City of Auburn

City of Auburn New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°51′S 151°02′E / 33.850°S 151.033°E / -33.850; 151.033Coordinates: 33°51′S 151°02′E / 33.850°S 151.033°E / -33.850; 151.033
Population	80,892 (2012)[1]
• Density	2,527.88/km2 (6,547.2/sq mi)
Area	32 km2 (12.4 sq mi)
Mayor	Le Lam
Council seat	Auburn
Region	Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)	Auburn
Federal Division(s)	Reid
Website	City of Auburn
LGAs around City of Auburn: Parramatta Parramatta Ryde Parramatta City of Auburn Canada Bay Bankstown Bankstown Strathfield

The City of Auburn is a local government area in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of the Sydney central business district. The area's population is culturally diverse.

Major attractions and features in the area include the Gallipoli Mosque, located in the suburb of Auburn. The Mosque is modelled upon the great mosques of Istanbul. The suburb of Homebush Bay, the location of the main venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics, now attracts many visitors to its sporting and cultural events.

The 2015 NSW Government IPART local government analysis deemed Auburn as "conditional fit" on the condition it merged with two neighbouring local government areas.

The council was suspended by the New South Wales Minister for Local Government on 10 February 2016.

The Mayor of Auburn City Council was Cr Le Lam (2016).

History

Prior to European settlement, the Wangal Aboriginal people lived around the Auburn area. European settlement began in the 1790s. The Auburn area was a farming area, known as "Liberty Plains".

Auburn was proclaimed as a Borough on 19 February 1892. Silverwater was added in 1906. On 1 January 1949, the (by now) Municipalities of Auburn and Lidcombe were amalgamated to form the new Auburn Municipality. In 1993, a change in the law meant that "municipality" ceased to be a legal category of local government area. Auburn Municipal Council became "Auburn Council", and the same name was used to refer to the former Municipality of Auburn.^[2]

A project by Auburn Council to seek city status began in April 2006. A special poll held on 13 September 2008 found a large proportion of the electorate supported the project. On 24 June 2009 Governor of New South Wales Marie Bashir issued a proclamation granting Auburn city status, which was gazetted on 17 July 2009.^[2]

There was controversy when the Deputy Mayor of Auburn, Selim Mehajer was charged with threatening the father of one of the victims in the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis. He was investigated over a conflict of interest when he voted on council matters regarding rezoning that he had a pecuniary interest in. As a result Mehajer was given a 4 month suspension from council on 29 January 2016.^[3]

On 10 February 2016, the entire council was suspended while a public enquiry into allegations of "councillors misusing their positions." is held.^[4]

Suburbs in the local government area

Auburn Council sign, Parramatta Road

Suburbs within the Auburn City boundaries are:

• Auburn
• Berala
• Lidcombe
• Newington
• Regents Park
• Rookwood
• Silverwater
• Sydney Olympic Park
• Wentworth Point

Homebush Bay was a suburb but is now divided between Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point and Lidcombe.

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 73,738 people in the Auburn local government area, of these 51.8% were male and 48.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.6% of the population. The median age of people in the Auburn area was 31 years, which is significantly lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 8.5% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 53.2% were married and 8.9% were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in the Auburn area between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 16.31%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 13.51%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Auburn local government area was double the national average.^[5] The median weekly income for residents within the Auburn area was lower than the national average,^[1][6] being one of the factors that place the City in an area of social disadvantage.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Auburn local government area who stated their ancestry as Chinese, or as Lebanese, was in excess of six times the national average. The proportion of residents who stated an affiliation with Islam was in excess of eleven times the national average. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, the area was linguistically diverse, with Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Turkish, and Korean languages spoken in households, and ranged from five times to 22 times the national averages.^[1]

Selected historical census data for Auburn local government area
Census year			2001[5]	2006[6]	2011[1]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	55,851	64,959	73,738
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
		% of New South Wales population			1.07%
		% of Australian population	0.30%	0.33%	0.34%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Chinese			20.1%
		Australian			7.5%
		English			7.0%
		Lebanese			6.3%
		Turkish			5.9%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Arabic	13.6%	12.5%	10.7%
		Cantonese	11.3%	10.6%	9.9%
		Mandarin	4.8%	7.0%	9.2%
		Turkish	7.5%	7.2%	6.7%
		Korean	n/c	3.2%	5.0%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Islam	23.4%	24.8%	25.5%
		Catholic	22.7%	19.7%	18.3%
		No Religion	9.7%	11.7%	14.5%
		Buddhism	9.9%	9.2%	9.1%
		Hinduism	3.0%	3.1%	5.1%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$343	A$420
		% of Australian median income		73.6%	72.8%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$906	A$1,161
		% of Australian median income		88.2%	78.4%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$991	A$1,160
		% of Australian median income		84.6%	94.0%

Council

Final composition and election method

Auburn Council was composed of ten Councillors elected proportionally as two 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. The council was suspended on 10th February 2016. The final makeup of the Council, prior to suspension, was as follows:^[7][8]

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

References

External links

• Auburn Council website