Cootamundra Shire | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:34°39′S148°02′E / 34.650°S 148.033°E /-34.650; 148.033 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| Region | South West Slopes | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1 April 1975 (1975-04-01) | ||||||||||||
| Abolished | 12 May 2016 (2016-05-12) | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Cootamundra[2] | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Jim Slattery | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 1,524 km2 (588 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 7,620 (2012)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 5.000/km2 (12.950/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Cootamundra Shire | ||||||||||||
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Cootamundra Shire was alocal government area in theRiverina region ofNew South Wales,Australia. The Shire was located adjacent to theOlympic Highway, theBurley Griffin Way and theMain South railway line. The Shire included the town ofCootamundra and the small towns ofStockinbingal,Brawlin andWallendbeen and the locality ofFrampton. The Shire was created on 1 April 1975 by the amalgamation ofJindalee Shire and theMunicipality of Cootamundra.[3]
In 2016, it merged with the neighbouringGundagai Shire to form theGundagai Council, later renamed to beCootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council.[4]
The lastmayor of Cootamundra Shire was Jim Slattery.[5]
Cootamundra Shire Council was composed of ninecouncillors electedproportionally to a singleward. All councillors were elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor was elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the council was as follows:[5]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents and Unaligned | 9 | |
| Total | 9 | |
The last Council, elected in 2012, was:[5]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Phillips | Unaligned | ||
| Craig Stewart | Unaligned | ||
| Dennis Palmer | Unaligned | ||
| Stephen Doidge | Unaligned | ||
| Jim Slattery | Unaligned | Mayor | |
| Paul Braybrooks | Unaligned | ||
| Rosalind Wight | Unaligned | ||
| Mary Donnelly | Independent | ||
| Rod Chalmers | Unaligned | ||
A2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that Cootamundra Shire merge with adjoining councils. TheNSW Government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger between the Cootamundra andGundagai shires to form a new council with an area of 3,981 square kilometres (1,537 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 11,500.[6] The alternative, proposed byHarden Shire on 28 February 2016, was for an amalgamation of the Cootamundra, Gundagai and Harden shires.[7] The outcome of an independent review was announced in May 2016, with the result that Cootamundra merged with Gundagai Shire to form theGundagai Council.[4]After constant agitation from both Gundagai and Cootamundra communities, with particularly aggressive hostility from the Gundagai community, the Local Government minister, Wendy Tuckerman, determined that the council will be de-amalgamated. In September 2024 independent council elections will be held for Cootamundra and Gundagai.[8]
