Community and economic development / engagement

Following years of drought and water insecurity, pandemic and population decline, our Adverse Event Plan was launched to build resilience and grow the region’s social capital.

The plan was developed following deep collaboration with farmers and local business owners, representatives from Landcare groups and health and crisis support specialists – and it is underpinned by one simple resilience principle: “plan in the good times to be prepared for the bad times”. 

Coupled with this plan, Council is also part of the Building our Community in Advance project funded through the NSW State Governments Increasing Resilience to Climate change Program.  

You can find out more about this program and our involvement below:

Video Case Study

Increasing Resilience to Climate Change webpage

Written case study

We've developed an Arts and Culture Strategy to guide Council’s involvement and investment in arts and cultural activities, festivals and events.

The strategy will build on the strengths of Council’s current arts and cultural program and will help increase the profile of creative industries within our community. 

It also prioritises community involvement while providing a clear action plan, including a public art policy addendum.

This Community Engagement Strategy has been prepared as a framework to support the delivery of Council’s Community Strategic Plan (CSP) and general operational activities, and has been prepared to satisfy the requirements of a Community Participation Plan being prepared under the provisions of the EP&A Act, which is detailed in Part 4 of this document. 

Our Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) offers a guide to improving access and inclusion for people with disabilities.

The plan covers the four-year period from 2022-2026.

The plan itself explains the steps that Council, in conjunction with our broader community, will take to ensure everyone has access to services, facilities, events and information.

Council’s Economic Development and Tourism Strategy is a blueprint designed to foster sustained economic growth within our region. This comprehensive strategy has been developed to support local industry and further position our municipality as a thriving, diverse, and premier destination for businesses and visitors alike.

Council recognises the critical role that employment lands play in driving the economic growth and sustainability of our region. These lands provide essential spaces for a variety of urban services, including waste and water management, repair trades, construction services, warehousing, logistics, and last-mile distribution centres. They also support businesses in designing, manufacturing, and producing goods and services, thereby enhancing economic output and efficiencies through clustering and supplying essential services to meet the needs of both workers and residents.

Our Employment Lands Strategy (ELS) explores the supply and availability of land and services across our cross-border communities, examines population trends, residential housing growth expectations, and highlights the competitive advantage of the Murray River LGA compared to neighbouring LGAs.

Council has experienced extraordinary demand for new housing due to lifestyle relocations, driving the need for population-serving facilities and employment-generating services. As of the 2021 ABS Census, the population of Murray River LGA was 12,850, reflecting a growth of 1,168 persons since 2016. A significant portion of this growth has occurred around Moama, with annualised growth rates of approximately 3.5% since 2011.

With the population projected to increase by around 4,960 people to 16,830 by 2041, it is essential to identify how our employment precincts and centres can effectively respond to this growth. The strategy provides an overview of current planning policy contexts, identifies commercial and employment land supply, profiles each local and strategic commercial and employment land, investigates land demand, and offers recommendations on land supply and planning controls to address any gaps or shortfalls.

The NBN Digital Plan has been developed to identify opportunities to improve digital connectivity and capability for residents of the Murray River Council Local Government Area.

The development of the NBN Digital Plan incorporates a range of data collection and analysis aimed at understanding the current availability of services, identifying underserved communities or regions, and exploring potential opportunities for future enhancements.

The purpose of this plan is to communicate council's health and wellbeing strategies to be implemented within the community through partnerships between council, service providers, other government agencies and local organisations.

Murray River Council, along with Berrigan Shire, Edward River and Federation Councils have worked in partnership to develop and deliver a Regional Drought Resilience Plan for the Southern Riverina area.

The project was jointly funded by the Australian Government and the NSW Government under the Future Drought Fund.

Next steps:

Following the adoption of this Plan by each of the partner Councils, the Plan will then be submitted to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for approval. Once approved, development of the Implementation Plan can begin.