Camden Council (New South Wales)

This article is about the local government area. For the outer Sydney suburb, see Camden, New South Wales.

Camden Council New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates
Population	56,720 (2011 census)
• Density	282.2/km2 (731/sq mi)
Area	201 km2 (77.6 sq mi)
Mayor	Lara Symkowiak (Liberal)
Council seat	Camden
Region	Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)	Camden
Federal Division(s)	Macarthur
Website	Camden Council
LGAs around Camden Council: Wollondilly Liverpool Liverpool Wollondilly Camden Council Campbelltown Wollondilly Wollondilly Campbelltown

Camden Council is a local government area in the Macarthur region, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located south west of the Sydney central business district and comprises 201 square kilometres (78 sq mi).

The Mayor of Camden is Cr. Lara Symkowiak, a member of the Liberal Party.

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs serviced by Camden Council are:

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Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 56,720 people in the Camden local government area, of these 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.0% of the population. The median age of people in the Camden Council area was 34 years, which is slightly lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 24.3% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 9.7% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 55.7% were married and 10.3% were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the Camden Council area between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 13.35%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 14.25%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Camden local government area was nearly double the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Camden Council area was generally slightly higher than the national average.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Camden local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon approached 70% of all residents. In excess of 56.0% of residents in the Camden Council area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, compared with the national average of 50.2%; and the proportion of residents with no religion was about half the national average. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Camden local government area had a low proportion (14.1%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a very high proportion (86.3%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).

Selected historical census data for Camden local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	43,799	49,645	56,720
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
		% of New South Wales population			0.82%
		% of Australian population	0.23%	0.25%	0.26%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			25.4%
		English			25.9%
		Irish			7.5%
		Scottish			6.1%
		Italian			4.6%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Italian	1.7%	1.6%	1.5%
		Spanish	0.7%	0.8%	0.9%
		Arabic	0.6%	0.7%	0.8%
		Cantonese	0.7%	0.7%	0.6%
		Maltese	0.5%	n/c	0.4%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	33.5%	34.7%	35.4%
		Anglican	30.9%	29.1%	28.3%
		No Religion	9.6%	11.3%	12.9%
		Uniting Church	4.8%	4.0%	3.5%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	3.0%	2.6%	2.4%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$566	A$690
		% of Australian median income		121.5%	119.6%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,353	A$1,865
		% of Australian median income		131.7%	125.9%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,465	A$1,727
		% of Australian median income		125.1%	140.0%

Council

Current composition and election method

Camden Council is composed of nine Councillors elected proportionally as three 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:

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Party of Australia	5
	Independents	4
	Total	9

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

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
Central Ward		Therese Fedeli	Liberal	Deputy Mayor
		Greg Warren	Independent
		Penny Fischer	Liberal
North Ward		Lara Symkowiak	Liberal	Mayor
		David Bligh	Independent
		Peter Sidgreaves	Liberal
South Ward		Debby Dewbery	Liberal
		Eva Campbell	Independent
		Greg Copeland	Independent

Development

Being a significant part of the South-Western Sydney Growth Area, Camden Council represents a rapidly growing region which is expected to house a large portion of Sydney's population growth over the coming decade. To the north are residential developments including Oran Park (8000 homes) and Gregory Hills (2600 homes), whilst to the south are further developments of the Elderslie estate.

At a public rally in early November 2007 the development application in the Camden area South West of Sydney on behalf of a Muslim group, the Quranic Society, for an A$19 million Muslim school with the capacity for 1,200 students, was met with protest amongst some State members of parliament, the local Camden Council and neighbouring residents.

External links

• Camden Council website
• 2001 Census Information
• Camden Advertiser website