Murraylands council watch: May 2026
Septic tank enforcement is planned on Murray Bridge's east side, riverfront reserves are ranked in order of need, Mannum plans for growth 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.
Here comes the big stick for east side residents
Household septic systems on Murray Bridge’s east side will be the subject of an education and compliance campaign by the city’s council beginning in 2026-27.
Councillors approved a plan for 12 months of targeted mail-outs, then a 15-year plan to identify and enforce upgrades of “poor and failing” systems, at their May meeting.
More than 300 east side properties are believed to have septic systems which are not up to code, putting public and environmental health at risk.
However, residents firmly rejected a recent proposal by the council to build a sewer system in the area, arguing that it would be too expensive.
Instead of all residents paying $8000 or more to connect to a sewer, the minority whose systems are not up to scratch will likely face bills running into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Some property owners may face particularly difficult choices if their blocks are not big enough to accommodate the kind of wastewater systems that have been required by state law since 1988.
Riverfront reserves ranked in order of need
Thiele Reserve is the top priority for the Murray Bridge council as it aims to win more federal funding for riverbank repairs, councillors have decided.
Councillors including John DeMichele requested a priority list of reserves after the council tentatively secured $1.5 million in funding for works at Hume Reserve last month.
Staff suggested, and councillors agreed, that the locations most in need of funding were, in order, Thiele Reserve, Sturt Reserve, Avoca Dell Reserve, Long Island Reserve, and Baker Reserve at Wellington.
Thiele Reserve, in particular, has been plagued by safety problems since a botched 2019 redevelopment left the bank lined with slippery sandbags.
Improvements at Avoca Dell washed away within months of their completion in 2022, too, and further damage was caused by floods the following summer.
- Read more: Thiele Reserve needs a fix, residents say
Mid Murray council plans for housing growth
The Mid Murray council will spend up to $100,000 over the next year working on changes to land zoning laws which will enable population growth.
Almost 700 new homes were likely to be needed in the district by 2041, councillors were told this month.
Most would be built at Mannum, likely south of the golf course and towards the marina; some would also go at Truro and Swan Reach.
The council will ask “key landholders” to contribute to the cost of the proposed development code amendment, and will also seek grant funding to try and bring the cost down.
Councillors should be paid more, Mid Murray mayor and CEO argue
How much should local councillors be paid?
The decision is up to an independent tribunal, but councils are allowed to submit their suggestions – and the Mid Murray council’s position is that councillors should be paid more.
Elected members had broad responsibilities, had to make difficult decisions and were highly accountable for them, Mayor Simone Bailey and CEO Ben Scales said in a letter to the tribunal.
“The allowances provided to elected members, while not considered a wage, should be sufficient to encourage and attract a diverse range of qualified and capable community members,” they said.
“Improving allowances would assist in … ensuring local government remains accessible to people from a range of backgrounds, ages and employment and financial circumstances.”
They suggested mayoral allowances were too low for what was, really, a full-time job.
The mayor of the Coorong council is currently entitled to about $44,000 per year – less than the full-time minimum wage – while the Mid Murray mayor makes $62,000 and Murray Bridge’s mayor gets $76,000; none earns any superannuation.
The Remuneration Tribunal will make an updated ruling before this year’s council elections.
Fewer parking fines issued in Murray Bridge
If you’ve broken car parking rules in Murray Bridge in the past couple of years and got away with it, you’re probably not alone.
The number of parking fines issued by the rural city has dropped by more than 80 per cent since 2024, from more than 300 per year to fewer than 60.
That was partly because other priorities had come up, councillors were told this month – for example, the number of stray dog reports had more than doubled over the same period.
“(Staff) will continue to monitor parking in high-risk and high-demand areas such as schools and bike lanes, and continue to take an education-first approach,” councillors were told.
Cr Andrew Baltensperger – a CBD business owner – expressed concern about the trend, saying parking violations were still a problem.
At the same meeting, councillors voted in favour of reducing the parking time limit on the south side of Sixth Street, near the newsagent and Silly Solly’s, from two hours to half an hour.
Pedestrian crossing needed on Mulgundawah Road
Murray Bridge councillors have voted in favour of getting a pedestrian island built on Mulgundawah Road near White Park.
Members of U3A Murraylands, one of the community groups which regularly uses the White Park clubrooms, made the request of the council at its May meeting.
The road was 12.4 metres wide and increasingly busy, and many of U3A’s retirement-aged members found it hard to get across safely, Pam Morgan said.
With limited off-street parking available, she said, “the need is apparent”.
Councillor Tom Haig said the idea was a no-brainer, and successfully moved that a design be drawn up “as a matter of some urgency”.
More Mannum residents will get recycling bins this year
An expanded waste collection service in the Mid Murray district will be rolled out in stages, rather than all at once, councillors have decided.
Recycling bins are currently available only to households in Mannum and other townships, but not in rural areas or at new developments like Mannum Waters.
But rising costs – including fuel for rubbish trucks and the plastic used to make household bins – had significantly changed the assumptions underpinning the project, staff reported this month.
In stage one, residents of the marina and other areas on Mannum’s outskirts, around Ramm Road and Dollard Avenue, will receive recycling bins in the second half of this year.
They will only be charged for the service from January 1.
Wellbeing strategy drafted
Consultation will close next week on a wellbeing strategy drafted by the Murray Bridge council in the wake of a wellbeing summit it hosted in 2024.
The strategy focuses on five areas in which the council can support public wellbeing through activities it is, for the most part, already doing:
- Places and spaces: Providing safe, welcoming and inclusive parks and public spaces
- Housing and basic needs: Advocating for housing and public transport, and working with relief organisations
- Resilient and capable communities: Supporting programs at Murray Bridge Community Centre and considering more of them
- Connection and inclusion: Engaging with locals living with disability, young people, Indigenous people and other groups; and supporting community groups and sporting clubs
- Safety and support: Providing CCTV and sharing knowledge of local services
Locals have until next Tuesday to say what they think of the 32-page strategy.
- Have your say: Visit letstalk.murraybridge.sa.gov.au/draft-community-wellbeing-strategy or email council@murraybridge.sa.gov.au by 5pm next Tuesday, June 2.
Have your say about Mid Murray tourism
What makes the Mid Murray district a place people love to visit?
That’s a question the council hopes residents will answer as it embarks on an 18-month project to develop a post-flood tourist strategy.
“This project is about working with our communities to celebrate what makes Mid Murray special while creating new opportunities for tourism, jobs and economic growth,” Mayor Simone Bailey said.
“We encourage residents, businesses and community groups to get involved and share their ideas to help shape a plan that reflects our collective vision for the future.”
Seven consultation sessions will be held across the district over the next two months, including one at Mannum Senior Citizens Rooms from 10am-12pm on July 4, and one at Collier Park, Palmer from 3-5pm that afternoon.
- Have your say: Attend one of the meetings or email postbox@mid-murray.sa.gov.au.
- More information: engagement.mid-murray.sa.gov.au/mid-murray-tourism-precinct-planning-project.
Coorong council will increase funding for libraries
The Coorong council will increase the amount of funding it provides to the district’s four libraries by about two thirds, or $31,000 per year, from 2025-26.
While the council does not operate its own library, it provides funding to the school libraries at Tailem Bend, Meningie, Coonalpyn and Tintinara so they can be made available to the community.
Over the past 25 years, a statewide review found, the cost of operating school community libraries had risen, but council funding had not kept up.
About 80 per cent of the cost of the service will continue to be borne by the Department for Education and the Libraries Board of South Australia.
In brief:
- Coorong Mayor Paul Simmons will remain on leave for at least one more month as he recovers from a serious health issue
- The Coorong council has turned down a request from Tailem Bend Community Centre for $35,000 per year to help meet the cost of fuel for its community transport program
- The Coorong council has also had to delay or defer some road and footpath works due to the fuel crisis, with the cost of asphalt having gone up by 48%
- The Murray Bridge council will spent $2250 on new signage which makes it easier for visitors to find their way from the CBD to Monarto Safari Park
- Two new road names have been approved by the Murray Bridge council: Mahogany Court, for a development off Christian Road; and Somerset Circuit, for a development on Dorset Street
Disclosure: The author is the patron of U3A Murraylands and chair of Murray Bridge Community Centre.
