Great Lakes Council

LGAs around Great Lakes Council:
Gloucester	Greater Taree	Greater Taree
Dungog	Great Lakes Council	Tasman Sea
Port Stephens	Port Stephens	Tasman Sea

Great Lakes Council is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the shores of Port Stephens, Myall Lakes and Wallis Lake and the Pacific Highway and the Lakes Way.

The Great Lakes is home to the globally significant, Ramsar Convention listed Myall Lakes wetlands. These wetlands are an important foundation for the economies of the suburbs of the Great Lakes Council Local Government Area, particularly the recreational fisheries and tourism sectors.

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended the merger of a number of adjoining councils. In the initial proposal, the Great Lakes Council was not included in any amalgamation proposals. However, Gloucester Shire Council submitted an alternate proposal to amalgamate the Gloucester, Great Lakes and Greater Taree councils.^[8] The outcome of an independent review is expected to be completed by mid–2016.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 34,430 people in the Great Lakes Council local government area, of these 49.0 per cent were male and 51.0 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.8 per cent of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Great Lakes Council area was 52 years, significantly higher than the national median of 37 years; and the highest median of any local government area in New South Wales. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 15.4 per cent of the population; and people aged 65 years and over made up 30.6 per cent of the population, with the latter significantly influencing the median age. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 52.4 per cent were married and 15.0 per cent were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in the Great Lakes Council between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 4.00 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 5.08 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Great Lakes Council local government area was significantly lower than the national average.^[9]^[10] The median weekly income for residents within the Great Lakes Council area was nearly half the national average.^[1]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Great Lakes Council local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 82 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 66% of all residents in the Great Lakes Council area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Great Lakes Council local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.6 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (92.6 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).^[1]

Selected historical census data for the Great Lakes Council local government area
Census year		2001^[9]	2006^[10]	2011^[1]
Population	Estimated residents on Census night	31,266	32,766	34,430
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
	% of New South Wales population			0.50%
	% of Australian population	0.17%	0.17%	0.16%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	English			34.2%
	Australian			32.5%
	Irish			8.6%
	Scottish			7.6%
	German			2.7%
Language, top responses (other than English)	German	0.1%	0.3%	0.4%
	Italian	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
	Cantonese	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
	Dutch	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
	French	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	Anglican	38.1%	35.8%	34.0%
	Catholic	22.1%	22.4%	22.3%
	No Religion	11.3%	13.9%	16.8%
	Uniting Church	7.4%	6.6%	6.0%
	Presbyterian and Reformed	4.5%	4.1%	3.9%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income		A$338	A$395
Personal income	% of Australian median income		72.5%	68.5%
Family income	Median weekly family income		A$747	A$881
Family income	% of Australian median income		63.8%	59.5%
Household income	Median weekly household income		A$611	A$729
Household income	% of Australian median income		59.5%	59.1%

Council

Current composition and election method

Great Lakes 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:^[11]

Party		Councillors
	Independents and Unaligned	8
	Australian Labor Party	1
	Total	9

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:^[11]

	Party	Notes
Jan McWilliams	Independent	Mayor
Len Roberts	Unaligned
Karen Hutchinson	Independent	Elected on Jan McWilliams's ticket
Tony Summers	Independent
Linda Gill	Independent
John Weate	Country Labor
Leigh Vaughan	Unaligned
Jim Morwitch	Independent
Carol McCaskie	Unaligned	Elected on Len Roberts's ticket

References

1 2 3 4 5 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Great Lakes (Local Government Area)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
↑ "Council Search - Great Lakes Council". New South Wales Division of Local Government. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
↑ "Suburb Search - Local Council Boundaries - Hunter (HT) - Great Lakes Council". New South Wales Division of Local Government. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
↑ "Myall Lakes". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
↑ "Upper Hunter". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
↑ "Port Stephens". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
↑ "Paterson". Australian Electoral Commission. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
↑ Toole, Paul (March 2016). "Dungog and Maitland councils Proposal" (PDF). Minister for Local Government. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Great Lakes (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Great Lakes (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
1 2 "Great Lakes Council: Summary of First Preference and Group Votes for each Candidate". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.

External links

"Karuah River and Great Lakes catchments" (map). Office of Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales.

Towns, suburbs and localities of Great Lakes Council, in the Hunter & Mid North Coast Regions, New South Wales

Towns, suburbs and localities	Alderley Alderley Creek Allworth Bennetts Head Blueys Beach Bombah Point Boolambayte Boomerang Beach Booral Booti Booti Bulahdelah Bulby Brush Bundabah Bungwahl Bunyah Bunyah Upper Burgess Beach Burraduc Cape Hawke Carrington Charlottes Bay Clareval Coolongolook Coomba Coomba Bay Coomba Park Craven Crawford River Cureeki Creek Darawank Dewrang Dirty Creek Dungog Elizabeth Beach Failford Fernhill Forster Forster Keys Forster Waters Friendship Key Gereeba Island Girvan Green Point Hawks Nest Johnsons Creek Karuah Legges Camp Lime Kiln Limeburners Creek Markwell Mayers Flat Milbrook Mill Creek Upper Minimbah Monkerai Mungo Brush Myall Lakes Myall Upper Nabiac Nerong New Forster Newells Creek Nooroo North Arm Cove North Pindimar Nugra Nugramudgee Pacific Palms Pindimar Pioneer Park Pipers Bay Rosenthal Sandbar Seal Rocks Smiths Lake South Pindimar Stroud Stroud Road Sugarloaf Point Tahlee Tamboy Tarbuck Bay Tea Gardens Telegherry Terreel The Branch Tiona Topi Topi Tuncurry Upper Karuah River Upper Monkerai Violet Hill Wallamba Island Wallingat Wallingat River Wallis Island Wallis Lake Wards River Warranulla Washpool Wattley Hill Weismantels Whoota Willina Winda Woppa Wootton Yagon Yagon Beach

Rivers and other waterways	Coolongolook River Crawford River Karuah River Manning River Mammy Johnsons River Myall Lakes Myall River Smiths Lake Telegherry River The Branch River Wallamba River Wallingat River Wallis Lake Wards River

National parks	Booti Booti Ghin-Doo-Ee Myall Lakes Wallingat

Other places and points of interest	Broughton Island Cape Hawke Mitchells Island Oxley Island Port Stephens Singing Bridge Tahlee historic property Tops to Myall Heritage Trail

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

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