City of Auburn
| City of Auburn New South Wales | |||||||||||||
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 Location in Metropolitan Sydney | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°51′S 151°02′E / 33.850°S 151.033°ECoordinates: 33°51′S 151°02′E / 33.850°S 151.033°E | ||||||||||||
| Population | 80,892 (2012)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 2,527.88/km2 (6,547.2/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Area | 32 km2 (12.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Administrator | Mr Viv May | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Auburn | ||||||||||||
| Region | Metropolitan Sydney | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Auburn | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Reid | ||||||||||||
| Website | City of Auburn | ||||||||||||
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The City of Auburn is a local government area in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of the Sydney central business district. The area's population is culturally diverse.
Major attractions and features in the area include the Gallipoli Mosque, located in the suburb of Auburn. The Mosque is modelled upon the great mosques of Istanbul. The suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, the location of the main venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics, now attracts many visitors to its sporting and cultural events.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Auburn merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of parts of Auburn, Holroyd and Parramatta to form a new council with an area of 72 square kilometres (28 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 219,000.[2] The second proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta, Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council with an area of 82 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 215,725.[3] The outcome of the review, to be determined by the New South Wales Minister for Local Government, is expected by mid–2016.
On 10 February 2016 the Auburn City Council was suspended by the Minister for Local Government.[4] Prior to its suspension, the Mayor of Auburn City Council was Cr Le Lam.
History
Prior to European settlement, the Wangal Aboriginal people lived around the Auburn area. European settlement began in the 1790s. The Auburn area was a farming area, known as "Liberty Plains".
Auburn was proclaimed as a Borough on 19 February 1892. Silverwater was added in 1906. On 1 January 1949, the (by now) Municipalities of Auburn and Lidcombe were amalgamated to form the new Auburn Municipality. In 1993, a change in the law meant that "municipality" ceased to be a legal category of local government area. Auburn Municipal Council became "Auburn Council", and the same name was used to refer to the former Municipality of Auburn.[5]
A project by Auburn Council to seek city status began in April 2006. A special poll held on 13 September 2008 found a large proportion of the electorate supported the project. On 24 June 2009 Governor of New South Wales Marie Bashir issued a proclamation granting Auburn city status, which was gazetted on 17 July 2009.[5]
There was controversy when the Deputy Mayor of Auburn, Selim Mehajer was charged with threatening the father of one of the victims in the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis. He was investigated over a conflict of interest when he voted on Council matters regarding rezoning where it was alleged he had pecuniary interests. As a result Mehajer was given a four-month suspension from Council on 29 January 2016.[6] On 10 February 2016, the Council was suspended while a public enquiry into allegations of "councillors misusing their positions." was conducted. An administrator was appointed to manage the affairs of the Council in the interim.[4] On 18 February the administrator reversed decisions for two major developments that were set to benefit Mehajer.[7]
Salim Mehajer then took to social Media to 'attack' 2 council members, Irene Simms and George Campbell. He even went as far as to suggest that they both have issues with him, that are racially motivated, by his comment 'olive complexion'.
In another article, Salim was said to have lost $10 million due to overturned rulings of sales and zoning of land. Salim immediately rebutted these saying he made $22 million in half an hour, as the overturned sale of land will now mean that the properties will be sold to him at a lower price due to a previous contract. It is understood that the Council now under Administration holds that no sale has ever taken place. If such an overturn of sale has resulted in a massive windfall for Salim, many people believe he should have been grateful rather than taking to social media and phone text messages to attack fellow council members.
Auburn City Council was also the subject of a mass public petition on Change.org calling for the sacking of the Council, banning of real estate agents and developers, and the removal of deputy mayor Salim Mehajer for serious governance issues[8] and alleged corruption in local government.
Suburbs in the local government area
Suburbs within the Auburn City boundaries are:
- Auburn
- Berala
- Lidcombe
- Newington
- Regents Park
- Rookwood
- Silverwater
- Sydney Olympic Park
- Wentworth Point
Homebush Bay was a suburb but is now divided between Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point and Lidcombe.
Demographics
At the 2011 Census, there were 73,738 people in the Auburn local government area, of these 51.8% were male and 48.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.6% of the population. The median age of people in the Auburn area was 31 years, which is significantly lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 8.5% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 53.2% were married and 8.9% were either divorced or separated.[1]
Population growth in the Auburn area between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 16.31%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 13.51%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Auburn local government area was double the national average.[9] The median weekly income for residents within the Auburn area was lower than the national average,[1][10] being one of the factors that place the City in an area of social disadvantage.
At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Auburn local government area who stated their ancestry as Chinese, or as Lebanese, was in excess of six times the national average. The proportion of residents who stated an affiliation with Islam was in excess of eleven times the national average. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, the area was linguistically diverse, with Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Turkish, and Korean languages spoken in households, and ranged from five times to 22 times the national averages.[1]
| Selected historical census data for Auburn local government area | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2001[9] | 2006[10] | 2011[1] | ||
| Population | Estimated residents on Census night | 55,851 | 64,959 | 73,738 | |
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | |||||
| % of New South Wales population | 1.07% | ||||
| % of Australian population | 0.30% |  0.33% | 0.34% | ||
| Cultural and language diversity | |||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Chinese | 20.1% | |||
| Australian | 7.5% | ||||
| English | 7.0% | ||||
| Lebanese | 6.3% | ||||
| Turkish | 5.9% | ||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Arabic | 13.6% | 12.5% |  10.7% | |
| Cantonese | 11.3% | 10.6% | 9.9% | ||
| Mandarin | 4.8% | 7.0% | 9.2% | ||
| Turkish | 7.5% | 7.2% | 6.7% | ||
| Korean | n/c | 3.2% | 5.0% | ||
| Religious affiliation | |||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Islam | 23.4% | 24.8% | 25.5% | |
| Catholic | 22.7% | 19.7% | 18.3% | ||
| No Religion | 9.7% | 11.7% | 14.5% | ||
| Buddhism | 9.9% | 9.2% | 9.1% | ||
| Hinduism | 3.0% | 3.1% | 5.1% | ||
| Median weekly incomes | |||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$343 | A$420 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 73.6% | 72.8% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$906 | A$1,161 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 88.2% | 78.4% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$991 | A$1,160 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 84.6% | 94.0% | |||
Council
Following the dismissal of the Councillors on 10 February 2016, the Council is currently managed by a government-appointed administrator who reports directly to the Minister for Local Government.[4]
Final composition and election method
Auburn Council was composed of ten Councillors elected proportionally as two separate wards, each electing five Councillors. 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. The council was suspended on 10 February 2016. The final makeup of the Council, prior to suspension, was as follows:[11][12]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party of Australia | 3 | |
| Independents | 2 | |
| Australian Labor Party | 2 | |
| Residents Action Group for Auburn Area | 2 | |
| Communist Party of Australia | 1 | |
| Total | 10 | |
The suspended Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, was:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Ward[11] | Ronney Oueik | Liberal | |||
| Hicham Zraika | Labor | ||||
| Semra Batik-Dundar | Residents Action Group | ||||
| Le Lam | Independent | Mayor | |||
| Salim Mehajer | Independent | Deputy Mayor | [6] | ||
| Second Ward[12] | Ned Attie | Liberal | |||
| George Campbell | Labor | ||||
| Irene Simms | Residents Action Group | ||||
| Steve Yang | Liberal | ||||
| Tony Oldfield | Communist | ||||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Auburn (C)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- ↑ "Merger proposal: Auburn City Council (part), Holroyd City Council (part), Parramatta City Council (part)" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ↑ "Merger proposal: Parramatta City Council (part), Auburn City Council (part), The Hills Shire Council (part), Hornsby Shire Council (part), Holroyd City Council (part)" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 8. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 McNally, Lucy (10 February 2016). "Salim Mehajer's Auburn Council suspended by NSW Government during public inquiry". ABC News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- 1 2 Auburn City Council (2011) Publication Guide, p.4
- 1 2 McNally, Lucy (10 February 2016). "Salim Mehajer: Auburn deputy mayor suspended for failing to disclose financial interests". ABC News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ "Auburn Council administrator reverses decisions set to benefit Salim Mehajer". ABC News. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ↑ daniel.kielly. "Public inquiry into Auburn Council". www.olg.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
- 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Auburn (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Auburn (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- 1 2 "Candidates in Sequence of Election Report: Auburn City Council: First Ward" (PDF). Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- 1 2 "Candidates in Sequence of Election Report: Auburn City Council: Second Ward" (PDF). Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
External links
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