Rural City of Murray Bridge officially a 'Welcoming City'

The accreditation acknowledged the organisation's leadership in providing services to all sectors within the community - including refugees, migrants and First Nations people.

Rural City of Murray Bridge Mayor, Brenton Lewis, said the community could be proud of the Council's accreditation, in line with the organisation's vision of creating a great place to live, work, play and invest.

"Council has long been actively working towards building a more connected and cohesive community, and this certification as a network member and a driver of change acknowledges that journey as we continue to build welcoming and thriving communities together," he said.

While the Council's Welcoming Cities accreditation score was 3.8 out of a possible five, efforts to promote welcoming culture through advocacy and communication activities scored 4.1 out of five.

Mayor Lewis said Council's plans to improve their score are already underway, including the creation of a new Reconciliation Action Plan, for which a working group has already been formed.

"We respectfully acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land and respect their culture and identity, and we seek to engage them as leaders in welcoming activities and recognise the importance of cultural diversity and inclusion," he said.

Strengths acknowledged in Council's submission included working inclusively with traditional owners, the Murraylands Migrant Resource Centre and diversity groups, and public demonstrations of Murray Bridge as a welcoming community for different cultures, faiths and ethnicities.

Other future opportunities identified during the accreditation process include increasing local cultural diversity through policies, frameworks, plans and initiatives.

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