Gundagai Shire

Gundagai Shire was a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. On 12 May 2016, Gundagai Shire was abolished and merged with the neighbouring Cootamundra Shire to establish Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council.[4]

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

Gundagai Shire
New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates35°04′S 148°07′E
Population3,747 (2013 est)[1]
 • Density1.5250/km2 (3.9498/sq mi)
Established1 January 1924 (1924-01-01)
Abolished12 May 2016 (2016-05-12)
Area2,457 km2 (948.7 sq mi)
MayorCr. Abb McAlister (Unaligned)[2]
Council seatGundagai[3]
RegionRiverina
State electorate(s)Cootamundra
Federal division(s)Riverina
WebsiteGundagai Shire
LGAs around Gundagai Shire:
Junee Cootamundra Harden
Wagga Wagga Gundagai Shire Yass Valley
Wagga Wagga Tumut Tumut

The Shire was located adjacent to the Hume Highway. Gundagai Shire is primarily rural, with a small population. 80% of the Shire's population live in the town of Gundagai. The four villages in the Shire were Coolac, Tumblong, Muttama and Nangus, with populations ranging from 40 to 90 people.

The last Mayor of Gundagai Shire was Cr. Abb McAlister, an unaligned politician.[2]

History

Gundagai was declared a Municipality in 1889, and Adjungbilly Shire Council created in 1906 to administer the district. The Municipality of Gundagai and the Adjungbilly Shire were amalgamated on 1 January 1924 to form the Gundagai Shire Council, which was the administrative body of the area.[5]

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that Gundagai Shire merge with adjoining councils. The NSW Government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger between the Gundagai and Cootamundra shires to form a new council with an area of 3,981 square kilometres (1,537 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 11,500.[6] The alternative, proposed by Harden Shire on 28 February 2016, was for an amalgamation of the Cootamundra, Gundagai and Harden shires.[7] Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced the dissolution of the Cootamunda and Gundagai shires, with their area merging to establish the Gundagai Council.[4] After the merger was gazetted, opposition continued through a Facebook page.[8]

Council
Gundagai Shire Council Chambers

In 1952 Gundagai Shire Council won a coveted A.R. Bluett Memorial Award for progress.[9]

During 2011 Gundagai Shire Council was one of 110 state and local council authorities where employees were under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption as part of Operation Jarek. It was claimed that employees of some state and local authorities had accepted benefits including gift cards and other items from companies in return for placing orders and continuing business relationships with these companies.[10]

Composition and election method

Gundagai Shire Council was composed of eight councillors elected proportionally from a single ward. All councillors were elected for fixed four-year terms of office. The mayor was elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the council was as follows:[11]

PartyCouncillors
  Independents and Unaligned 8
Total 8

The last Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, was:[11]

CouncillorPartyNotes
  Abb McAlister Unaligned Mayor[2]
  Ron Moses Unaligned
  Mike Kingwill Independent
  Peter Gain Independent
  David Graham Unaligned Deputy Mayor[2]
  Mason Crane Unaligned
  Ronnie Magnone Unaligned
  Peter Batey Independent

References
  1. "3218.0 Regional Population Growth, Australia. Table 1. Estimated Resident Population, Local Government Areas, New South Wales". 3 April 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. "Councillors". Council. Gundagai Shire Council. 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  3. "Gundagai Shire Council". Department of Local Government. Retrieved 9 November 2006.
  4. "Gundagai Council". New South Wales Government. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. "Local Government Act 1919. Proclamation (156)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 21 December 1923. p. 5875. Retrieved 23 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Merger proposal: Cootamundra Council, Gundagai Shire Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  7. Harden Shire Council (28 February 2016). "Fit For Future: Alternate Merger Proposal – Harden Shire Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  8. "Save Gundagai Shire". Retrieved 22 May 2016 – via Facebook.
  9. "Councils Gey Awards For Progress". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 August 1954. p. 14.
  10. Public authorities – corruption allegations concerning acceptance of gifts and benefits; and alleged payment of fraudulent invoices (Operation Jarek). Independent Commission Against Corruption, New South Wales. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  11. "Gundagai Shire Council: Summary of First Preference and Group Votes for each Candidate". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
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