| City of Blue Mountains New South Wales |
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The Three Sisters are a top attraction of the city |
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City of Blue Mountains
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| Population: | 77,784(2009)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 1430 km² (552.1 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Mayor: | Daniel Myles[2] | ||||||||||||
| Council Seat: | Katoomba (2 Civic Place)[3] | ||||||||||||
| Region: | Blue Mountains | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Blue Mountains, Penrith | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Macquarie | ||||||||||||
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The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.
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According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there:[4]
The urban part of the city consists of a ribbon of close or contiguous towns which lie on the Main Western railway line (served by CityRail's Blue Mountains services) and Great Western Highway between Emu Plains (a western suburb of Sydney) and Lithgow. About 70% of the city's area is within the Blue Mountains National Park which lies north and south of the ribbon of towns. The National Park is part of the much larger Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site and the city brands itself as "The City Within a World Heritage National Park".
The two main towns are Springwood (80 kilometres west of Sydney) and Katoomba (110 kilometres west). The towns of the lower mountains (Lapstone, Glenbrook, Blaxland, Mount Riverview, Warrimoo, Sun Valley, Valley Heights, Springwood, Winmalee, Yellow Rock and Faulconbridge), tend to be dormitory suburbs for Sydney. This is also the case, to a lesser extent, for the towns of the mid mountains (Linden, Woodford, Hazelbrook, Lawson and Bullaburra) and the upper mountains (Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba, Medlow Bath, Blackheath, Mount Victoria and Bell). The economy of the upper mountains is dependent almost entirely on tourism.
The road to Sydney, the Great Western Highway, is mostly dual carriageway but is relatively slow due to the urban development and hilly terrain. An electric train service integrates into CityRail, Sydney's suburban rail network.
Blue Mountains City Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally. The city is divided into four wards, each electing three councillors. The mayor is not directly elected.[5] The current makeup of the council is as follows:[5]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 3 | |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 3 | |
| The Greens | 3 | |
| Independents | 3 | |
| Total | 12 | |
The current council, elected in 2008, is:[5]
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Ward | Eleanor Gibbs | Greens | ||
| Terri Hamilton | Independent | |||
| Janet Mays | Independent | |||
| Second Ward | David Clark | Greens | ||
| Chris van der Kley | Liberal | |||
| Adam Searle | Labor | Mayor | ||
| Third Ward | Brendan Luchetti | Independent | ||
| Daniel Myles | Liberal | |||
| Alison McLaren | Labor | |||
| Fourth Ward | Fiona Creed | Liberal | ||
| Mark Greenhill | Labor | |||
| Howard McCallum | Greens | |||
The Blue Mountains Youth Council is a government-related youth voice program in the City of Blue Mountains.
The Blue Mountains Youth Council was chartered in 2003 after being approved by the city council the previous year. The council was founded with the intention of encouraging youth participation in local politics, hence its affiliation with the city council. Membership requires a signed petition, and members are chosen based on a variety of conditions, including location, age, and diversity. In particular, the council encourages involvement by Aboriginals, disabled youth, and other minorities.
In the past, the Youth Council has been responsible for organizing community youth events, as well as acting as a bridge between the city council and the youth of the community. The members also travel to various leadership conferences, and share information they learn with their peers.
The Youth Council is supervised by an advisory committee, which is composed of four city councillors. Although the advisory committee has no voting powers, the members serve as mentors to the group.
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