| Hay Shire New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location inNew South Wales | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°30′S144°51′E / 34.500°S 144.850°E /-34.500; 144.850 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 2,884 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.25464/km2 (0.65951/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1 January 1965 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 11,325.89 km2 (4,373.0 sq mi)[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Cr. Carol Oataway (Unaligned)[3] | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Hay | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Riverina | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Murray | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Farrer | ||||||||||||||
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| Website | Hay Shire | ||||||||||||||
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TheHay Shire is alocal government area in theRiverina area of south-westernNew South Wales,Australia. The Shire comprises 11,326 square kilometres (4,373 sq mi) and is located adjacent to theSturt,Mid-western andCobb Highways. The area includes the towns ofHay,Booligal andMaude.
Hay Shire was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of theMunicipality of Hay with the surroundingWaradgery Shire.[4]
Themayor of Hay Shire isCr. Carol Oataway, anunaligned politician who had previously held the position of Principal of Hay Public School.[3][5]
| Selected historical census data for Hay Shire local government area | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2001[6] | 2006[7] | 2011[8] | 2016[9] | 2021[1] | ||
| Population | Estimated residents oncensus night | 3,562 |  3,383 | 2,956 | 2,946 | 2,884 | |
| Aboriginal and/orTorres Strait Islanders (%) | 3.5% |  4.2% | 5.6% | 6.0% | 8.3% | ||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 123rd | 121st |  121st | ||||
| % of New South Wales population | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.04% | 0.04% | 0.04% | ||
| % of Australian population | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | ||
| Cultural and linguistic diversity | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 | ||
| Country of birth (top responses) | Australia | 90.4% | 90.5% | 88.2% | 80.3% | 80.0% | |
| India | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.3% | ||||
| New Zealand | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 1.1% | ||
| England | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.9% | ||
| Fiji | 0.4% | 0.6% | |||||
| Scotland | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | ||
| Language (top responses, other thanEnglish) | Italian | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 0.7% | |
| Punjabi | 0.3% | 0.6% | |||||
| Fijian | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.4% | ||||
| Afrikaans | 0.4% | ||||||
| Malayalam | 0.3% | ||||||
| Religious affiliation | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 | ||
| Religious affiliation (top responses) | Catholic | 36.4% | 36.1% | 35.8% | 31.9% | 27.6% | |
| No Religion | 7.1% | 10.4% | 10.9% | 16.3% | 24.3% | ||
| Anglican | 31.8% | 31.1% | 31.1% | 24.7% | 21.7% | ||
| Not stated | n/c | n/c | n/c | 12.8% | 12.3% | ||
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 9.2% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 5.8% | 4.8% | ||
| Median weekly incomes | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 | ||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$404 | A$441 | A$587 | A$700 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 86.7% | 76.4% | 88.7% | 86.9% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$983 | A$981 | A$1,344 | A$1,622 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 83.9% | 66.2% | 77.5% | 76.5% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$741 | A$805 | A$1,075 | A$1,236 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 72.2% | 65.2% | 74.8% | 70.8% | |||
Hay Shire Council is composed of eightcouncillors electedproportionally as a singleward. 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 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:[10]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Unaligned | 7 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 8 | |
The current Council was elected in September 2024 . The councillors, in order of election, are:[10]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carol Oataway | Unaligned | Mayor[3] | |
| Will Miller | Unaligned | ||
| Lionel Garner | Unaligned | ||
| Martyn Quinn | Unaligned | Deputy Mayor[3] | |
| Darren Tapper | Unaligned | ||
| Geoff Chapman | Unaligned | ||
| Paul Porter | Independent | ||
| John Perry | Unaligned | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Carol Oataway (elected) | 366 | 22.79 | ||
| Independent | Will Miller (elected) | 348 | 21.67 | ||
| Independent | Lionel Garner (elected) | 200 | 12.45 | ||
| Independent | Martyn Quinn (elected) | 197 | 12.27 | ||
| Independent | Darren Tapper (elected) | 141 | 8.78 | ||
| Independent | Geoff Chapman (elected) | 97 | 6.04 | ||
| Independent | David Townsend | 82 | 5.11 | ||
| Independent | Paul Porter (elected) | 79 | 4.92 | ||
| Independent | John Perry (elected) | 76 | 4.73 | ||
| Independent | Steven Young | 20 | 1.25 | ||
| Total formal votes | 1,606 | 100 | |||
| Informal votes | 55 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,661 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Jenny Dwyer (elected) | 491 | 28.1 | ||
| Independent | Martyn Quinn (elected) | 264 | 15.1 | ||
| Independent | Peter Handford (elected) | 198 | 11.3 | ||
| Independent | Peter Dwyer (elected) | 190 | 10.9 | ||
| Independent | Carol Oataway (elected) | 117 | 6.7 | ||
| Independent | Lionel Garner (elected) | 103 | 5.9 | ||
| Independent | Geoff Chapman (elected) | 90 | 5.2 | ||
| Independent | John Perry | 64 | 3.7 | ||
| Independent | Darren Clarke | 62 | 3.5 | ||
| Independent | Paul Porter (elected) | 57 | 3.3 | ||
| Independent | Beverley McRae | 48 | 2.7 | ||
| Independent | David Townsend | 33 | 1.9 | ||
| Independent | Megan Ruska | 30 | 1.7 | ||
| Total formal votes | 1,747 | 97.4 | |||
| Informal votes | 47 | 2.6 | |||
| Turnout | 1,794 | 83.6 | |||
Banjo Paterson (1864–1941) wrote a poem calledHay and Hell and Booligal about the district.[12]
