Tamworth Regional Council

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

Tamworth Regional Council New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates
Population	56,292 (2011 census)
• Density	5.69049/km2 (14.73829/sq mi)
Established	March 2004
Area	9,892.3 km2 (3,819.4 sq mi)
Mayor	Col Murray (Independent)
Council seat	Tamworth
Region	New England
State electorate(s)	Tamworth
Federal Division(s)	New England
File:Tamworthregionalcouncillogo.png
Website	Tamworth Regional Council
LGAs around Tamworth Regional Council: Narrabri Gwydir Uralla Gunnedah Tamworth Regional Council Walcha Liverpool Plains Liverpool Plains Upper Hunter

Tamworth Regional Council is a local government area in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located adjacent to the New England Highway and the Main North railway line.

The Mayor of Tamworth Regional Council is Cr. Col Murray, an independent politician.

Towns and villages

The area includes the city of Tamworth and the towns and villages of Attunga, Barraba, Bendemeer, Dungowan, Duri, Kootingal, Limbri, Manilla, Moonbi, Niangala, Nundle, Somerton, Upper Manilla, Woolbrook and the suburbs of Calala, Coledale, Daruka Estate, East Tamworth, Forest Hills, Hillvue, Kingswood, Nemingha, North Tamworth, Oxley Vale, South Tamworth, Taminda, Tamworth Central Business District, Westdale, West Tamworth.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 56,292 people in the Tamworth Regional 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 8.4 per cent of the population, which was three times higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Tamworth Regional Council was 39 years, which was marginally higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.0 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.8 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 49.5 per cent were married and 12.3 per cent were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the Tamworth Regional Council between the 2006 census and the 2011 census was 5.04 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.32 per cent, population growth in the Tamworth Regional local government area was slightly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Tamworth Regional Council was significantly lower than the national average.

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Tamworth Regional local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 87 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 72% of all residents in the Tamworth Regional Council 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 Tamworth Regional local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.0 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93.5 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).

Selected historical census data for the Tamworth Regional local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	n/a	53,590	56,292
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		43rd
		% of New South Wales population		0.80%	0.81%
		% of Australian population	n/a	0.27%	0.26%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			37.5%
		English			31.0%
		Irish			8.5%
		Scottish			7.3%
		German			3.2%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Tagalog		n/c	0.1%
		Cantonese		0.1%	0.1%
		Mandarin		0.1%	0.1%
		German		0.1%	0.1%
		Italian		0.1%	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Anglican		38.4%	36.2%
		Catholic		26.5%	25.9%
		No Religion		9.5%	12.6%
		Uniting Church		6.3%	5.5%
		Presbyterian and Reformed		5.3%	5.0%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$405	A$515
		% of Australian median income		86.9%	89.3%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,041	A$1,181
		% of Australian median income		88.9%	79.7%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$818	A$958
		% of Australian median income		79.6%	77.6%

Council

Tamworth Regional Council chambers, in Tamworth.

Current composition and election method

Tamworth Regional Council is composed of nine Councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. 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
	Independents and Unaligned	9
	Total	9

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

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Col Murray	Independent	Mayor
	Russell Webb	Independent	Deputy Mayor
	James Treloar	Independent
	Warren Woodley	Unaligned
	Helen Tickle	Independent
	Tim Coates	Unaligned
	Juanita Wilson	Independent
	Mark Rodda	Unaligned
	Phil Betts	Unaligned