| Huon Valley Council Tasmania |
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Huon Valley Council (Macquarie Island not shown on map) |
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| Population: | 15,372[1] | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 5497 km² (2,122.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Mayor: | Robert Armstrong | ||||||||||||
| Council Seat: | Huonville | ||||||||||||
| Region: | Huonville, Huon Valley, and Macquarie Island | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Franklin | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Franklin | ||||||||||||
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The Huon Valley Council is a Local Government Area of Tasmania. It is the southern-most local government area in Australia.
It encompasses the town of Huonville, on the Huon River, some surrounding towns, and many protected areas and forestry plantations. The Tahune Airwalk is also in the area, located near the township of Geeveston.
In 1993 the Municipalites of Esperance, Huon and Port Cygnet were amalgamated to form the Huon Valley Council. Remote subantarctic Macquarie Island, which is located some 1400 km southeast of Tasmania proper, was part of Esperance until then, and has been part of Huon Valley since then.
The municipality has seven townships:
For election purposes, Huon Valley is un-subdivided. Councillors serve divided four year terms, with elections every two years using the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation. The terms of four Councillors expire at one two yearly election, and the terms of five Councillors expire at the other. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are each directly elected for a two year term. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor must also be elected Councillors. Unless a non-retiring Councillor they are ineligible to hold the position of Mayor or Deputy Mayor if they fail to win election to a Councillor position as well. The current composition of the Council, with place of residence, is:[2]
Elected 2007 for a term expiring 2011:
Elected 2009 for a term expiring 2013:
Neither the Australian Labor Party nor the Liberal Party of Australia endorse local government candidates in Tasmania. Most councillors are non-partisan. Two Councillors, Liz Smith and Rosalie Woodruff, are members of the Australian Greens.[3]
Huon Valley Council has one of the highest birth rates in all of Australia, although the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) went down from 2.60 in 2001 to 2.35 in 2006. [1]
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