City of Maitland

The City of Maitland is a local government area in the lower Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line.

This article is about the local government area. For the regional city, see Maitland, New South Wales.

City of Maitland Maitland, New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	32°45′S 151°35′E
Population	77,305 (2016 census)[1] 83,203 (2018 est.)[2]
• Density	197.21/km^2 (510.8/sq mi)
Area	392 km^2 (151.4 sq mi)[3]
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor	Loretta Baker (Country Labor)[4]
Council seat	Maitland
Region	Hunter[5]
State electorate(s)	Maitland[6]
Federal Division(s)	Paterson[7]
Website	City of Maitland
LGAs around City of Maitland: Singleton Dungog Dungog Singleton City of Maitland Port Stephens Cessnock Lake Macquarie Newcastle

The Mayor of the City of Maitland is Cr. Loretta Baker,[8] a Country Labor politician.[4]

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government 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[4] ation proposals. However, following the lodging of an alternate proposal by Mid-Coast Council Council to amalgamate the Gloucester, Great Lakes and Greater Taree councils, the NSW Minister for Local Government proposed a merger between the Dungog Shire with the City of Maitland.[9] In February 2017, the NSW Government announced that it will not proceed with the proposed amalgamation.[10]

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 67,478 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 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 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.[11]

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.[12][13] The median weekly income for residents within the City of Maitland was approximately equal to the national average.[11]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the City of Maitland local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic 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 affiliation with Christianity 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 only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).[11]

Selected historical census data for the City of Maitland local government area
Census year			2001[12]	2006[13]	2011[11]	2016[1]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	53,718	61,880	67,478	77,305
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales				29th
		% of New South Wales population		0.98%	0.98%	1.03%
		% of Australian population	0.29%	0.31%	0.31%	0.33%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			35.0%	33.0%
		English			32.1%	31.8%
		Irish			8.2%	8.9%
		Scottish			7.1%	7.8%
		German			3.6%	3.4%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Cantonese	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
		Afrikaans	n/c	n/c	0.2%	0.2%
		Tagalog	0.1%	n/c	0.1%	0.2%
		Mandarin				0.2%
		Malay				0.2%
		German	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
		Polish	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	30.3%	29.4%	28.9%	26.6%
		Anglican	32.1%	30.2%	28.9%	24.1%
		No Religion	9.1%	12.0%	15.8%	24.0%
		Uniting Church	8.3%	7.1%	6.4%	4.9%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	4.4%	4.1%	3.7%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$428	A$562	A$644
		% of Australian median income		91.8%	97.4%	97.3%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,159	A$1,664	A$1,555
		% of Australian median income		99.0%	105.0%	96.0%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,025	A$1,292	A$1,415
		% of Australian median income		99.8%	104.7%	98.4%

Council

Current composition and election method

Maitland City Council is composed of thirteen Councillors, including the Mayor, 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, each electing three Councillors. The most recent election was held on 9 September 2017, and the makeup of the Council, including the Mayor, is as follows:[4][14][15][16][17]

Party		Councillors
	Liberal	4
	Independents	4
	Country Labor	5
	Total	13

The current Council, elected in 2017, in order of election by ward, is:

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
Mayor[4]		Loretta Baker
Central Ward[14]		Sally Halliday	Liberal
		Philip Penfold	Independent
		Donald Ferris	Country Labor
East Ward[15]		Kanchan Ranadive	Liberal
		Ben Whiting	Country Labor
		Peter Garnham	Independent
North Ward[16]		Mitchell Griffin	Liberal
		Mike Yarrington	Independent
		Robert Aitchison	Country Labor
West Ward[17]		Ben Mitchell	Liberal
		Nicole Penfold	Independent
		Henry Meskauskas	Country Labor

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Maitland (C)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
2. "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Community Profiles: Maitland (Local Government Area)". 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
4. "Mayor Tally Sheet" (PDF). Maitland City Council Election 2017. Australian Election Company. September 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
5. "Suburb Search – Local Council Boundaries – Hunter (HT) – Maitland City Council". New South Wales Division of Local Government. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
6. "Maitland". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
7. "Hunter". Australian Electoral Commission. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
8. "Maitland City Council - Meet the Councillors".
9. Toole, Paul (March 2016). "Dungog and Maitland councils Proposal" (PDF). Minister for Local Government. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
10. "Stronger Councils". strongercouncils.nsw.gov.au/. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
11. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Maitland (Local Government Area)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
12. Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Maitland (C)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
13. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Maitland (C)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
14. "Final Result in Order of Standing: Central Ward" (PDF). Maitland City Council Election 2017. Australian Election Company. 16 September 2017. p. 17. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
15. "Final Result in Order of Standing: East Ward" (PDF). Maitland City Council Election 2017. Australian Election Company. 16 September 2017. p. 5. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
16. "Final Result in Order of Standing: North Ward" (PDF). Maitland City Council Election 2017. Australian Election Company. 16 September 2017. p. 5. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
17. "Final Result in Order of Standing: West Ward" (PDF). Maitland City Council Election 2017. Australian Election Company. 16 September 2017. p. 18. Retrieved 2 October 2017.