The City of Maitland is a
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
in the
lower Hunter region of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the
New England Highway
New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, an ...
and the
Hunter railway line
The Hunter Line is a commuter train line operated by NSW TrainLink, running from Newcastle to Dungog and Scone in the New South Wales Hunter Region. It operates on the Newcastle, Main North and North Coast lines.
Description of Route
Hunter ...
.
The
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of the City of Maitland is
Cr. David Threlfo, an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
politician.
[
]
Proposed amalgamation
A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended the merger of a number of adjoining councils. In the initial proposal, the City of Maitland was not included in any amalgam ation proposals. However, following the lodging of an alternate proposal by Mid-Coast Council
MidCoast Council is a local government area (LGA) located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a merger of the Gloucester Shire, Great Lakes and City of Greater Taree councils. ...
Council to amalgamate the Gloucester, Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and Greater Taree councils, the NSW Minister for Local Government proposed a merger between the Dungog Shire
Dungog Shire is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the Barrington Tops and consists predominantly of very rugged to hilly country which becomes less rugged from north to ...
with the City of Maitland. In February 2017, the NSW Government announced that it will not proceed with the proposed amalgamation.
Demographics
At the 2011 census, there were people in the City of Maitland local government area, of these 48.9 per cent were male and 51.1 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples of ...
made up 3.5 per cent of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
age of people in the City of Maitland was 36 years, which was marginally lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 22.0 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.7 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 50.9 per cent were married and 11.8 per cent were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Maitland between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 15.19 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 9.05 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the City of Maitland local government area was significantly higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Maitland was approximately equal to the national average.[
At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the City of Maitland local government area who stated their ]ancestry
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
as Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
or Anglo-Celtic
Anglo-Celtic people are descended primarily from British and Irish people. The concept is mainly relevant outside of Great Britain and Ireland, particularly in Australia, but is also used in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and South Africa, ...
exceeded 82 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 67% of all residents in the City of Maitland nominated a religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
affiliation with Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
at the 2011 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the City of Maitland local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (4.7 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93.2 per cent) where English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).[
]
Council
Current composition and election method
Maitland City Council is composed of thirteen Councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
s, including the Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as four separate wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
, each electing three Councillors. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the Council, including the Mayor, is as follows. [
Cr. Philip Penfold, an Independent, defeated the incumbent Cr. Loretta Baker in the 2021 mayoral election. The council consists of the following:
]
References
{{Local Government Areas of New South Wales