Please note: this is an archived news article release

This article was published on Tuesday, 25 August, 2020. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

Council to advocate on better agricultural outcomes in the Goulburn-Murray Region

The Goulburn Murray Irrigation District is expected to change in the coming years as a result of a variety of factors such as: climate change, technological improvements, water recovery, bio security and global market influence.

While some of the changes are outside of Council’s direct control, Council recognises the opportunities that innovative changes can create.

The Goulburn Regional Partnership has prepared the Goulburn Murray Resilience Strategy 2020 (the Resilience Strategy) to better deal with and adapt to change, including climate change.

The Resilience Strategy includes eight ‘Resilience Principles’ with a series of proposed strategic interventions to assist each principle that will enable the Goulburn Murray Region to better manage a changing and uncertain future.

Council has also resolved to act in an advocacy role for a number of the key interventions outlined in the document, such as:

Indigenous crop production to support the revival of traditional food crops; and
The establishment of the Goulburn Murray learning centre to act as a regionally based centre for learning for agriculture and land management.

Although this project was initially progressed by the Goulburn Regional Partnership, the success of the Resilience Strategy requires support from all three tiers of government, including Local Government.

Council Mayor, Cr Seema Abdullah, said Council looks forward to working with all tiers of government and relevant stakeholders on the Resilience Strategy.

“There are a range of issues causing significant changes which impact agricultural production in the Goulburn Murray Region,” she said.

“Council recognises the importance of agricultural production and the benefits it provides to our region’s economy, and has a strong desire to facilitate better outcomes for agriculture in our community.”

Based on the recommendations in the Resilience Strategy, a ‘Regional Resilience Taskforce’ will be established and charged with addressing the particular issues needed to deliver the key intervention actions identified in the Resilience Strategy.

For more information on the Resilience Strategy, head to this page or contact Council’s Building, Planning and Compliance Department on (03) 5832 9730.