Port Stephens Council
Port Stephens Council is a local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is just north of Newcastle and is adjacent to the Pacific Highway which runs through Raymond Terrace, the largest town and Council seat. The area is named after Port Stephens, which is the major geographical feature of the area. It extends generally from the Hunter River in the south, to near in the north, and from the Tasman Sea in the east, to just south of in the west. The mayor of Port Stephens Council is Ryan Palmer. Port Stephens is about two and a half hours north of Sydney.
Main towns, villages and suburbs
Most of the population is concentrated in Raymond Terrace and its satellite suburb of Heatherbrae or around or near the shores of Port Stephens in the suburbs of Anna Bay, Boat Harbour, Corlette, Fingal Bay, Fishermans Bay, Karuah, Lemon Tree Passage, Mallabula, Nelson Bay, One Mile, Oyster Cove, Salamander Bay, Shoal Bay, Soldiers Point, Swan Bay, Tanilba Bay and Taylors Beach. However, another significant portion of the population lives in a large rural/semi-rural area to the west of the Pacific Highway in the towns and suburbs of Balickera, Butterwick, Duns Creek, Eagleton, East Seaham, Glen Oak, Hinton, Nelsons Plains, Osterley, Seaham, Wallalong and Woodville and in the predominantly residential estate of Brandy Hill.In the southern part of the area are the rural communities of Bobs Farm, Fern Bay, Fullerton Cove, Salt Ash, Tomago and Williamtown. Tomago supports both rural and industrial communities while Williamtown is the location for a Royal Australian Air Force base that shares its airfield with Newcastle Airport.
At the northern end of the area are Karuah and Twelve Mile Creek. Located adjacent to Port Stephens and straddling the Karuah River, Karuah is predominantly residential. It is the location of the largest Aboriginal community in the area. Twelve Mile Creek is almost exclusively rural.
Centrally located in the area, between Raymond Terrace and Port Stephens are Campvale, Ferodale and Medowie. Ferodale is dominated by Grahamstown Dam, a man-made dam with a capacity of that is a major source of fresh water in the region. The remainder of this area is a mix of rural, semi-rural and residential developments.
A map of the various towns, suburbs and localities within the Port Stephens Council area is available from the Port Stephens Council website.
Demographics
At the 2011 census, there were people in the Port Stephens local government area, of these 49.2 per cent were male and 50.8 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.6 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 Port Stephens Council area was 42 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.5 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.3 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 52.0 per cent were married and 13.5 per cent were either divorced or separated.Population growth in the Port Stephens Council area between the 2001 census and the was 7.10 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 7.15 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 Port Stephens local government area was approximately equal to the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Port Stephens Council area was significantly lower than the national average.
At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Port Stephens local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 81 per cent of all residents. In excess of 63% of all residents in the Port Stephens 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 Port Stephens local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion where two or more languages are spoken ; and a significantly higher proportion where English only was spoken at home.
Council
Current composition and election method
Port Stephens Council is composed of ten councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is directly elected while the nine other Councillors are elected proportionally as three 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:The current Council, elected in 2017, in order of election by ward, is:
The previous Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:
Proposed merger with Newcastle
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, Port Stephens Council was not included in any amalgamation proposals. However, after Lake Macquarie City Council successfully avoided a proposed merger between it and Newcastle City Council, the Minister for Local Government subsequently proposed that Newcastle City Council instead merge with Port Stephens Council to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately 230,000.The proposed merger was met with significant opposition. Thousands of residents attended rallies and signed petitions opposed to the proposal, while 470 attended public inquiry meetings. The state member for Port Stephens, Kate Washington, former state member Craig Baumann and broadcaster Alan Jones all publicly expressed their opposition. Federal Liberal member for Paterson, Bob Baldwin, spoke in parliament, urging the Liberal Baird government to reconsider the proposal, claiming "this proposal seems to defy logic". Port Stephens Council claimed that 93% of residents surveyed were opposed to the merger and included the results of its community survey in its submission to the delegate responsible for evaluating the merger. In response to the government's proposal, Port Stephens Council formally asked the government to evaluate a merger between Port Stephens and Dungog Shire. Although the mayor of Dungog Shire opposed the merger, it was reported that the proposal had community support within both local government areas. The proposal was debated in the New South Wales parliament on 23 March 2016, with the Minister for Local Government confirming that the proposal had been referred to the Office of Local Government.
On 14 February 2017, the NSW government announced it would not be proceeding with further regional council mergers, including the Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council merger.
Transport
operates bus services in Port Stephens. It also provides services to Newcastle and between Newcastle and Newcastle Airport. Port Stephens Coaches also runs a daily coach service to Sydney, terminating at Central railway station.Newcastle Airport, also known as Williamtown Airport, is the located in the Port Stephens suburb of Williamtown. It is the 12th busiest airport in Australia. The airport has direct flights to Brisbane, Melbourne, Ballina, Canberra, Dubbo, Gold Coast, Sydney and Taree. It is served by Virgin Australia, QantasLink, FlyPelican, Jetstar and Regional Express.
Although Hexham railway station is closer, Newcastle Interchange is the nearest major railway station to Port Stephens. NSW TrainLink operates services from here to Sydney Central station, Maitland, Telarah, Dungog, Muswellbrook & Scone. The station is served by the Central Coast & Newcastle Line and the Hunter Line.
Port Stephens Ferry Service provides a ferry link between Nelson Bay and Tea Gardens.