Coonamble Shire
Local government area in New South Wales, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coonamble Shire is a local government area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Castlereagh Highway and the Castlereagh River.
Coonamble Shire | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 30°57′S 148°24′E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| Region | Orana | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1 May 1952[1] | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Coonamble | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Daniel Keady (Independent) | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 9,926 km2 (3,832 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 3,732 (2021 census)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.37598/km2 (0.97379/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Coonamble Shire | ||||||||||||
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Coonamble Shire includes the towns of Coonamble, Gulargambone and Quambone.
The mayor of Coonamble Shire Council is Cr. Daniel Keady.[3]
History
Local government in the area was first established with the Municipal District of Coonamble formed on 3 May 1880.[4] Wingadee Shire was formed later, one of 134 shires proclaimed on 7 March 1906 following passing of the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905.[5]
Coonamble Shire itself was formed on 1 May 1952 from the amalgamation of the Municipality of Coonamble with Wingadee Shire.[1]
Demographics
| Selected historical census data for Coonamble Shire local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2011[6] | 2016[2] | 2021 | |||
| Population | Estimated residents on census night | 4,030 |  3,918 |
3,732 | ||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 118th |  116th |
116th | |||
| % of New South Wales population | ||||||
| % of Australian population | ||||||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | English | |||||
| Australian | ||||||
| Italian | ||||||
| Chinese | ||||||
| Irish | ||||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | |||||
| Mandarin | ||||||
| Cantonese | ||||||
| Korean | ||||||
| Greek | ||||||
| Religious affiliation | ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | |||||
| No religion | ||||||
| Anglican | ||||||
| Eastern Orthodox | ||||||
| Buddhism | ||||||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$ | ||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | |||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | |||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
Council
Current composition and election method
Coonamble Shire 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 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:[7]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents and Unaligned | 9 | |
| Total | 9 | |
The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is:[7]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Keady | Independent | Mayor | |
| Pip Goldsmith | |||
| Paul Fisher | Independent | ||
| Ahmad (Al) Karanouh | |||
| Paul Wheelhouse | Independent | ||
| Adam Cohen | Independent | ||
| Karen Churchill | Independent | ||
| Steve Butler | Independent | Deputy Mayor | |
| Margaret Garnsey | Independent | ||
Election results
2024
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Daniel Keady (elected) | 330 | 16.2 | +16.2 | |
| Independent | Pip Goldsmith (elected) | 247 | 12.1 | +12.1 | |
| Independent | Paul Fisher (elected) | 227 | 11.1 | +11.1 | |
| Independent | Ahmad (Al) Karanouh (elected) | 205 | 10.1 | −2.6 | |
| Independent | Paul Wheelhouse (elected) | 186 | 9.1 | +9.1 | |
| Independent | Adam Cohen (elected) | 175 | 8.6 | +0.3 | |
| Independent | Karen Churchill (elected) | 156 | 7.7 | −1.1 | |
| Independent | Steve Butler (elected) | 156 | 7.7 | +7.7 | |
| Independent | Margaret Garnsey (elected) | 106 | 5.2 | +5.2 | |
| Independent | Steven Smith | 82 | 4.0 | −5.1 | |
| Independent | Donna Norris | 44 | 2.2 | +2.2 | |
| Independent | Neil Fester | 43 | 2.1 | +2.1 | |
| Independent | William Landers | 41 | 2.0 | +2.0 | |
| Independent | Barbara Deans | 30 | 1.5 | −4.6 | |
| Independent | Melissa Skuthorp | 11 | 0.5 | +0.5 | |
| Total formal votes | 2,039 | 95.2 | |||
| Informal votes | 102 | 4.8 | |||
| Turnout | 2,141 | 75.9 | |||
