Palerang Council

Palerang New South Wales
File:Palerang LGA NSW.png Location in New South Wales
Coordinates
Population	15,306 (2013 est)
• Density	2.9813/km2 (7.7215/sq mi)
Established	2004
Area	5,134 km2 (1,982.2 sq mi)
Mayor	Pete Harrison
Council seat	Bungendore
Region	Southern Tablelands
State electorate(s)	Monaro Goulburn
Federal Division(s)	Eden-Monaro
Website	Palerang
LGAs around Palerang: Yass Valley Upper Lachlan Goulburn Mulwaree Queanbeyan Palerang Shoalhaven ACT Cooma-Monaro Eurobodalla

Palerang Council is a local government area located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia.

The Mayor of the Palerang Council is Cr. Pete Harrison, an independent politician.

History

Originally known as the Eastern Capital City Regional Council, Palerang was proclaimed on 11 February 2004 when Tallaganda Shire was amalgamated with most of Yarrowlumla Shire and small parts of Cooma-Monaro Shire, Gunning Shire and Mulwaree Shire.

Towns and localities

The area is named after Mount Palerang, located close to the geographical centre, and one of the highest points in the Council's area. The area covered under administration extends to Lake George in the north, the Tallaganda State Forest in the south, Queanbeyan to the west and the Morton and Budawang National Parks to the east. The Kings Highway and the Sydney-Canberra railway pass through the Palerang Council area.

Predominantly rural in nature, the Palerang Council area comprises the towns of Bungendore, Braidwood and Captains Flat, and the villages of Araluen, Majors Creek, Mongarlowe and Nerriga. It also encompasses the rural residential areas of Wamboin, Bywong, Burra, Urila, Hoskinstown, Rossi and parts of Carwoola, Royalla, and Sutton.

Around two thirds of the Palerang population is concentrated in Bungendore and the rural residential areas adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory border, with many residents commuting daily to Canberra or Queanbeyan. Cattle grazing is the primary agricultural pursuit in the area, with more recent development of niche rural industries such as vineyards, olive groves and alpaca breeding. About one quarter of the Palerang Council area is managed for conservation, with significant areas of national park.

Council

Current composition and election method

Palerang Council is composed of nine Councillors elected proportionally as one entire 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	8
	Country Labor	1
	Total	9

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

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Pete Harrison	Independent	Mayor
	Mark Schweikert	Independent
	Belinda Hogarth-Boyd	Unaligned	Deputy Mayor
	Garth Morrison	Country Labor
	Keith France	Independent
	Trevor Hicks	Independent
	Paul Cockram	Independent
	Peter Marshall	Unaligned	Member of The Greens
	Richard Graham	Independent

External links

• Map of council area
• Palerang Council website
• Palerang Community Profile
• The District Bulletin
• The Braidwood Times Newspaper
• The Bungendore Mirror Newspaper