| Bega Valley New South Wales |
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Location in New South Wales |
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| Population: | 33,481(2009)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 6280 km² (2,424.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Mayor: | Tony Allen | ||||||||||||
| Council Seat: | Bega (Zingel Place)[2] | ||||||||||||
| Region: | South Coast | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Bega, Monaro | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Eden-Monaro | ||||||||||||
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Bega Valley Shire is located on the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales and extends from Bermagui in the north to the Victorian border in the south. It includes the towns of Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Tura Beach, Wolumla, Cobargo, Bemboka, Pambula, Pambula Beach, Towamba and the former whaling port of Eden. The Bega Valley Shire is also known as the Sapphire Coast for tourism and marketing purposes.
The Shire is the largest local government area in coastal New South Wales, with an area of 6,280 square kilometres (2,420 sq mi), and has the longest coastline of any local government area in the state. It is sparsely populated, largely because 75% of the area belongs to various National Parks and State Forests. The population as of the 2006 Census was 31,062.
Bega Valley is particularly known for its dairy industry, though tourism is of growing importance.
In August 1999 the Bega Valley shire council was sacked and an administrator was put in place until 2002 where a new council was elected.
Bega Valley Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally. The mayor is not directly elected.[3] The current makeup of the council is as follows:[3]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents and Unaffiliated | 8 | |
| The Greens | 1 | |
| Total | 9 | |
The current council, elected in 2008, is:[3]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Allen | Independent | Mayor | |
| Paul Pincini | Unaffiliated | ||
| Keith Hughes | Greens | ||
| Liz Seckold | Independent | ||
| Graeme Wykes | Independent | ||
| Mike Britten | Unaffiliated | Deputy Mayor | |
| Pat Campbell | Unaffiliated | ||
| David Hede | Independent | ||
| Russell Fitzpatrick | Unaffiliated | Elected on 5 December 2009 to replace Adrian Sandrey | |
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