Georges River Council New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 33°58′S151°08′E / 33.967°S 151.133°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 152,274 (2021 census) [1] (47th) | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 3,969.6/km2 (10,281.2/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Established | 12 May 2016 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 38.36 km2 (14.8 sq mi) [2] | ||||||||||||||
Mayor | Sam Elmir | ||||||||||||||
Council seat | Civic Centre, Hurstville | ||||||||||||||
Region | Metropolitan Sydney | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | |||||||||||||||
Website | Georges River Council | ||||||||||||||
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Georges River Council is a local government area located in the St George region of Sydney located south of the Sydney CBD, in New South Wales, Australia. The Council was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of the Hurstville City Council and Kogarah City Council. [3]
The Council comprises an area of 38.36 square kilometres (14.81 sq mi) [2] and as at the 2021 census had a population of 152,274. [4]
The mayor of Georges River Council is Sam Elmir, who was elected by his fellow councillors on 25 September 2023. [5]
Suburbs in the Georges River Council area are: [2]
Georges River Council also manages and maintains the following localities:
At the 2016 census, there were 146,841 people resident in the Georges River local government area; of these 48.9 per cent were male and 51.1 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.5 per cent of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The median age of people in Georges River Council was 37 years; marginally lower than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 16.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.3 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 53.1 per cent were married and 9.1 per cent were either divorced or separated. [6]
At the 2016 census, the proportion of residents in the Georges River local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon approached 29 per cent of all residents. In excess of 51 per cent of all residents in Georges River Council nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2016 census, which was below the national average of 57.7 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Georges River local government area had a significantly higher than average proportion (56.1 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 22.2 per cent); and a lower proportion (42.3 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72.7 per cent). [6]
Selected historical census data for Georges River Council local government area | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Census year | 2016 [6] | |||||
Population | Estimated residents on census night | 146,841 | ||||
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 19th | |||||
% of New South Wales population | 1.96% | |||||
% of Australian population | 0.63% | |||||
Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
Ancestry, top responses | Chinese | 22.8% | ||||
English | 13.3% | |||||
Australian | 12.6% | |||||
Greek | 6.0% | |||||
Irish | 4.8% | |||||
Language, top responses (other than English) | Mandarin | 14.4% | ||||
Cantonese | 9.9% | |||||
Greek | 5.4% | |||||
Arabic | 3.6% | |||||
Nepali | 3.4% | |||||
Religious affiliation | ||||||
Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion, as described | 27.4% | ||||
Catholic | 21.3% | |||||
Eastern Orthodox | 10.0% | |||||
Anglican | 8.7% | |||||
Not stated | 7.5% | |||||
Median weekly incomes | ||||||
Personal income | Median weekly personal income | $640 | ||||
% of Australian median income | 96.68% | |||||
Family income | Median weekly family income | $1,817 | ||||
% of Australian median income | 104.79% | |||||
Household income | Median weekly household income | $1,654 | ||||
% of Australian median income | 115.02% | |||||
Georges River Council comprises fifteen Councillors elected proportionally, with three Councillors elected in five wards. [7] [8] Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office, with the first term to last for three years. [3] The Mayor is elected by Councillors for a period of two years, the Deputy Mayor is elected for one year. [9] The council first met in the Kogarah Civic Centre on 19 May 2016 and the new seat of the council is the Georges River Civic Centre (formerly Hurstville Civic Centre) in MacMahon Street, Hurstville. [10] [11]
Mayor | Term | Notes |
---|---|---|
John Rayner PSM (Administrator) | 12 May 2016 – 25 September 2017 | Shire Clerk/General Manager of Sutherland Shire 1982–2015 [12] [13] [14] |
Kevin Greene (ALP) | 25 September 2017 – 30 December 2021 | MP for Georges River and Oatley 1999–2011 [15] [16] [17] |
Nick Katris (ALP) | 30 December 2021 – 25 September 2023 | [18] [19] |
Sam Elmir (LIB) | 25 September 2023 – 14 October 2024 | [5] [20] |
Elise Borg (GRRP) | 14 October 2024 – present | |
Deputy Mayor | Term | Notes |
Kathryn Landsberry (ALP) | 25 September 2017 – 24 September 2018 | [15] |
Sam Elmir (LIB) | 24 September 2018 – 23 September 2019 | [21] |
Con Hindi (LIB) | 23 September 2019 – 28 September 2020 | [16] |
Stephen Agius (LIB) | 28 September 2020 – 30 December 2021 | [22] [17] |
Kathryn Landsberry (ALP) | 30 December 2021 – 25 September 2023 | [18] [23] |
Elise Borg (GRRP) | 25 September 2023 – 14 October 2024 | [5] |
Nancy Liu (LIB) | 14 October 2024 – present | [21] |
General Manager | Term | Notes |
Gail Connolly | 12 May 2016 – present | General Manager of Ryde 2015–2016 [24] [25] [8] |
The most recent full council election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the Council by order of election, is as follows: [26]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labor | 6 | |
Georges River Residents and Ratepayers Party (GRRRP) | 5 | |
Liberal | 3 | |
Independent | 1 | |
Total | 15 |
Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blakehurst Ward [27] | Natalie Mort | GRRRP | Elected 2021 | |
Oliver Dimoski | Liberal | Elected 2024 | ||
Kathryn Landsberry | Labor | Elected 2017; Kogarah Middle Ward Councillor 2004–2016; Deputy Mayor 2017–2018, 2021–2023. [15] [18] | ||
Hurstville Ward [28] | Leon Pun | Labor | Elected 2024 | |
Nancy Liu | Liberal | Elected 2017; Hurstville Ward Councillor 2008–2016; Deputy Mayor 2024–present | ||
Benjamin Wang | Independent | Elected 2021 | ||
Kogarah Bay Ward [29] | Thomas Gao | Labor | Elected 2024 | |
Elise Borg | GRRRP | Elected 2021; Deputy Mayor 2023–present; [5] Mayor 2024–present | ||
Sam Stratikopoulos | Liberal | Elected 2017; Kogarah City Councillor 2012–2016 | ||
Mortdale Ward [30] [31] | Tom Arthur | Labor | Elected 2024 | |
Ashvini Ambihaipahar | Labor | Elected at a countback election held on 21 September 2022 [32] following the resignation of Warren Tegg on 23 August 2022. [23] [33] | ||
Christina Jamieson | GRRRP | |||
Peakhurst Ward [34] | Elaina Anzellotti | Labor | Elected 2024 | |
Peter Mahoney | GRRRP | |||
Matthew Allison | GRRRP | Elected 2024 |
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labor | 30,247 | 39.06 | +6.66 | 6 | 1 | ||
Liberal | 16,281 | 21.02 | −7.98 | 3 | |||
Residents and Ratepayers | 24,389 | 31.49 | +10.09 | 5 | 1 | ||
Georges River Association | 3,607 | 4.66 | +1.96 | 1 | |||
Kogarah Residents' Association | 1,065 | 1.38 | +1.38 | 0 | |||
Libertarian | 553 | 0.71 | +0.71 | 0 | |||
Greens | 474 | 0.61 | +0.61 | 0 | |||
Public Education | 82 | 0.11 | +0.11 | 0 | |||
Independents | 741 | 0.96 | −12.34 | 0 | |||
Formal votes | 77,439 | ||||||
Informal votes | 5,928 | ||||||
Total | 83,367 | 15 | |||||
Registered voters / turnout | 96,882 |
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labor | 25,064 | 32.4 | −5.7 | 5 | 1 | ||
Liberal | 22,459 | 29.0 | −4.6 | 5 | |||
Residents and Ratepayers | 16,607 | 21.4 | +21.4 | 4 | 4 | ||
Independents | 10,279 | 13.3 | −5.1 | 0 | 3 | ||
Georges River Association | 2,105 | 2.7 | +2.7 | 1 | 1 | ||
Kogarah Residents' Association | 919 | 1.2 | −3.4 | 0 | 1 | ||
Communist League | 17 | 0.0 | +0.0 | 0 | |||
Formal votes | 77,450 | 94.56 | |||||
Informal votes | 4,456 | 5.44 | |||||
Total | 81,906 | 100.00 |
On 3 April 2017, Georges River Council adopted its new logo and branding as required by the NSW state government proclamation. The logo, one of three designed by council staff, was adopted following a community consultation process which looked at the three options. The successful choice, featuring a dragon (which is representative of the St George region and appeared on the former Hurstville City Council logo and coat of arms [36] ), was chosen due to "perceived meaning, diversity, relevance to the local area including connections to St George and the logo’s representation to the community including links to multiculturalism and sport". [37]
The consultations resulted in several changes before its unveiling, including changing the direction of the dragon, the adoption of the red colour from the interim council typeface logo used since amalgamation, and the addition of a Port Jackson fig tree leaf motif, to represent the indigenous heritage of the area. [37]
The traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the land now in the Georges River Council area were thought to be the Cadigal and Biddegal indigenous people. [2]
The "Municipal District of Kogarah" was proclaimed on 23 December 1885 and the District’s boundaries commenced at the intersection of the Illawarra Railway Line with the northern shore of George’s River. The Municipal District was re-named the "Municipality of Kogarah" following the passage of the Municipalities Act, 1897 on 6 December 1897. [38] On 22 December 1916 and 1 January 1969, parts of Rockdale Municipality were transferred to Kogarah. [38] In 1993, following the passing of the new Local Government Act, the Municipality of Kogarah became known as "Kogarah Council". Kogarah Council was proclaimed a city in 2008.
In December 1920, Kogarah combined with the councils of Rockdale, Hurstville, and Bexley to form the St George County Council. The elected County Council was established to provide electricity to the Kogarah, Rockdale, Hurstville, and Bexley areas and ceased to exist when it was amalgamated with the Sydney County Council on 1 January 1980. [39] [40]
On 25 March 1887 the NSW Government Gazette published a proclamation declaring the "Municipal District of Hurstville". On 28 June 1900, a further proclamation declared Bexley Ward of Hurstville be separated and named the Borough of Bexley. [41] On 28 June 1900 a new proclamation declared the "Municipality of Hurstville". On 2 August 1922, a part of Hurstville was transferred to the Sutherland Shire, on 5 December 1924 part of Canterbury Municipality was transferred to Hurstville, and on 1 January 1931 part of Hurstville was given to Kogarah Municipality. On 25 November 1988 Hurstville was proclaimed a city, becoming the "Hurstville City Council". [41]
Efforts to bring about a unified council for the St George area were raised regularly since 1901 and the 1946 Clancy Royal Commission into local government boundaries recommended the amalgamation of the municipalities of Hurstville, Kogarah, Rockdale and Bexley. In the following act of parliament passed in December 1948, the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, the recommendations of the commission were modified, leading only to the merger of Bexley and Rockdale councils. A merger was again considered in the 1970s, but 1977 plebiscites run in Hustville and Kogarah rejected the idea. A further idea of amalgamating Kogarah and Hurstville with Sutherland Shire to the south was raised in 1999 but did not progress. [42]
A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that Kogarah merge with Hurstville to form a new council with an area of 38 square kilometres (15 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 147,000. [43] However these proposals met with some opposition, including those in favour of a single "St George Council" combining Hurstville, Kogarah and Rockdale (which was to amalgamate with the City of Botany Bay). [44] [45] Despite these concerns however, on 12 May 2016, with the release of the Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016, the Georges River Council was formed from Hurstville and Kogarah city councils, with former Sutherland Shire General Manager, John Rayner as administrator. [8] The first meeting of the Georges River Council was held at Kogarah Civic Centre on 19 May 2016.
The Georges River Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 km (9.9 mi) south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges River Council.
Oatley is a suburb in Southern Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Oatley lies in the local government area of Georges River Council. It lies on the northern side of the tidal estuary of the Georges River and its foreshore includes part of Oatley Bay and Lime Kiln Bay, and all of Neverfail Bay, Gungah Bay and Jewfish Bay.
The Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line is a commuter railway line on the Sydney Trains network in the eastern and southern suburbs of Sydney. The line was constructed in the 1880s to Wollongong to take advantage of agricultural and mining potentials in the Illawarra area. In March 1926, it became the first railway in New South Wales to run electric train services.
Southern Sydney is the southern metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
The City of Kogarah was a local government area in the St George region of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The centre of the city is located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south-west of the Sydney central business district and west of Botany Bay.
The St George region of Sydney is part of the southern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area includes all the suburbs in the local government area of Georges River Council and the part of Bayside Council which was Rockdale City prior to 2016. This is everything within the boundaries of Salt Pan Creek to the west, The Georges River to the south, Botany Bay to the east and the M5 Motorway and Wolli Creek to the north. This area corresponds to the southern portion of the cadastral Parish of St George, from which the region derives its name and the area was later covered by the St George County Council, the electricity supplier for the councils in this region. This southern portion of the parish below The M5 and Wolli Creek is the more contemporary definition of The St George Region that is considered part of Southern Sydney.
The South Coast Railway is a passenger and freight railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales.
Oatley railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Illawarra line, in the Sydney suburb of Oatley in the Georges River Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station is served by Sydney Trains' T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line services. It was designed and built by the NSW Government Railway and from 1905 to 1992. It is also known as the Oatley Railway Station group. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Hurstville railway station is located on the Illawarra line, serving the Sydney suburb of Hurstville. It is served by Sydney Trains' T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line services and NSW TrainLink's South Coast Line services.
The City of Hurstville was a local government area in the St George and southern region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city seat of Hurstville is located 17 kilometres (11 mi) south–west of Sydney and west of Botany Bay. Hurstville was incorporated as a municipality in 1887, declared a city in 1988, and abolished in 2016, forming with Kogarah City Council the new Georges River Council.
The City of Rockdale was a local government area in southern and St George regions of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre was located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south-west of the Sydney central business district, on the western shores of Botany Bay. First proclaimed on 13 January 1871, Rockdale was formerly known as the Municipality of West Botany until 1887 and the Municipality of Rockdale before being proclaimed as a City in 1995. Rockdale was amalgamated with the neighbouring City of Botany Bay on 9 September 2016 to form the new municipality of Bayside Council.
The St George Hospital and Community Health Service is a tertiary referral hospital, originally a district general hospital, located in Kogarah, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the South East Sydney Local Health District and is an accredited principal teaching hospital of the University of New South Wales.
Kogarah is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. The electorate is located in St George. It is represented by Chris Minns of the Australian Labor Party, the states premier.
Oatley is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales in Sydney's St George district. It is currently held by Mark Coure of the Liberal Party.
Kevin Patrick Greene, is a former Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2011, and as a Councillor (2017–2022) and Mayor (2017–2021) of Georges River Council.
Mark Joseph Coure is an Australian politician. He is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Oatley for the Liberal Party since 2011 and served in the second Perrottet ministry.
Bayside Council is a local government area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located around part of Botany Bay, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the Sydney CBD. It includes suburbs of Southern Sydney as well as a portion in the Eastern Suburbs. It comprises an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) and as at the 2016 census had a population of 156,058.
Westfield Hurstville is a shopping centre in the suburb of Hurstville in the St George area of Sydney, Australia.
The Municipality of Bexley was a local government area in the St George region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed as the Borough of Bexley on 28 June 1900 when it formally separated from the Municipal District of Hurstville, and included the modern suburbs of Bexley, Bexley North and Kingsgrove, with parts of Carlton, Bardwell Park, Bardwell Valley, Rockdale and Kogarah. From 1 January 1949, the council was amalgamated into the Municipality of Rockdale, with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948.
St George County Council was a publicly owned electricity supply utility in the St George area of southern Sydney, Australia. It supplied electricity to consumers in the Kogarah, Hurstville, Rockdale and Bexley Municipalities. It existed, from December 1920, until 1980 when its operations and assets, and those of Mackellar Country Council and Brisbane Water County Council, were merged into the existing Sydney County Council. It obtained its bulk power from the New South Wales Government Railways, until 1953 when the electricity generation assets of that entity became part of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales.
For outstanding public service to local government in New South Wales.