Huon Valley Council, Tasmania

Huon Valley Council
Tasmania

Huon Valley Council
(Macquarie Island not shown on map)
Coordinates 43°12′0″S 146°43′48″E / 43.20000°S 146.73000°E / -43.20000; 146.73000Coordinates: 43°12′0″S 146°43′48″E / 43.20000°S 146.73000°E / -43.20000; 146.73000
Population 15,140 (2011 census)[1]
 • Density 2.7542/km2 (7.1334/sq mi)
Established 1993
Area 5,497 km2 (2,122.4 sq mi)
Mayor Peter Coad[2]
Council seat Huonville
Region Huonville, Huon Valley, and Macquarie Island
State electorate(s) Franklin
Federal Division(s) Franklin
Website Huon Valley Council
LGAs around Huon Valley Council:
Derwent Valley Derwent Valley Glenorchy
West Coast Huon Valley Council Kingborough
Indian Ocean Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean

The Huon Valley Council is a local government area of Tasmania. It is the southernmost local government area in Australia. It encompasses the town of Huonville, on the Huon River, some surrounding towns, and many protected areas and forestry plantations. The Tahune Airwalk is also in the area, located near the township of Geeveston.

History

The name of the Huon is derived from Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec, an 18th-century French explorer wo was 2nd in command to Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, who navigated the area. The Huon Valley, Huonville, Huon River, Huon Pine, Port Huon, Glen Huon and the Electoral division of Huon are all named for him. The former Municipality of Esperance was named for his ship.[3]

In 1993 the Municipalities of Esperance, Huon and Port Cygnet were amalgamated to form the Huon Valley Council. Remote subantarctic Macquarie Island, which is located some 1400 km southeast of Tasmania proper, was part of Esperance until then, and has been part of Huon Valley since then.

Demographics

The municipality has eight townships and numerous rural suburbs. The eight towns are Cygnet, Dover (on Esperance Bay), Franklin, Geeveston, Glen Huon, Huonville, Port Huon, and Southport.

The townships in the south east region of Tasmania that experienced the largest growth were Huonville (including Franklin where the population was up by 1,300 people) with Cygnet third (up by 440).[4]

Government

The most recent election of Councillors was held over a two-week period from 14 October to 28 October 2014,.[5] Ian Mackintosh was elected to Council in September 2015 following a recount due to the election of Rosalie Woodruff the House of Assembly and her subsequent resignation as Councilor.[6] The current Council has 9 members and is:[5]

CouncillorPartyNotes
  Peter Coad Independent Mayor
  Mike Wilson Independent
  Bruce Herron Independent
  Liz Smith Independent
  Ian Mackintosh Australian Greens
  Ian Paul Independent Deputy Mayor
  Lydia Eastley Independent
  Ken Studley Independent
  Pavel Ruzicka Independent

Election method

Huon Valley Council is composed of nine Councillors elected using the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation as a single ward. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are each directly elected for a four-year term. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor must also be elected as Councillors in order to hold office. Elections are normally held in October, with the next election due to be held in October 2018.[7] Neither the Australian Labor Party nor the Liberal Party of Australia endorse local government candidates in Tasmania.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2011 Census QuickStats - Huon Valley (LGA)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Local council polls: Sue Hickey elected Hobart Lord Mayor over Damon Thomas". Yahoo. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Huon". electoral.tas.gov.au. Electoral Council of Tasmania. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2011". Tasmania, State Summary. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Huon Valley Council". Local Government Elections 2014. Tasmanian Electoral Commission. 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Ian Mackintosh elected to Huon Valley Council in recount". The Mercury. September 28, 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Council elections". Your council. Huon Valley Council. Retrieved 31 July 2015.

Further reading

External links

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