City of Coffs Harbour

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

City of Coffs Harbour New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates
Population	68,413 (2011 census)
• Density	58.22/km2 (150.8/sq mi)
Area	1,175 km2 (453.7 sq mi)
Mayor	Denise Knight (Independent)
Council seat	Coffs Harbour
Region	Mid North Coast
State electorate(s)	Coffs Harbour
Federal Division(s)	Cowper
Website	City of Coffs Harbour
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 27 °C 81 °F 6.6 °C 44 °F 1,647.3 mm 64.9 in
LGAs around City of Coffs Harbour: Clarence Valley Clarence Valley Tasman Sea Clarence Valley City of Coffs Harbour Tasman Sea Bellingen Bellingen Tasman Sea

The City of Coffs Harbour (Also known as Coffs Harbour City Council) is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is 1,175 square kilometres (454 sq mi), expanded in 2004 to take in parts of the former Pristine Waters local government area.

The administrative seat is located in Coffs Harbour; and the area is adjacent to the Pacific Highway, and the North Coast railway line.

The Mayor of the City of Coffs Harbour is Cr. Denise Knight, an independent politician.

Towns and localities

Towns and localities in the City of Coffs Harbour are:

4

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 68,413 people in the Coffs Harbour local government area, of these 48.5% were male and 51.5% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.1% of the population, nearly double the national average. The median age of people in the City of Coffs Harbour was 42 years; some five years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.0% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 48.4% were married and 14.8% were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the City of Coffs Harbour between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 11.94%; and in the subsequent five years was 5.40%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Coffs Harbour local government area was higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Coffs Harbour was slightly below the national average.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Coffs Harbour local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 82% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 55.4% of all residents in the City of Coffs Harbour nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was slightly above the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Coffs Harbour local government area had a lower than average proportion (6.6%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (90.3%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%). A significant exception was that households in the Coffs Harbour local government area where Punjabi was spoken was three times the national average.

Selected historical census data for Coffs Harbour local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	61,186	64,910	68,413
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
		% of New South Wales population			0.99%
		% of Australian population	0.33%	0.33%	0.32%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			31.5%
		English			31.2%
		Irish			9.0%
		Scottish			7.7%
		German			3.2%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Punjabi	1.0%	1.0%	1.3%
		German	0.4%	0.5%	0.5%
		Italian	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
		Dinka	n/c	n/c	0.2%
		French	n/c	n/c	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Anglican	28.9%	27.1%	24.5%
		No Religion	14.5%	18.5%	23.1%
		Catholic	23.2%	23.0%	22.2%
		Uniting Church	6.2%	5.0%	4.4%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	5.1%	4.6%	4.3%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$364	A$469
		% of Australian median income		78.1%	81.3%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$706	A$1,097
		% of Australian median income		68.7%	74.1%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$910	A$902
		% of Australian median income		77.7%	73.1%

Council

Current composition and election method

Coffs Harbour City Council is composed of nine Councillors, including the Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is directly elected while the eight other Councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Independents and Unaffiliated	6
	Liberals	2
	The Greens	1
	Total	9

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

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Denise Knight	Independent	Mayor
	John Arkan	Liberal
	Keith Rhoades	Independent
	Garry Innes	Independent
	Sally Townley	Greens
	Rod Degens	Unaligned	Previously elected as a member of The Greens
	Bob Palmer	Unaligned
	Mark Sultana	Liberal
	Nan Cowling	Independent

Sister city

The City of Coffs Harbour has one sister city:

• Sasebo, Japan