City of Lake Macquarie

This article is about the local government area. For the lake, see Lake Macquarie (New South Wales).

City of Lake Macquarie New South Wales
Coordinates
Population	189,006 (2011 census) (12th)
• Density	291.7/km2 (755/sq mi)
Established	1906 (shire) 1977 (municipality) 1984 (city)
Area	648 km2 (250.2 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor	Jodie Harrison
Council seat	Speers Point
Region	Hunter
State electorate(s)	Lake Macquarie Swansea Charlestown Cessnock Wallsend
Federal Division(s)	Shortland Charlton
File:Lake-logo.jpg
Website	City of Lake Macquarie
LGAs around City of Lake Macquarie: Maitland Newcastle Newcastle Cessnock City of Lake Macquarie Tasman Sea Cessnock Wyong Tasman Sea

The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the city of Newcastle and was proclaimed as a city from 7 September 1984. The city is approximately 150 km (93 mi) north of Sydney. One of its major tourist attractions is its lake, also named Lake Macquarie.

The Mayor of the City of Lake Macquarie Council is Cr. Jodie Harrison, a member of the Labor Party.

The Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Tobruk (L 50) was granted Right of Freedom of Entry to the City of Lake Macquarie in 1991.

History

The Shire of Lake Macquarie was proclaimed on 6 March 1906. It became a Municipality on 1 March 1977, and a city on 7 September 1984.

Main towns and villages

Lake Macquarie is home to several prominent coastal suburbs such as Catherine Hill Bay, Caves Beach, Blacksmiths Beach and Redhead. Retail centres include Belmont, Cardiff, Charlestown, Glendale, Swansea, Toronto, and Morisset with its large area and rapidly increasing developments.

Significant population centres include:

• Belmont
• Cardiff
• Charlestown
• Glendale
• Morisset
• Mount Hutton
• Swansea
• Toronto
• Warners Bay

The various towns and suburbs are classified as being part of the Newcastle Statistical District, so their populations are included when Newcastle is commonly listed as Australia's sixth largest city. However, the City of Lake Macquarie has its own independent local government (Lake Macquarie City Council). The largest commercial centre in the region is Charlestown.

Demographics

The area is a set of contiguous towns that surround a coastal saltwater lake. These towns merge with the suburbs of Newcastle to the north. Some suburbs, such as Adamstown Heights are partly in the City of Newcastle and partly within the City of Lake Macquarie. There are 92 identified settlements ranging from small rural style communities through to larger and higher density areas such as Toronto, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown and Morisset.

At the 2011 Census, there were 189,006 people in the Lake Macquarie local government area, of these 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.0% of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages. The median age of people in the City of Lake Macquarie was 41 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 51.0% were married and 12.2% were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the City of Lake Macquarie between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 3.36%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 3.20%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Lake Macquarie local government area was approximately half the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Lake Macquarie was marginally below the national average.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Lake Macquarie local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 81% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 58% of all residents in the City of Lake Macquarie nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Lake Macquarie local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (5.4%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (93.0%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).

Selected historical census data for Lake Macquarie local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	177,185	183,138	189,006
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		4th	4th
		% of New South Wales population			2.73%
		% of Australian population	0.94%	0.92%	0.88%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			33.7%
		English			32.2%
		Scottish			8.2%
		Irish			7.7%
		German			3.0%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Italian	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
		Macedonian	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
		German	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
		Cantonese	n/c	0.2%	0.2%
		Spanish	n/c	n/c	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Anglican	29.1%	27.6%	26.2%
		Catholic	23.0%	22.9%	22.8%
		No Religion	12.5%	15.5%	19.7%
		Uniting Church	10.0%	8.8%	5.8%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	4.4%	4.0%	3.6%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$394	A$520
		% of Australian median income		84.5%	90.1%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$922	A$1,396
		% of Australian median income		89.8%	94.3%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,102	A$1,177
		% of Australian median income		94.1%	90.5%

Economics

Lake Macquarie has a significant coal mining industry and smaller agriculture and manufacturing industries. Eraring power station, a 1980s-era coal-fired power station, supplies 25% of New South Wales' power. Lake Macquarie has a number of Constructed Wetlands with the council placing an emphasis on the environment.

Council

See also: List of mayors of the City of Lake Macquarie

Current composition and election method

Lake Macquarie 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 three separate wards, each electing four Councillors. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council, including the Mayor, is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Australian Labor Party	6
	Liberal Party of Australia	3
	Independent Lake Alliance	4
	Total	13

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

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
Mayor		Jodie Harrison	Labor
East Ward		Kay Fraser	Labor
		Jason Pauling	Liberal
		Laurie Coghlan	Independent Lake Alliance
		Chad Griffith	Labor
North Ward		Brian Adamthwaite	Labor	Elected on Jodie Harrison's ticket
		Robert Denton	Liberal
		Barry Johnston	Independent Lake Alliance
		Barney Langford	Labor	Elected on Jodie Harrison's ticket
West Ward		Wendy Harrison	Independent Lake Alliance
		Daniel Wallace	Labor
		Ken Paxinos	Liberal
		Rosmairi Okeno	Independent Lake Alliance	Elected on Wendy Harrison's ticket

Shopping

Major shopping centres include:

• Charlestown Square
• Stockland Glendale
• Lake Macquarie Fair

Sister cities

The City of Lake Macquarie has sister city relations with the following cities:

• Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan
• Tanagura, Fukushima, Japan
• Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

External links

• Lake Macquarie City Council
• Lake Macquarie Business Directory
• Lake Macquarie City
• Clickable map of New South Wales LGAs (NSW Dept. of Local Government)
• Rathmines Community Website and Forum
• Shires of Australia at statoids.com