Greater Taree | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location inNew South Wales | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:31°54′S152°27′E / 31.900°S 152.450°E /-31.900; 152.450 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| Region | Mid North Coast | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1981 | ||||||||||||
| Abolished | 12 May 2016 (2016-05-12) | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Taree | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Paul Hogan (Unaligned) | ||||||||||||
| • State electorates | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 3,730 km2 (1,440 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 46,541 (2011)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 12.48/km2 (32.3/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Greater Taree | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheGreater Taree City Council (GTCC) was alocal government area on theMid North Coast ofNew South Wales,Australia, until 12 May 2016 when it was amalgamated to form part of theMid-Coast Council. It was originally formed in 1981 from the Manning Shire, and the Taree and Wingham Municipal Councils. The council was centred onTaree, located adjacent to theManning River, thePacific Highway and theNorth Coast railway line.
The last servingmayor of GTCC wasCr. Paul Hogan, anunaligned politician.
Towns and localities included in the former GTCC were:
At the last2011 Census performed for the local government area, there were 46,541 people in the GTCC government area, of these 48.7% were male and 51.3% were female.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.4% of the population, double the national average. Themedian age of people in the City of Greater Taree was 46 years; some nine years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 22.5% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 50.0% were married and 14.8% were either divorced or separated.[1]
Population growth in the GTCC between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census has been 5.39%; and in the subsequent five years was 3.09%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the GTCC local government area was significantly lower than the national average.[2] The medianweekly income for residents within the GTCC was significantly below the national average,[1][3] being one of the factors that place the GTCC in anarea of social disadvantage.
At the 2011 Census, the last to be performed for the former council, the proportion of residents in the local government area who stated theirancestry asAustralian orAnglo-Saxon exceeded 83% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 62% of all residents in the GTCC had nominated areligious affiliation withChristianity at the 2011 Census, which was higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the GTCC government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.4%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (93.3%) whereEnglish only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).[1]
| Selected historical census data for Greater Taree local government area | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2001[2] | 2006[3] | 2011[1] | ||
| Population | Estimated residents on Census night | 42,838 | 45,145 | 46,541 | |
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | |||||
| % of New South Wales population | 0.67% | ||||
| % of Australian population | 0.23% |  0.23% |  0.22% | ||
| Cultural and language diversity | |||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 34.3% | |||
| English | 33.1% | ||||
| Irish | 8.0% | ||||
| Scottish | 7.6% | ||||
| German | 2.9% | ||||
| Language, top responses (other thanEnglish) | German | 0.2% | 0.2% |  0.3% | |
| Italian | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | ||
| Dutch | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | ||
| Cantonese | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | ||
| French | n/c | n/c | 0.1% | ||
| Religious affiliation | |||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 34.9% | 33.3% | 32.3% | |
| Catholic | 20.0% | 20.1% | 19.2% | ||
| No Religion | 11.5% | 14.8% | 18.4% | ||
| Uniting Church | 8.7% | 7.5% | 6.8% | ||
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 5.1% | 4.7% | 4.4% | ||
| Median weekly incomes | |||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$336 | A$395 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 72.1% | 68.5% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$635 | A$930 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 61.8% | 62.8% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$798 | A$770 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 68.1% | 62.4% | |||
GTCC was last formed with ninecouncillors, including themayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor wasdirectly elected while eight other councillors were electedproportionally as one entireward. The last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the council when it was amalgamated into the Mid-Coast Council, including the mayor, was as follows:[4][5]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents and Unaligned | 9 | |
| Total | 9 | |
The current council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:[5]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Hogan | Unaligned | Mayor[4] | |
| Trent Jennison | Unaligned | Elected on Paul Hogan'sticket | |
| Peter Epov | Independent | ||
| Kathryn Bell | Independent | ||
| Alan Tickle | Unaligned | ||
| David Keegan | Independent | ||
| Brad Christensen | Independent | ||
| David West | Unaligned | ||
| Robyn Jenkins | Unaligned | ||
The first movement to establish the GTCC began in November 1959. The Taree Municipal Council applied to the Department of Local Government to extend its boundaries to the coastal area between Old Bar and Seal Rocks.[6]
At an inquiry of the Boundaries Commission at Taree in 1976, theDungog Shire proposed that the areas covered by the shires of Dungog, Gloucester, Great Lakes andManning and the municipalities ofTaree andWingham be combined into two areas "to elevate local government to its proper role". At this stage, Taree Municipal Council proposed only their merger with the Municipality of Wingham. A decision was postponed for five years.[6] Due to the town of Taree not having a town hall, the Taree Municipal Council could not be renamed to The Greater Taree City Council as planned. By merging the Municipality of Taree and Municipality of Wingham together so that Taree could claim the town hall in Wingham as they own, only then could the formation of the Greater Taree City Council be formed.
On 1 January 1981, the City of Greater Taree was proclaimed, encompassing the Municipalities of Taree and Wingham and the Manning Valley Shire.[6][7]
A2015 review of local government boundaries by theNSW GovernmentIndependent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal had recommended the merger of a number of adjoining councils. In the initial proposal, the City of Greater Taree was not included in any amalgamation proposals. The amalgamation of the Gloucester,Great Lakes and Greater Taree councils was proclaimed on 12 May 2016, and followed the submission for such an amalgamation byGloucester Shire Council.[8]
