Balranald Shire
Local government area in New South Wales, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balranald Shire is a local government area in the Riverina region of western New South Wales, Australia on the Sturt Highway. It is the location of World Heritage listed Mungo National Park. It includes the towns of Balranald and Euston. Other localities in the Shire include Kyalite, Hatfield, Penarie, Clare and Oxley.
Balranald Shire | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||
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| Coordinates: 34°37′S 143°34′E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| Region | Riverina | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Balranald | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Louie Zaffina | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 21,693 km2 (8,376 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 2,208 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.101784/km2 (0.26362/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Balranald Shire | ||||||||||||
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As of 29 January 2020, the Balranald Shire Council Mayor and elected members were dismissed by NSW local government minister Shelley Hancock, after the recommendations of the report of commissioner Roslyn McCulloch. Mike Colreavy has been appointed the administrator until local council elections in 2024.[2]
Following the NSW State Government Local Government elections in September 2024, a new Council and Mayor were appointed for Balranald Shire Council.
Demographics
| Selected historical census data for Balranald Shire local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2011[3] | 2016[4] | 2021[1] | |||
| Population | Estimated residents on census night | 2,283 |  2,287 |  2,208 | ||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 127th | 126th |  126th | |||
| % of New South Wales population | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.03% | |||
| % of Australian population | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | |||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 32.3% | 31.6% | 35.3% | ||
| English | 24.9% | 25.1% | 32.7% | |||
| Italian | 10.3% | 9.0% | 12.0% | |||
| Irish | 8.9% | 10.1% | 9.7% | |||
| Scottish | 5.7% | 5.9% | 8.2% | |||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | 4.4% | 3.0% | 2.2% | ||
| Fijian | n/c | 0.6% | 1.0% | |||
| Mandarin | 0.3% | 0.5% | 1.7% | |||
| Tongan | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.7% | |||
| Vietnamese | n/c | n/c | 0.6% | |||
| Religious affiliation | ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 39.3% | 35.7% | 30.2% | ||
| No religion | 13.6% | 20.8% | 28.8% | |||
| Not stated | n/c | 12.7% | 14.7% | |||
| Anglican | 16.5% | 15.0% | 10.8% | |||
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 8.6% | 6.9% | 4.6% | |||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$470 | A$624 | A$734 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 81.5% | 94.3% | 91.2% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$1126 | A$1438 | A$1781 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 76.0% | 82.9% | 84.0% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$894 | A$1174 | A$1370 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 72.4% | 81.6% | 78.5% | |||
Council
Current composition and election method
The Balranald Shire Council is currently under administration, as of 29 January 2020, after local government minister Shelley Hancock accepted the recommendations of the report created by commissioner Roslyn McCulloch. The next election will be held in September 2024.[2]
Election results
2024
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independents | 1,034 | 100.0 | 8 | ||||
| Formal votes | 1,034 | 97.9 | |||||
| Informal votes | 22 | 2.1 | |||||
| Total | 1,056 | 100.0 | 8 | ||||
| Registered voters / turnout | 1,377 | 76.7 | |||||
2012
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Stephen O'Halloran (elected) | 419 | 35.8 | −2.6 | |
| Independent | Leigh Byron (elected) | 176 | 15.0 | +3.3 | |
| Independent | Trevor Jolliffe (elected) | 129 | 11.0 | +11.0 | |
| Independent Labor | Alan Purtill (elected) | 93 | 7.9 | +0.2 | |
| Independent | Lynda Cooke (elected) | 83 | 7.1 | +7.1 | |
| Independent | Jeff Mannix (elected) | 76 | 6.5 | +3.0 | |
| Independent | Ken Barnes (elected) | 80 | 6.8 | +2.2 | |
| Independent | Elaine Campbell (elected) | 50 | 4.3 | +4.3 | |
| Independent | John Jackson | 27 | 2.3 | +2.3 | |
| Independent | Tina Powis | 26 | 2.2 | −3.1 | |
| Independent | Bill Vaarzon-Morel | 12 | 1.0 | +1.0 | |
| Turnout | 79.6 | ||||
| Party total votes | |||||
| Independent | 1,078 | 92.1 | |||
| Independent Labor | 93 | 7.9 | |||
