Kempsey Shire

This article is about the local government area. For the regional town, see Kempsey, New South Wales.

Kempsey Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	31°05′S152°50′E / 31.083°S 152.833°E / -31.083; 152.833
Population	28,885 (2016 census) [1] 29,665 (2018 est.) [2]
• Density	8.546/km2 (22.13/sq mi)
Established	1 October 1975 (1975-10-01)
Area	3,380 km2 (1,305.0 sq mi)
Mayor	Leo Hauville, (Independent)
Council seat	Kempsey
Region	Mid North Coast
State electorate(s)	Oxley
Federal division(s)	Cowper
Website	Kempsey Shire
LGAs around Kempsey Shire: Armidale Bellingen, Nambucca Tasman Sea Walcha Kempsey Shire Tasman Sea Walcha Port Macquarie-Hastings Tasman Sea

Kempsey Shire is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.

The shire services an area of 3,380 square kilometres (1,310 sq mi) and is located on the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line. Kempsey Shire was formed on 1 October 1975 by the amalgamation of the former Kempsey Municipality and the former Macleay Shire. ^[3]

At the 2011 census, Kempsey Shire had a high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people residing within its boundaries; being 11.1 per cent of the resident population, more than four times the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The shire also contains a coastal strip that was identified in 2007, and confirmed in 2015, as one of the most socially disadvantaged areas in Australia. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

The mayor of the Kempsey Shire is Leo Hauville, an independent politician.

Suburbs

• Aldavilla
• Burnt Bridge
• Dondingalong
• East Kempsey
• Euroka
• Greenhill
• Kempsey
• Sherwood
• South Kempsey
• West Kempsey
• Yarravel

Towns and localities

Towns and localities in the Kempsey Shire are:

Kempsey suburbs

• Kempsey
• East Kempsey
• South Kempsey
• West Kempsey

Other localities

• Aldavilla
• Arakoon
• Bellbrook
• Bellimbopinni
• Belmore River
• Burnt Bridge
• Carcolla
• Clybucca
• Collombatti
• Comara
• Crescent Head
• Dondingalong
• Euroka
• Frederickton
• Gladstone
• Greenhill
• Hat Head
• Jerseyville
• Kinchela
• Kundabung
• Millbank
• Mungay Creek
• New Entrance
• Nulla Nulla
• Oceanside
• Rainbow Beach
• Sherwood
• Smithtown
• South West Rocks
• Stuarts Point
• Turners Flat
• Warbro
• Willawarrin
• Yarrahapinni
• Yarravel

Demographics

At the 2016 census, there were 28,885 people in the Kempsey Shire local government area, of these 50 per cent were male and 50 per cent were female. The median age of people in the Kempsey Shire was 47 years; some nine years older than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 17.2 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 23.9 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 43.9 per cent were married and 15.7 per cent were either divorced or separated. ^[7] At the 2011 Census Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 11.1 per cent of the population, more than four times the national average.

Population growth in the Kempsey Shire between the 2001 census and 2006 census was 1.86 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census was 2.73 per cent. Following this, the growth between the 2011 Census and the 2016 Census was 2.67 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent, 8.32 per cent and 8.81 per cent respectively, population growth in the Kempsey Shire local government area was significantly lower than the national average. ^[8] The median weekly income for residents within the Kempsey Shire was significantly below the national average, ^{[7] [9]} being one of the factors that place parts of the Kempsey Shire in an area of social disadvantage. ^[10]

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Kempsey Shire local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 81 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent) and in the 2016 Census, this value was 79.4 per cent compared to the national average of 62.3 per cent. In excess of 62 per cent of all residents in the Kempsey Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census (62.9 per cent in 2016), which was higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent (49.2 per cent in 2016). Meanwhile, as at the 2011 Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Kempsey Shire local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.3 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (91.9 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent). ^[7]

Selected historical census data for Kempsey local government area
Census year		2001 [8]	2006 [9]	2011 [7]	2016 [11]	2021
Population	Estimated residents on census night	26,887	27,387	28,134	28,885	30,688
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			62nd	61st	60th
	% of New South Wales population			0.41%
	% of Australian population	0.14%	0.14%	0.13%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	Australian			35.3%	34.2%	41.1%
	English			31.7%	30.4%	40.4%
	Aboriginal Australian					11.3%
	Irish			8.3%	8.5%	9.5%
	Scottish			6.0%	6.3%	8.7%
	German			2.6%	2.7%	3.5%
Language, top responses (other than English)	German	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
	Tagalog	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
	Cantonese	n/c	n/c	0.1%
	Dutch	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
	French	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	Anglican	29.9%	27.7%	26.6%	22.1%	17.2%
	Catholic	25.9%	25.4%	25.1%	22.0%	18.5%
	No religion	11.9%	14.6%	17.8%	25.6%	37.5%
	Uniting Church	9.8%	8.7%	7.6%	5.9%	4.5%
	Presbyterian and Reformed	3.9%	3.5%	3.2%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income		A$319	A$386	A$474	A$550
	% of Australian median income		68.5%	66.9%	71.6%	68.32%
Family income	Median weekly family income		A$614	A$902	A$1,107	A$1,347
	% of Australian median income		59.8%	60.9%	63.84%	63.54%
Household income	Median weekly household income		A$737	A$748	A$894	A$1,085
	% of Australian median income		62.9%	60.6%	62.17%	62.14%

Council

Current composition and election method

Kempsey Shire Council is composed of nine councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the eight other councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward. The most recent election was held on 30 July 2022.

Election results

2022

This section is an excerpt from 2022 New South Wales local elections § Kempsey.[ edit ]

2022 New South Wales local elections: Kempsey ^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Quota			1,890
	Independent	1. Dean Saul (elected 3) 2. Scott Butterfield (elected 5) 3. Michael Vella 4. George Thring	3,843	22.60	+18.40
	Greens	1. Arthur Bain (elected 1) 2. Dianne Nolan 3. Caroline George 4. Graeme Carrad	3,246	19.90	+9.70
	Independent	1. Simon Fergusson (elected 2) 2. Joshua Freeman 3. Daniel Freeman 4. Margaret Moir	2,099	12.35	−8.85
	Independent	Anthony Patterson (elected 4)	1,909	11.23	+7.83
	Independent	Kerri Riddington (elected 7)	1,562	9.19	+3.39
	Independent	Alexandra Wyatt (elected 6)	1,537	9.04	+1.04
	Independent	Kinne Ring (elected 8)	1,234	7.26	+2.96
	Independent	Noel Selby	753	4.43	+1.43
	Independent SFF	Troy Irwin	507	2.98	−0.32
	Independent	Bruce Raeburn	119	0.70	−1.80
	Independent	Andrew Evans	102	0.60	+1.40
	Independent	Stephen McNamara	91	0.54	+0.54
Total formal votes			17,002	92.82	+5.22
Informal votes			1,315	7.18	−5.22
Turnout			18,317	78.50	−2.80

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections § Kempsey.[ edit ]

Elected councillor		Party
	Simon Fergusson	Independent (Group A)
	Joshua Freeman	Independent (Group A)
	Liz Campbell	Independent
	Vijay Craigie	Independent (Group B)
	Arthur Bain	Greens
	Alexandra Wyatt	Independent
	Kerri Riddington	Independent
	Anthony Patterson	Independent

This election was re-run in July 2022 after the New South Wales Electoral Commission's online voting system crashed. ^[12]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Kempsey ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent (Group A)		3,440	21.2
	Independent	Liz Campbell	1,912	11.8
	Independent (Group B)		1,886	11.6
	Greens	Arthur Bain	1,649	10.2
	Independent	Alexandra Wyatt	1,299	8.0
	Independent	Kerri Riddington	934	5.8
	Independent	Kinne Ring	704	4.3
	Independent	Dean Saul	685	4.2
	Independent	Mark Baxter	618	3.8
	Independent	Anthony Patterson	558	3.4
	Independent SFF	Troy Irwin	537	3.3
	Independent	Sue McGinn	509	3.1
	Independent	Byron Fegan	416	2.6
	Independent	Bruce Raeburn	397	2.5
	Independent	Andrew Evans	331	2.0
	Independent	Noel Selby	329	2.0
Total formal votes			16,204	87.6
Informal votes			2,289	12.4
Turnout			18,493	81.3

See also

• New South Wales portal

• Local government in New South Wales

References

1. Changes compared with the results at the 2021 elections.

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Kempsey (A)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
2. "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
3. "Local Government Act 1919. Proclamation (114)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales . 5 September 1975. p. 3561. Retrieved 16 January 2020– via National Library of Australia.
4. Vinson, Tony (February 2007). "Dropping off the edge". Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services. Retrieved 10 April 2007.
5. Horin, Adele (26 February 2007). "Stuck in a down town". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
6. Vinson, Tony (August 2015). "New South Wales fact sheet" (PDF). Dropping off the Edge. Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
7. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Kempsey (A)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
8. Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Kempsey (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
9. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Kempsey (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
10. Horin, Adele (26 February 2007). "Economic boom bypasses nation's poor". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
11. "2016 Kempsey (A), Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
12. "iVote failure election re-runs in Kempsey, Singleton, Shellharbour to be held July 30 despite efforts to postpone". ABC News. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
13. "Kempsey". ABC News.