Bega Valley Shire

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

Location in New South Wales
Coordinates 36°40′S 149°50′E / 36.667°S 149.833°E / -36.667; 149.833Coordinates: 36°40′S 149°50′E / 36.667°S 149.833°E / -36.667; 149.833
Population 33,313 (2013 est)[1]
 • Density 5.3055/km2 (13.7411/sq mi)
Area 6,279 km2 (2,424.3 sq mi)
Mayor Michael Britten
Council seat Bega[2]
Region South Coast
State electorate(s)
Federal Division(s) Eden-Monaro
Website Bega Valley
LGAs around Bega Valley:
Cooma-Monaro Eurobodalla Tasman Sea
Bombala Bega Valley Tasman Sea
East Gippsland (Vic) East Gippsland (Vic) Tasman Sea

Bega Valley Shire is a local government area located on the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia.

The area extends from Bermagui in the north to the Victorian border in the south and 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 6,279 square kilometres (2,424 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 estimated population in June 2012 was 33,259.

Bega Valley is particularly known for its dairy industry, though tourism is of growing importance.

The Mayor of Bega Valley Shire Council is Cr. Michael Britten, an unaligned politician.

Council

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.

Current composition and election method

Bega Valley Shire Council is composed of nine Councillors elected proportionally as one entire ward. 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 24 September 2014, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:[3]

PartyCouncillors
  Independents and Unaligned 8
  The Greens 1
Total 9

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:[3]

CouncillorPartyNotes
  Tony Allen
  Sharon Tapscott Independent
  Russell Fitzpatrick Independent
  Michael Britten Unaligned

Mayor [4]

  Ann Mawhinney Independent
  Kristy McBain Unaligned
  Keith Hughes Greens
  Liz Seckold Independent

Deputy Mayor [5]

  Bill Taylor Unaligned

External links

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, June 27, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.