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River Murray Marinas Strategy

The draft Houseboat, Mooring and Marina Strategy for the River Murray in South Australia was released by the Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Paul Holloway, and the Minister for the River Murray, Karlene Maywald, on 30 October 2008.

The draft Strategy seeks to improve the health of the river while supporting and enhancing tourism development. 

Key elements of the strategy include:

  • Encouraging the development of off-river marinas to provide home ports for all houseboats
  • Provision of site suitability criteria to ascertain the best locations for such marinas
  • Trialling a formal mooring network for touring houseboats to minimise river damage

Further detail about the draft Strategy appears below.

A media release can be viewed here:

Public comment sought 

The draft Strategy will undertake a three month public comment period from 18 November 2008 to 20 February 2009.

Public information meetings regarding the draft Strategy will be held in the New Year in the following locations:

  • Wednesday 14 January 2009, Berri Town Hall, 6.30pm – 7.30pm
  • Thursday 15 January 2009, Waikerie Hotel, 5.30pm – 6.30pm
  • Monday 19 January 2009, Murray Bridge Town Hall, 6.30pm – 7.30pm

Copies of the draft Strategy can be obtained from council offices along the River or downloaded below.

Submissions commenting on the draft Strategy can be made via post to:

River Murray Marinas Strategy
Department of Planning and Local Government
GPO Box 1815
Adelaide SA 5001

or by email to: PLNSA.RiverMurrayStrategy@saugov.sa.gov.au

Feedback will be used to shape the final strategy, which will be used by State and local governments to guide planning decisions.

The draft Strategy

The draft Strategy can be downloaded here:

The following two document should be read in conjunction with the Strategy:

Further background information which informed development of the draft Strategy is available in the following documents:

Purpose of the Strategy 

The Strategy sets out the State Government’s policy directions in regard to:

  • improving the ecological health of the River Murray by reducing some of the environmental impacts of houseboats, large vessels, various mooring practices and marinas 
  • facilitating a more sustainable houseboat tourism industry thereby supporting and enhancing this industry and its associated local economic opportunities.

The Strategy aims to achieve this by:

  • improving the quality of the houseboat fleet
  • facilitating improved infrastructure and facilities for the houseboat industry and houseboat users
  • providing greater certainty for developers, councils and the community regarding where and how marinas and other mooring structures should be built and used
  • protecting and enhancing the landscape values of the river.

Essential elements of the Strategy

1. The registration of all houseboats and larger vessels. Only boats that meet appropriate standards (i.e. for safety, structural soundness and environmental protection) will receive registration. This will safeguard and ensure the quality of the houseboat fleet.

2. The development of permanent mooring sites in registered off-river marinas to be used by boats when not touring. This will provide houseboats and larger vessels with a ‘home port’ that provides a range of facilities and services for boat maintenance, pollution control and recreation. These marinas will need to meet the site suitability criteria (see Appendix 1 for a summary checklist) and be constructed in accordance with leading practice. Because of the environmental importance of these marinas, it is likely that all proposed marinas will be assessed using the Major Developments process of the Development Act 1993.

[On-river marinas  are appropriate only where strategically required and where no suitable site exists off-river. These would also only be considered in locations where the natural river bank is significantly modified (such as within or adjacent to townships) and existing infrastructure is of a suitable standard and provides necessary services for vessels.]

3. To trial a formal temporary mooring network to be used for short-term mooring stays along the riverbank to be used by boats when touring. If the trial is successful, these structures would be limited in number, licensed, and be included in a formal temporary mooring network. This network would be used by vessels only up to and no more than seven consecutive days at any one mooring site for tourism and recreation activities.

Associated reading

The Strategy must be read in conjunction with the Environment Protection Authority’s Code of practice for vessel and facility management: marina and inland waters. This code, which became operational in July 2008, deals (among other issues) with requirements for ensuring that no black or grey waters enter the river from houseboats and other vessels.

Objectives and actions

A series of eight objectives all with associated actions are detailed in the Strategy document.

Preparation of the Strategy

The development of the draft River Murray Marinas Strategy was undertaken by a State Government interagency River Murray Working Group.

The Working Group was chaired by Planning SA and included representatives from Planning SA, the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC), Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH), Crown Lands, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), SA Water, the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI), Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED), SA Tourism Commission and the Heritage Branch of the Department for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (DAARE).

The objectives of the interagency River Murray Working Group were to:

  • Provide a forum for discussion and resolution of planning related issues in order to facilitate greater co-ordination of the often overlapping functions and responsibilities of relevant government agencies;
  • Act as a ‘sounding board' for the consideration of policy and strategic planning aspects;
  • Detail the current consolidated government policy that will be used to assess development applications during the development of the whole-of-government strategy;
  • Develop a strategy and whole of government policy for marina developments on the River Murray;
  • Report back and provide advice to the executive levels of their respective agencies;
  • Engage other agencies.

The project commenced with the detailing of a Consolidated Existing Government Policy, and the undertaking of a Supply/Demand Study and a Site Suitability Analysis. The Working Group then prepared the draft strategy and guidelines document for comment.