City of Penrith

This article is about the local government area. For the suburb, see Penrith, New South Wales.
City of Penrith
New South Wales

Coordinates 33°45′S 150°42′E / 33.750°S 150.700°ECoordinates: 33°45′S 150°42′E / 33.750°S 150.700°E
Population 178,467 (2011 census)[1] (17th)
 • Density 440.8/km2 (1,142/sq mi)
Established 1959
Area 404.9 km2 (156.3 sq mi)
Time zone AEST (UTC+10)
 • Summer (DST) AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor Ross Fowler (Independent)
Council seat Penrith
Region Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)
Federal Division(s)
Website City of Penrith
LGAs around City of Penrith:
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury Hawkesbury
Blue Mountains City of Penrith Blacktown
Wollondilly Liverpool Fairfield

The City of Penrith is a local government area in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the City is located in Penrith, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Sydney's central business district.

The Municipality of Penrith was incorporated on 12 May 1871 under the Municipalities Act 1858 (NSW). On 3 March 1890, St Marys was separately incorporated, and on 26 July 1893 and 9 September 1895, Mulgoa and Castlereagh followed respectively. In 1913, Mulgoa became the "A" Riding of the neighbouring Nepean Shire.[2] On 1 January 1949, the Municipalities of Penrith, St Marys and Castlereagh and part of the Nepean Shire amalgamated to form a new Municipality of Penrith. It was declared a City on 21 October 1959, and expanded westwards to include Emu Plains and Emu Heights, formerly part of the City of Blue Mountains, on 25 October 1963.[2]

The Mayor of the City of Penrith is Cr. Ross Fowler, a Liberal politician.

Suburbs and localities in the local government area

The following suburbs and localities are located within the City of Penrith:

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 178,467 people in the Penrith local government area, of these 49.3% were male and 50.7% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.0% of the population; notably above the national average of 2.5%. The median age of people in the City of Penrith was 34 years; notably below the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 9.6% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 48.5% were married and 12.1% were either divorced or separated.[1]

Population growth in the City of Penrith between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 0.15% and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 3.68%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Penrith local government area was significantly lower than the national average.[3] The median weekly income for residents within the City of Penrith was on with par with the national average.[1]

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Penrith local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 66% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 64% of all residents in the City of Penrith area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Penrith local government area had a marginally lower than average proportion (18.4%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a higher proportion (80.9%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).[1]

Selected historical census data for Penrith local government area
Census year 2001[3]2006[4]2011[1]
Population Estimated residents on Census night 171,870 172,140 178,467
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 7th 8th
% of New South Wales population 2.58%
% of Australian population 0.92% Decrease 0.87% Decrease 0.83%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses
Australian 29.1%
English 25.2%
Irish 6.8%
Scottish 5.3%
Maltese 3.0%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)
Arabic1.3% Increase 1.5% Increase 1.6%
Tagalog1.3% Decrease 0.8% Increase 1.0%
Italian 1.0% Decrease 0.9% Decrease 0.8%
Maltese0.8% Steady 0.8% Steady 0.8%
Hindin/c n/c Increase 0.8%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses
Catholic34.5% Increase 34.9% Increase 35.2%
Anglican26.1% Decrease 24.7% Decrease 23.6%
No religion9.8% Increase 11.9% Increase 14.0%
Presbyterian and Reformed3.4% Decrease 3.1% Decrease 2.9%
Uniting Church3.7% Decrease 3.1% Decrease 2.7%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income Median weekly personal income A$517 A$623
% of Australian median income 110.9% 108.0%
Family income Median weekly family income A$1,147 A$1,582
% of Australian median income 111.7% 106.8%
Household income Median weekly household income A$1,285 A$1,398
% of Australian median income 109.7% 113.3%

Council

Current composition and election method

Penrith City Council is composed of fifteen Councillors elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing five Councillors. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:[5][6][7]

PartyCouncillors
  Independents 9
  Australian Labor Party 4
  Australian Greens 1
  Liberal 1
Total 15

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:

WardCouncillorPartyNotes
East Ward[5]   Greg Davies Labor
  Tricia Hitchen Independent A former Liberal Party candidate for the 2007 state election in the seat of Penrith.[8]
  Prue Car Labor
  Jackie Greenow Independent
  Maurice Girotto Independent
North Ward[6]   John Thain Labor
  Ross Fowler Liberal Mayor.(2013-present)[9] Fowler was elected in 2008 on the Liberal Party ticket.[10]
  Marcus Cornish Independent
  Kevin Crameri Independent
  Michelle Tormey Greens
South Ward[7]   Mark Davies Independent Davies was elected in 2008 on the Liberal Party ticket and his wife is Tanya Davies MP.[10]
  Jim Aitken Independent
  Karen McKeown Labor
  Bernard Bratusa Independent
  Ben Goldfinch Independent Elected on Mark Davies' ticket

Sister cities

Since it signed its first agreement with Fujieda, Japan in 1984, Penrith City has gradually expanded its sister cities and international links programme. Presently Penrith has links with:

The partnerships enable educational, business and cultural links between the cities.

Media

The City of Penrith has three local newspapers (Western Weekender, Penrith Star and Penrith Press) and three radio stations (VINTAGE 87.6 FM, FUSION 87.8 FM and Cool Country 2KA). A fourth newspaper, Nepean News, bulk drops in the area. Other publications produced locally include Family Life and In Nepean.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Penrith (C)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "History of Local Government development in the Penrith and Surrounding Districts". Penrith City Council. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Penrith (C)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  4. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Penrith (C)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Penrith City Council - East Ward: Final Result in Order of Standing" (PDF). Local Government Elections 2012. Australian Election Company. 18 September 2012. p. 80. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Penrith City Council - North Ward: Final Result in Order of Standing" (PDF). Local Government Elections 2012. Australian Election Company. 18 September 2012. p. 104. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Penrith City Council - South Ward: Final Result in Order of Standing" (PDF). Local Government Elections 2012. Australian Election Company. 18 September 2012. p. 94. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  8. Francis, Rosemary (20 December 2007), "Hitchen, Tricia", The Australian Women's Register Retrieved 11 July 2014
  9. Cheng, Kevin (September 24, 2013). "Councillor Ross Fowler elected as Penrith Mayor". Penrith Press. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Schiller, Emma (25 September 2012). "Mark Davies the new Penrith mayor". Penrith Press. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.

External links