News

Murray River Council joins firewood fight

By Louie Cina

Sep 23, 2026

Good firewood is getting harder to find.

The hottest topic in NSW politics just got hotter, with Murray River Council joining a growing list of critics furious with the state government’s decision to end the Murray and Murrumbidgee national parks’ Riverina Domestic Firewood Collection programs.

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Cr John Harvie used a mayoral minute to raise the issue at the September 22 meeting, proposing council join state and federal MPs in their efforts to overturn the ban.

The mayor’s motion was met with a great deal of support, with councillors calling the government’s decision nonsensical and saying it was thought up by a person in a Sydney office with no understanding of the reality on the ground.

Cr Dennis Gleeson said in addition to taking away a source of warmth from hundreds, the decision would burden local fire brigades.

“(By not removing firewood) we’re only making things worse for the people who have to go out and fight the fires,” he said.

“We’re punishing people who have no other way to heat themselves.”

The final motion council voted for will see it support NSW Member for Murray Helen Dalton’s advocacy to overturn the ban, ask for a meeting with the NSW environment minister and request any documents government used to inform its decision.

MRC will also immediately review any policies that prevent the collection of firewood from council roads and reserves.