TROY BELL MP
Member for Mount Gambier
Your Independent voice
in State Parliament
Title battle
Tuesday June 13, 2023MOUNT Gambier/Berrin may have a competitor for the title of largest city outside of Adelaide with Minister for Transport Tom Koutsantonis claiming Mount Barker will soon take the title.
Mr Koutsantonis stated in Parliament recently that figures showed across most of the Adelaide Hills, the resident population was set to remain stable or decrease.
According to the Mount Barker and Adelaide Hills transport study, there was an expectation of strong growth in Mount Barker which was likely to increase from 20,000 to about 28,500 in the period leading up to 2036.
Recent Regional Development Australia Limestone Coast information showed Mount Gambier/Berrin recorded a 0.47 per cent increase in population between 2021 and 2022 with a population of more than 27,000 as of June 2022.
Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin said there was "no doubt" Mount Gambier/Berrin remained the largest regional city outside of Adelaide.
"Certainly Mount Barker is a growing periurban area with close proximity to Adelaide," Ms Martin said.
"But it is a peri-urban area and I am very confident about Mount Gambier's population growth in the future."
She said she had recently met with the South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas alongside City Council chief executive Sarah Philpott with the Premier once again acknowledging the importance of the city and broader Limestone Coast.
"We spoke about the opportunities in relation to Wulanda Recreation Centre, tourism, the Crater Lakes master plan and the Gather Round," Ms Martin said.
"We are the gateway to South Australia from Victoria and importantly Mount Gambier is a service centre for more than 130,000 people across the border communities, Limestone Coast and Western Victoria.
"I have every confidence in the future of Mount Gambier and in growing our population in a sustainable way and contributing even more to the state's prosperity."
She said Mount Gambier/Berrin had potential for growth and she remained confident the city would keep its title and the largest city outside of Adelaide.
"Mount Gambier City Council is looking to the future to grow our industry presence, and our business and visitor economy, therefore it increases our population and we are looking at doing it in a sustainable way," she said.
"We are planning our future to enable economic growth and we are engaging with State and Federal governments to seek opportunities to grow our region and plan our future growth."
Cr Martin also said she believed Mount Barker should be considered a suburb of Adelaide given its close proximity, with Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell believing the same.
Mr Bell said he found it "amusing" that communities 40 minutes away from the central business district of Adelaide "call themselves regional".
"Any place where you can catch metropolitan transport does not really stack up as a regional town in my mind," Mr Bell said.
"But, I also wish the beautiful area of Mount Barker all the best.
"Like all areas that experience fast growth, proper planning and infrastructure become critically important."
Mr Koutsantonis was contacted for further comment.
STILL ON TOP: Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell and Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin were
confident Mount Gambier/Berrin would retain its title as South Australia’s largest regional centre
outside of Adelaide.