Armidale Dumaresq Shire

The Armidale Dumaresq Council is a local government area in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2000 from the merger of the original City of Armidale with the surrounding Dumaresq Shire.

The combined area covers the urban area of Armidale and the surrounding region, extending primarily eastward from the city through farming districts to the gorges and escarpments that mark the edge of the Northern Tablelands.

The Mayor of the Armidale Dumaresq Council is Cr. Jim Maher, an unaligned politician.

Main towns and villages

Villages located in the area include Kellys Plains, Dangarsleigh, Wollomombi and Hillgrove.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 24,105 people in the Armidale Dumaresq local government area, of these 47.8% were male and 52.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.3% of the population which is nearly three times higher than both the national and state averages. The median age of people in the Armidale Dumaresq Council area was 35 years; slightly below the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 14.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 42.5% were married and 10.7% were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in the Armidale Dumaresq Council area between the 2001 census and the 2011 census was marginal. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Armidale Dumaresq local government area was significantly lower than the national average.^[3] The median weekly income for residents within the Armidale Dumaresq Council area was below the national average.^[1]^[4]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Armidale Dumaresq local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 78% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 58% of all residents in the Armidale Dumaresq Council area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Armidale Dumaresq local government area had a lower than average proportion (7.0%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a higher proportion (88.1%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).^[1]

Selected historical census data for Armidale Dumaresq local government area
Census year		2001^[3]	2006^[4]	2011^[1]
Population	Estimated residents on Census night	23,920	23,368	24,105
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		73rd
	% of New South Wales population			0.35%
	% of Australian population	0.13%	0.12%	0.11%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	Australian			31.5%
	English			28.8%
	Irish			9.7%
	Scottish			8.6%
	German			3.8%
Language, top responses (other than English)	Arabic	n/c	0.2%	0.8%
	Mandarin	0.3%	0.5%	0.6%
	German	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
	Bengali	n/c	n/c	0.3%
	Cantonese	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	Anglican	30.4%	29.2%	26.9%
	Catholic	23.9%	23.2%	22.3%
	No Religion	18.0%	16.2%	21.3%
	Presbyterian and Reformed	6.6%	6.0%	5.1%
	Uniting Church	3.4%	4.7%	3.8%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income		A$384	A$494
Personal income	% of Australian median income		82.4%	85.6%
Family income	Median weekly family income		A$1,105	A$1,292
Family income	% of Australian median income		94.4%	87.2%
Household income	Median weekly household income		A$855	A$991
Household income	% of Australian median income		83.3%	80.3%

Council

Armidale Dumaresq Council office building. Armidale, NSW

Current composition and election method

Armidale Dumaresq Council is composed of nine Councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:^[5]

Party		Councillors
	Independents and Unaligned	8
	Liberal Party of Australia	1
	The Greens	1
	Total	10

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:^[5]

	Party	Notes
Margaret O'Connor	Liberal
Peter O'Donohue	The Greens
Jim Maher	Unaligned	Mayor^[6]
Herman Beyersdorf	Labor	Deputy Mayor^[6]
Bob Richardson	Unaligned
Andrew Murat	Unaligned
Laurie Bishop	Independent
Jenny Bailey	Independent
Colin Gadd	Unaligned
Christopher Halligan	Unaligned

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Armidale Dumaresq Council merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of the Armidale Dumaresq Council and the Guyra Shire Council merge to form a new council with an area of 8,621 square kilometres (3,329 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 30,000.^[7] The alternative, proposed by the Armidale Dumaresq Council on 1 March 2016, was for an amalgamation of the Armidale Dumaresq, Guyra, Uralla and Walcha councils.^[8] The outcome of the independent review is expected by mid–2016.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Armidale Dumaresq (A)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
↑ "Armidale Dumaresq Council". NSW Office of Local Government. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Armidale Dumaresq (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Armidale Dumaresq (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
1 2 "Candidates in Sequence of Election Report: Armidale Dumaresq Council" (PDF). Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
1 2 Hill, Kitty (24 September 2012). "New mayoral team to lead Armidale". The Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
↑ "Merger proposal: Armidale Dumaresq Council and Guyra Shire Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
↑ Armidale Dumaresq Council (1 March 2016). "Merger proposal: Armidale Dumaresq Council, Guyra Shire Council, Uralla Shire Council and Walcha Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 March 2016.

External links

New England region of New South Wales, Australia

Federal divisions	New England Parkes

State electorates	Barwon Northern Tablelands Tamworth

Local government areas	Armidale Dumaresq Glen Innes Severn Gunnedah Guyra Gwydir Inverell Liverpool Plains Moree Plains Tamworth Tenterfield Uralla Walcha

Cities	Armidale Tamworth

Townships and villages	Ardglen Ashford Attunga Barraba Bendemeer Ben Lomond Bingara Black Mountain Bolivia Bonshaw Brackendale Breeza Bukkulla Bundarra Carroll Coolatai Croppa Creek Curlewis Dangarsleigh Deepwater Delungra Dorrigo Drake Dundee Dungowan Duri Ebor Elsmore Emerald Hill Emmaville Gilgai Glencoe Glen Innes Graman Gravesend Gunnedah Guyra Hanging Rock Hillgrove Inverell Invergowrie Jennings Kellys Plains Kelvin Kentucky Kootingal Kingstown Legume Limbri Liston Llangothlin Manilla Mingoola Mole River Moonbi Mount Russell Mullaley Niangala North Star Nowendoc Nundle Red Range Rocky River Sandy Flat Somerton Stannifer Stannum Stonehenge Tambar Springs Tenterfield Tia Tingha Torrington Upper Horton Uralla Urbenville Walcha Walcha Road Wallabadah Wallangra Wandsworth Warialda Warialda Rail Weabonga Wellingrove Werris Creek Willow Tree Wollomombi Wollun Woolbrook Yarrowitch Yarrowyck Yetman

National parks and other conservation areas	Bald Rock Basket Swamp Boonoo Boonoo Bundarra-Barraba Important Bird Area Carrai Cathedral Rock Chaelundi Cottan-Bimbang Cunnawarra Ebor Falls Gibraltar Range Guy Fawkes River Kings Plains Kwiambal Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Mummel Gulf New England Nowendoc Nymboida Oxley Wild Rivers Warrabah Washpool Werrikimbe

Rivers	Aberfoyle Apsley Back Barnard Beardy Blicks Blue Mountain Bobo Boonoo Boonoo Boyd Cells Chandler Chandlers Clouds Commissioners Cooplacurripa Curricabark Dyke Gara Georges Guy Fawkes Gwydir Hastings Kunderang Little Murray Little Nymboida Macleay Manning Maryland Moredun Mummel Nowendoc Nowlands Oaky Oban Rocky Rowleys Sara Severn Styx Tia Timbarra Tobins Towallum Urumbilum Walcrow Warnes Wollomombi Yarrow Yarrowitch

Ranges and mountains	Barren Ben Lomond Dorrigo Plateau Duval Grundy Hyland Moonbi Range Point Lookout Round Thunderbolts Range Tia Range Yarrowyck

Tourist attractions	Apsley Falls Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre Dangar Falls Ebor Falls Newell Falls Sherrard Falls Tamworth Country Music Festival Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre Wollomombi Falls

Local government areas of New South Wales

Metropolitan Sydney

Inner Sydney	Ashfield Botany Bay Hunter's Hill Lane Cove Leichhardt Manly Marrickville Mosman North Sydney Randwick Rockdale Sydney Waverley Willoughby Woollahra

Outer Sydney	Auburn Bankstown Blacktown Burwood Camden Campbelltown Canada Bay Canterbury Fairfield The Hills Holroyd Hornsby Hurstville Kogarah Ku-ring-gai Liverpool Parramatta Penrith Pittwater Ryde Strathfield Sutherland Warringah

Sydney Surrounds	Blue Mountains Gosford Hawkesbury Wollondilly Wyong

Mid North Coast

Murray

Murrumbidgee

Hunter

Illawarra

Richmond Tweed

Southeastern

Northern

Central West

North Western

Far West

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.