Huon Valley Council, Tasmania

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Huon Valley Council
Tasmania
Map showing the Huon Valley local government area.
Coordinates 43°15′17″S146°35′22″E / 43.2546°S 146.5895°E / -43.2546; 146.5895 Coordinates: 43°15′17″S146°35′22″E / 43.2546°S 146.5895°E / -43.2546; 146.5895
Population16,199 (2016 census) [1]
 • Density2.9/km2 (7.5/sq mi)
Established2 April 1993
Area5,497 km2 (2,122.4 sq mi)
MayorBec Enders [2]
Council seat Huonville
Region Huonville, Huon Valley, and Macquarie Island
State electorate(s) Franklin
Federal Division(s) Franklin
Huon Valley Council Logo.jpg
Website Huon Valley Council
LGAs around Huon Valley Council:
Derwent Valley Derwent Valley Glenorchy
West Coast Huon Valley Council Kingborough
Indian OceanIndian OceanPacific Ocean
Huon Valley LGA Tasmania locator map.svg

Huon Valley Council is a local government body in Tasmania, covering most of the south of the state. Huon Valley is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 16,199, towns and localities of the region include Cygnet, Dover, Franklin, Geeveston, Southport and the largest principal town, Huonville.

Local government in Australia is the third tier of government in Australia administered by the states and territories, which in turn are beneath the federal tier. Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and two referenda in the 1970s and 1980s to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state government recognises local government in their respective constitutions. Unlike Canada or the United States, there is only one level of local government in each state, with no distinction such as cities and counties.

Tasmania island state of Australia

Tasmania is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 km (150 mi) to the south of the Australian mainland, separated by Bass Strait. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and the surrounding 334 islands. The state has a population of around 526,700 as of March 2018. Just over forty percent of the population resides in the Greater Hobart precinct, which forms the metropolitan area of the state capital and largest city, Hobart.

Cygnet, Tasmania Town in Tasmania, Australia

Cygnet is a town in the Huon Valley, south of Huonville, Tasmania. Cygnet and surrounding suburbs have access to the D'Entrecasteaux Channel on one side and the Huon River on the other.

Contents

History and attributes

In 1993 the municipalities of Esperance, Huon and Port Cygnet were amalgamated to form the Huon Valley Council. [3] Remote subantarctic Macquarie Island, which is located some 1400 km southeast of Tasmania proper, was part of Esperance until then, and has been administratively part of the Huon Valley since then.

Macquarie Island sub-Antarctic island of Australia

Macquarie Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies in the southwest Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978 and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997.

Demographics

Huon Valley is classified as rural, agricultural and very large (RAV) under the Australian Classification of Local Governments. [4]

The townships in the south east region of Tasmania that experienced the largest growth were Huonville, Franklin (where the population was up by 1,300 people) and Cygnet (up by 440). [5]

Elections

The Huon Valley Council is composed of nine Councillors elected using the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation as a single ward. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are each directly elected for a four-year term. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor must also be elected as Councillors to hold office. Elections are normally held in October, with the next election due to be held in October 2022. [6] Neither the Labor Party nor the Liberal Party endorse local government candidates in Tasmania.

The single transferable vote (STV) is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through ranked voting in multi-seat organizations or constituencies. Under STV, an elector (voter) has a single vote that is initially allocated to their most preferred candidate. Votes are totalled and a quota derived. If their candidate achieves quota, he/she is elected and in some STV systems any surplus vote is transferred to other candidates in proportion to the voters' stated preferences. If more candidates than seats remain, the bottom candidate is eliminated with his/her votes being transferred to other candidates as determined by the voters' stated preferences. These elections and eliminations, and vote transfers if applicable, continue until there are only as many candidates as there are unfilled seats. The specific method of transferring votes varies in different systems.

The Australian Labor Party , commonly known as Tasmanian Labor is the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party.

Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) state division of the Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia , commonly known as the Tasmanian Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Tasmania. The party currently governs in Tasmania. The party is part of the federal Liberal Party of Australia which governs nationally in Coalition with the National Party of Australia.

The most recent election of Councillors was held over a three-week period concluding on 30 October 2018. [7]

As elected in 2018 the Council had 9 members: [7]

CouncillorPartyNotes
 Bec EndersIndependentMayor
 Mick NewellIndependent
 Sally DoyleIndependent Deputy Mayor
 Paul Gibson Tasmanian Greens
 Mike WilsonIndependent
 Robert PrinceIndependent
 Juarne BirdIndependent
 Mark O'MayIndependent
 Christine Campbell Tasmanian Greens

Ian Mackintosh was elected to Council in September 2015 following the election of Rosalie Woodruff to the House of Assembly and her subsequent resignation as Councillor. [8] Councillor Ken Studley resigned in May 2016 following a Board of Inquiry into the Council, and a replacement was elected via recount of the votes. [9]

In 2016 the entire Huon Valley Council was sacked by the state government after a long period of severe dysfunction. [10] [11] The municipality is presently controlled by a Commissioner, former Glenorchy mayor and Elwick MLC Adriana Taylor. [12]

See also

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References

  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Huon Valley (M)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 November 2017. Blue pencil.svg
  2. "Local council polls: Sue Hickey elected Hobart Lord Mayor over Damon Thomas". Yahoo. 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. "Agency Details: Huon Valley Council". search.archives.tas.gov.au. Tasmanian Government. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  4. "Local government national report 2014-2015". regional.gov.au. Australian Government. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  5. "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2011". Tasmania, State Summary. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  6. "Council elections". Your council. Huon Valley Council. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Huon Valley Council". Local Government Elections 2014. Tasmanian Electoral Commission. 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  8. "Ian Mackintosh elected to Huon Valley Council in recount". The Mercury. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. Howard, Jessica. "Huon councillor resigns at meeting". The Mercury. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  10. http://www.themercury.com.au/news/politics/local-government-minister-peter-gutwein-announces-dismissal-of-huon-valley-council/news-story/cebcac3c74b0cd2b1082464b1aed2172
  11. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-06/huon-valley-council-sacked-by-minister/7908756
  12. http://www.themercury.com.au/news/politics/ex-glenorchy-mayor-and-elwick-mlc-adriana-taylor-new-commissioner-of-huon-valley-council/news-story/1b376351b7442111c53ef8b0fb079c85

Further reading