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Have your say on Murray and Mallee

Have your say on Murray and Mallee region-plan

Minister for Urban Development and Planning Paul Holloway encouraged people living in the Murray and Mallee region to have their say about future development.

Releasing the draft Murray and Mallee Region Plan for public consultation, Minister Holloway says the strategic document provides a thoroughly coordinated vision for land use and development across 50,000 square kilometres of South Australia.
“This region hosts some of our State’s proudest tourist attractions including national parks, the Coorong and the Riverland as well as heritage rich towns such as Mannum,” Mr Holloway says.

“The region plan aims to ensure the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of the Murray and Mallee’s key agricultural and horticultural industries.

“The plan not only encourages local industries to adapt to changes in weather conditions and water availability, but also seeks to protect and preserve environmental assets such as coastal habitats, wetlands and the River Murray.

The aims of the draft plan are to:
• promote industrial growth, particularly in Tailem Bend, Monarto, Berri and Renmark
• strengthen towns roles and functions
• manage growth to protect industry assets
• ensure long-term sustainability, taking into account variations in climate and water availability and become sustainable
• promote the use of renewable energy supplies such as solar, wind and geothermal technologies
• manage growth to protect natural environmental assets along the River Murray, Coorong and Lower Lakes, and in the Mallee
• expand nature-based tourism, focusing on the Coorong, the River Murray and the wilderness and conservation parks in the Mallee
• and retain built heritage and link it with tourism opportunities.

“We know it is important to retain the character of local townships in the region,” Mr Holloway says.

“This plan will help to carefully build stronger links between townships and develop the growing tourism industry by planning for and prioritising where development can and cannot take place.”

Mr Holloway says the River Murray runs through the heart of the region, taking in the Riverland and Murraylands as well as the important Mallee farming district, which stretches out to the Victorian and New South Wales borders.

The region also accounts for more than five percent of the State’s land and with 68,000 residents, it is home to more than four percent of South Australia’s population.

Mr Holloway says the draft Murray and Mallee Region Plan is the result of collaboration between state agencies and eight local councils, the Murraylands Regional Development Board, Riverland Development Corporation and the Murray Mallee Local Government Association.

“Once finalised, the plan will become a volume of the South Australian Planning Strategy,” he says.

“This gives the region plan statutory effect and will provide formal direction to local councils and the private sector for zoning in the future.”

The Murray and Mallee Region Plan has been released for two months of public consultation, which runs until 5pm Friday 23 September

Meetings where the public and industry can put forward their views and ask more questions about the plan are to be held in coming weeks, with details to be advertised through councils in the region, the Department of Planning and Local Government’s (DPLG’s) website and local media.

A copy of the Murray and Mallee Region Plan can be found online on the planning section of DPLG website, hard copies are available from each of the local councils in the region and copies are also available on CD-ROM.