Goulburn Mulwaree New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 34°44′S149°44′E / 34.733°S 149.733°E Coordinates: 34°44′S149°44′E / 34.733°S 149.733°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 32,053 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 9.954/km2 (25.78/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Established | 2004 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 3,220 km2 (1,243.2 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Mayor | Peter Walker | ||||||||||||||
Council seat | Goulburn [2] | ||||||||||||||
Region | Southern Tablelands | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Goulburn | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Hume | ||||||||||||||
Website | Goulburn Mulwaree | ||||||||||||||
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Goulburn Mulwaree Council is a local government area located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hume Highway and the Southern Highlands railway line. The estimated resident population of the area stood at 32,053 on 2021 census. [1]
The mayor of Goulburn Mulwaree Council is Peter Walker.
The area covered under administration is 3,220 square kilometres (1,240 sq mi) and includes Goulburn and the towns and localities of:
Parts of the Southern Highlands, the Southern Tablelands and Morton National Park lie within the Goulburn Mulwaree Council area.
The oldest habitation sites discovered in the region date back more than 3000–5000 years ago. Two distinct Aboriginal language groups were identified in the region when the Europeans initiated contact. These were the Gundungurra and the Ngunnawal groups, which were connected through common beliefs and culture. These groups are the traditional owners of the Goulburn Mulwaree local government area and the area is a meeting place of the two groups, with the Gundungurra to the north and the Ngunnawal to the south. Muniwarung is "meeting place" in the Gundungurra language.
The first Europeans to visit Goulburn Mulwaree were John Wilson and John Price. Properties were established here during 1817–1820 due to the grazing potential of the Southern Tablelands. [3]
The council was formed in 2004 as the Greater Argyle Council, an amalgamation of Goulburn City and parts of the former Mulwaree Shire. It was renamed in 2005 to Goulburn Mulwaree Council.[ citation needed ]
During 2011–2013, Goulburn Mulwaree Council has been at the centre of alleged breaches [4] of NSW Council Rules and Regulations. In late 2013, a Government investigation by the New South Wales State Government found that the Goulburn Mulwaree Council's Multi-Use Centre Tendering Process breached established State Regulations, ruling that: "[Goulburn Mulwaree] Council contravened regulations, ignored tendering guidelines and offered unfair advantage to two tenderers including the successful tenderer, Bathurst firm, Hines Constructions." [5] The Investigation prompted multiple Council Internal Reform suggestions, as well as prompting the council's General Manager Performance Review Committee to suspend the automatic employment renewal of Mr Chris Berry, the then General Manager of Goulburn Mulwaree Council, in September 2013. [6]
In 2011, Goulburn Mulwaree Council partnered with Veolia Environmental Services in seed funding to make up $10,000 for an art award through the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery. The Award, known as the Veolia Environmental Services Art Award, prompted condemnation from the peak body for Australian visual and media arts (The National Association for Visual Artists or NAVA), as well as an independent investigation after multiple complaints alleging the winning entry breached the stipulated entry conditions. [7] The Investigation, completed by Planning, Environmental and Economic Consulting, resulted in a 22-page report where: "The consultant recommended that Council make a public statement to acknowledge grievances and the necessary improvements. Secondly, gallery staff should be proactive in engaging professionals, galleries and judges to develop and benchmark the entry and judging criteria." [7] Veolia Environmental Services discontinued its annual $10,000 support for the Award in 2012.
Goulburn Mulwaree Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as one entire 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 4 September 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Independents | 7 | |
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party | 1 | |
Labour | 1 | |
Total | 9 |
The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election, is:
Councillor | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Peter Walker | Independent | Mayor | |
Andrew Banfield | Independent | ||
Andy Wood | Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party | ||
Bob Kirk | Independent | ||
Carol James | Independent | ||
Daniel Strickland | Independent | ||
Jason Shepherd | Labour | ||
Michael Prevedello | Independent | ||
Steven Ruddell | Independent | Deputy mayor |
The Shire of Baw Baw is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of 4,028 square kilometres (1,555 sq mi) and in June 2018 had a population of 52,015.
Goulburn is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately 195 kilometres (121 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 90 kilometres (56 mi) north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victoria in 1863. Goulburn had a population of 23,835 at June 2018. Goulburn is the seat of Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
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Tallong is in the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. It is a village within the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, in Goulburn-Mulwaree Council. The village is located just outside the southern extremity of the Southern Highlands region and has some cultural and historic connections with this region also. In the 2016 census, the village had a population of 813. The town is 8.5 km from the town of Marulan and 25 km from the town of Bundanoon.
Taralga is the traditional land of the Gundungurra people. Today it is a small village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is located at the intersection of the Goulburn-Oberon Road and the Laggan-Taralga Road. It is accessible from Oberon to the north, Mittagong to the east, Goulburn to the south, and Crookwell to the west. At the 2016 census, Taralga had a population of 467. Taralga is located relatively close to the famous Wombeyan Caves. The town experiences a volatile climate and is frequently affected by snow in the winter months.
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Dalton is a small inland country town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Upper Lachlan Shire.
The Wombeyan Caves are caves that have formed in marble, in the Wombeyan Karst Conservation Reserve, New South Wales, Australia. Wombeyan Caves is a tourist attraction and local holiday area, as well as a reserve for endangered species, such as several species of wallaby, bird, possum, and wombat.
The Division of Hume is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia.
Marulan is the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. It is a small town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in the Goulburn Mulwaree Council local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway, although it bypasses the town proper. Marulan lies on the 150th meridian east. It has a railway station on the Main Southern railway line. Marulan was previously known as Mooroowoolen.
The Palerang Council was a local government area located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. On 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced dissolution of the Palerang Council with immediate effect. Together with Queanbeyan City the combined council areas were merged to establish the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. Both councils had opposed the amalgamation. Elections for the new Council area were held in September 2017. The former mayor of Queanbeyan City Council was appointed by the New South Wales Government as administrator until that date.
Tarago is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council. Part of the defined locality, which includes a large area of grazing country, is on the eastern shore of Lake George in the area of the Queanbeyan–Palerang Regional Council. The town is situated 39 kilometres south of the city of Goulburn and 69 kilometres northeast of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. It is located on the Goulburn-Braidwood road. The town is notable for recent renewable energy projects in the surrounding districts.
The Tablelands Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns. Established in 2008, it was preceded by four previous local government areas which dated back more than a century. On 1 January 2014, one of those local government areas, the Shire of Mareeba, was re-established independent of the Tablelands Region.
The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave. However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was de-amalgamated from the Cairns Region and re-established as a separate local government authority.
The Mulwaree River, a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment, is located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia.
Gunning Shire was a local government area in New South Wales centered on Gunning, New South Wales north of the Australian Capital Territory until February 2004, when the local government organisation was absorbed into newly created Palerang Council and Upper Lachlan Shire.
The Parish of Baw Baw is a parish of Argyle County, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in to the west of Goulburn, in Goulburn Mulwaree Council at 34°42′54″S, 149°38′04″E.
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Mulwaree Shire was a local government area in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia.