Tumbarumba Shire

Tumbarumba Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	35°45′S 148°00′E / 35.750°S 148.000°ECoordinates: 35°45′S 148°00′E / 35.750°S 148.000°E
Population	3,521 (2013 est)[1]
• Density	0.80150/km^2 (2.0759/sq mi)
Area	4,393 km^2 (1,696.1 sq mi)[2]
Mayor	Cr. Ian Chaffey (Independent)[3]
Council seat	Tumbarumba
Region	Riverina
State electorate(s)	Albury
Federal Division(s)	Division of Riverina
Website	Tumbarumba Shire
LGAs around Tumbarumba Shire: Wagga Wagga Tumut Cooma-Monaro Greater Hume Tumbarumba Shire Snowy River Towong (Vic) Towong (Vic) Snowy River

Tumbarumba Shire is a local government area in the eastern Riverina region, located in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, on the upper reaches of the Murray River in New South Wales, Australia. The Shire includes the town of Tumbarumba and the small towns of Rosewood, Tooma, Khancoban and Jingellic.

The mayor of Tumbarumba Shire is Cr. Ian Chaffey, an independent politician.^[3]

Council

Current composition and election method

Tumbarumba Shire Council is composed of eight 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:^[4]

Party		Councillors
	Independents and Unaligned	8
	Total	8

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:^[4]

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Julie Giddings	Unaligned
	Ian Chaffey	Independent	Mayor[3]
	Rodney Shaw	Unaligned
	Tony a'Beckett	Unaligned
	Alan Becke	Independent
	Brent Livermore	Independent	Deputy Mayor[3] from Sept 2014[5]
	Sue Fletcher	Unaligned
	George Martin	Unaligned

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Tumbarumba Shire merge with the Tumut Shire to form a new council. This recommendation was not supported by any of the preceding IPART and Tcorp assessments, which recommended a Tumut/Gundagai merger instead. When the NSW State Government released their proposal in December 2015, the Government's website stated that the proposal was 'broadly consistent with Tumut Council's stated preference' -website page since withdrawn. Tumut Council submitted its preferences during a consulation period following the of IPART's 'Fit for the Future' report, in October 2015 after it was found 'Not Fit'. Tumbarumba Shire Council did not elect any merger partners as part of this process, with the finding it was 'Fit' as a 'Rural Council'.

As a result, many residents of Tumbarumba Shire view Tumut Shire Council's choice to nominate a Gundagai/Tumbarumba/Tumut merger as the catalyst behind the NSW Government proposal to merge the Tumbarumba Shire with Tumut Shire, (which was never one of Tumut Shire Council's stated preference). The resulting opposition by the residents of Tumbarumba Shire has been almost unanimous, with a publicly convened 'Save Tumbarumba Shire' committee executing an active grass roots, public campaign.

The NSW Government proposal would see a combined Shire with an area of 8,960 square kilometres (3,460 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 14,953.^[6] The outcome of an independent review is expected to be completed by mid–2016.

References

1. "3218.0 Regional Population Growth, Australia. Table 1. Estimated Resident Population, Local Government Areas, New South Wales". 3 April 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
2. "Tumbarumba Shire Council". Department of Local Government. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
3. "Council and Councillors". Council. Tumbarumba Shire Council. September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
4. "Tumbarumba Shire Council: Summary of First Preference and Group Votes for each Candidate". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
5. "Deputy Mayor Councillor Brent Livermore". Tumbarumba Shire Council. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
6. "Merger proposal: Tumbarumba Shire Council, Tumut Shire Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 10 March 2016.