The Hills Shire

The Hills Shire New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°46′S 151°00′E / 33.767°S 151.000°E / -33.767; 151.000Coordinates: 33°46′S 151°00′E / 33.767°S 151.000°E / -33.767; 151.000
Population	157,243 (2016 census)[1]
• Density	407.4/km2 (1,055.1/sq mi)
Area	386 km2 (149.0 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor	Cr. Yvonne Keane (Liberal)
Council seat	Castle Hill
Region	Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)	Baulkham Hills Castle Hill Hawkesbury Parramatta Seven Hills
Federal Division(s)	Berowra Mitchell Parramatta
Website	The Hills Shire
LGAs around The Hills Shire: Hawkesbury Central Coast Council Hornsby Blacktown The Hills Shire Hornsby Blacktown Parramatta Parramatta

The Hills Shire (previously Baulkham Hills Shire) is a local government area of in the north western region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area encompasses 401 square kilometres (155 sq mi) stretching from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to Wiseman's Ferry on the Hawkesbury River in the north. The Shire had a population of 157,243 as at that 2016 census.^[1]

The current Mayor of The Hills Shire is Cr. Yvonne Keane, a member of the Liberal Party. Keane and the other Councillors will continue to represent all residents of The Hills Shire until the proposed local government election scheduled for 9 September 2017.^[2]

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs at least partially within The Hills Shire are:

Demographics

At the 2016 census, there were 157,243 people in The Hills local government area; of these 49.3 per cent were male and 50.7 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.5 per cent of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The median age of people in The Hills Shire was 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.4 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.5 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 61.6 per cent were married and 7.1 per cent were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in The Hills Shire between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 15.2 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 6.58 per cent. At the 2016 census, the population in the Shire decreased by 7.43 per cent, brought about by a reduction in the Shire area from 401 square kilometres (155 sq mi) to 386 square kilometres (149 sq mi) due to the 2015 review of local government boundaries when former parts of The Hills Shire were transferred to the City of Parramatta Council.^[3] Total population growth of Australia for the period between the 2011 and 2016 census periods was 8.8 per cent.^[4] The median weekly income for residents within The Hills Shire was approximately 150% higher than the national average.^[1]

At the 2016 census, the proportion of residents in The Hills local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon approached 32 per cent of all residents. In excess of 64 per cent of all residents in The Hills Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2016 census, which was in excess of the national average of 57.7 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in The Hills local government area had a higher than average proportion (37.2 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 22.2 per cent); and a lower proportion (65.3 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72.7 per cent).^[1]

Selected historical census data for The Hills local government area
Census year			2001[5]	2006[6]	2011[7]	2016[1]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	138,420	159,391	169,872	157,243
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			9th	15th
		% of New South Wales population			2.46%	2.02%
		% of Australian population	0.74%	0.80%	0.79%	0.67%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			21.5%	20.4%
		Australian			22.1%	19.1%
		Chinese			8.5%	9.6%
		Irish			6.5%	6.6%
		Scottish			5.4%	5.3%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Mandarin	1.5%	2.4%	3.9%	6.4%
		Cantonese	4.4%	4.5%	4.4%	3.4%
		Korean	1.3%	1.6%	2.1%	2.0%
		Hindi	0.6%	0.9%	1.3%	1.9%
		Arabic	1.6%	1.8%	1.9%	1.7%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	32.3%	32.5%	31.4%	28.9%
		No religion, so described	10.4%	12.5%	15.7%	21.2%
		Anglican	22.7%	20.0%	18.5%	14.9%
		Not stated				5.9%
		Hinduism	1.6%	2.4%	3.1%	24.5%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$625	A$719	Data to be released in October 2017
		% of Australian median income		134.1%	124.6%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,732	A$2,188
		% of Australian median income		168.6%	147.7%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,847	A$2,044
		% of Australian median income		157.7%	165.6%

Current Council composition and election method

The Hills Shire Council is composed of twelve Councillors elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three 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:^{[8][9][10][11]}

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

A referendum was held on 1 September 2015 and an absolute majority of voters resolved in favour of the direct election of the Mayor by electors for a four-year term which necessarily increases the number of Councillors by one.^[12] The change will take effect at the next elections in 2017 unless changed by another referendum before then.^[13]

History

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) recommended that The Hills Shire merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of parts of The Hills with the Hawkesbury City Council to form a new council with an area of 3,161 square kilometres (1,220 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 224,000.^[14] The second proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta, Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council with an area of 82 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 215,725.^[15] Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced that the merger of parts of The Hills Shire suburbs south of the M2 Motorway (North Rocks, Northmead and part of Baulkham Hills) with the City of Parramatta to form a revised City of Parramatta Council, with immediate effect. Other proposals impacting The Hills Shire were rejected by the Government.^[3]

Sister cities

• County Wexford, Ireland
• Cootamundra, Australia

See also

• Hills District
• Hills Centre

References

External links

• The Hills Shire Council