Municipality of Kiama

The Municipality of Kiama is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated south of Shellharbour and the City of Wollongong and is located adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, the Princes Highway and the South Coast railway line.

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

Kiama Municipal Council
New South Wales
Location of Kiama in New South Wales
Coordinates34°39′S 150°51′E
Population
 • Density83.19/km2 (215.5/sq mi)
Established1859
Area258 km2 (99.6 sq mi)
MayorMark Honey
Council seatKiama[3]
RegionIllawarra
State electorate(s)Kiama
Federal Division(s)Gilmore
WebsiteKiama Municipal Council
LGAs around Kiama Municipal Council:
Wingecarribee Shellharbour Tasman Sea
Wingecarribee Kiama Municipal Council Tasman Sea
Shoalhaven Shoalhaven Tasman Sea

Towns and localities

The Municipality of Kiama contains the following towns and localities:

Municipal history

The municipality of Kiama was created in 1859. There were three wards: Kiama, Gerringong and Jamberoo. The first council comprised James Colley, John Sharpe and Joseph Pike (representing the Kiama Ward); John Hukins, John Colley and John Hanrahan (representing the Jamberoo Ward); and Joseph Blow, Robert Miller and James Robinson (representing the Gerringong Ward). The first mayor of Kiama was James Colley.

In 1871, Gerringong separated from the Kiama municipality and Jamberoo in 1892. In 1954, the Gerringong, Jamberoo and Kiama municipalities were amalgamated forming today's current municipal boundaries.[4]

Kiama has had three female mayors: Ruth Devenney (1991 until 1992), Joyce Wheatley (1992 until 2000) and Sandra McCarthy (2000 until 2012).

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Municipality of Kiama merge with the City of Shoalhaven to form a new council with an area of 4,825 square kilometres (1,863 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 120,000.[5] The Kiama community along with the Shoalhaven community actively campaigned against any forced council amalgamation between the two councils.[6] Kiama council held a non-compulsory poll on 7 May 2016 to grasp community attitudes to the proposal.[7] The results of the poll concluded that 95% of the community supported remaining an independent council, with a 49.9% turnout.[8] On 12 May 2016, the NSW State Government determined not to amalgamate Kiama and Shoalhaven council areas.[9]

Demographics

At the 2016 census the total population of the Municipality was 21,464 people. The median age of the community was 47 years.[1]

Almost 21% of the population was born outside of Australia, predominately migration from North-West Europe. The Indigenous Australian population is 2% of the total community population.[1]

English was spoken as a first language by 90% of the population. The top response for language other than English spoken was Italian.[1]

Council

Current composition and election method

The Council of the Municipality of Kiama 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 10 September 2016 and the makeup of the Council is as follows:[10]

PartyCouncillors
  Independents 7
  The Greens 2
  Liberals 0
  Labor 0
Total 9

The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election, is:[10]

CouncillorPartyNotes
  Mark Honey Independent Mayor[11]
  Andrew Sloan Greens Deputy mayor
  Matt Brown Unaligned former state MP for Kiama
  Mark Way Unaligned
  Warren Steel Unaligned
  Mark Sandifort-Westhoff Independent
  Kathy Rice Greens
  Neil Reilly Independent
  Don Watson Unaligned

See also

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Kiama (A)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  2. "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
  3. "Council of the Municipality of Kiama". Department of Local Government. Archived from the original on 6 September 2006. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
  4. "Local Government Act 1919 - Proclamation (91)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 11 June 1954. p. 1718. Retrieved 8 January 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Merger proposal: Kiama Municipal Council, Shoalhaven City Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  6. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-22/kiama-community-protests-angrily-over-proposed-merger-with-shoa/7048078
  7. http://www.kiamaindependent.com.au/story/3748498/kiama-council-to-further-consider-plebiscite-proposal/
  8. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/kiama-says-no-to-council-amalgamations-20160507-gop177.html
  9. http://www.kiama.nsw.gov.au/your-council/news---media/media-releases/kiama-community-wins
  10. http://vtr.elections.nsw.gov.au/the-council-of-the-municipality-of-kiama/councillor
  11. http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4177732/cr-honey-elected-as-kiama-mayor/
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