 8, meaning they cannot make decisions like firing a CEO or awarding a major contract until the election result is known and new council members are inducted.
- More information: www.councilelections.sa.gov.au.
