The Bega Valley Shire is a local government area located adjacent to the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the Municipality of Bega, Imlay Shire and Mumbulla Shire,[3] with its name deriving from the town of Bega. The shire is also known as the Sapphire Coast for tourism and marketing purposes. During the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, the area was devastated by fire, with 448 houses being destroyed by fire[4] and approximately 365,000 hectares burned, which is 58% of the Shire's total land mass.[5]
The estimated population as at the 2021 census was 35,942.[6]
The current mayor is Russell Fitzpatrick, an independent who joined the Liberal Party in 2023.[7]
Yuin since ancient times (at least 5000BC). First white settlers in early 1800s, farming, timber, fishing, mining.[8]
The shire covers 6,040 square kilometres (2,330 sq mi), and includes a coastline of 225 km (140 mi), with 101 beaches and 26 estuaries. Around 78% of the area belongs to various national parks and state forests. The biggest industry is the production of timber, followed by dairy farming and other agriculture. Smaller industries include fishing, oyster harvesting, and tourism.[9] The Biamanga National Park includes important Aboriginal sites.[10]
The area extends from Bermagui in the north to the Victorian border in the south and includes the towns of Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Tura Beach, Wolumla, Cobargo, Bemboka, Pambula, Pambula Beach and the former whaling port, tourism hotspot, and major port of Eden.
Smaller localities include:
Bega Valley Shire 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 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:[11]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independent | 6 | |
| Labor | 1 | |
| Independent Liberal | 1 | |
| Greens | 1 | |
| Total | 9 | |
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:[11]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helen O’Neil | Labor | ||
| Karen Wright | Independent | ||
| Russel Fitzpatrick | Independent Liberal[12] | Mayor[13] | |
| Tony Allen | Independent | ||
| Cathy Griff | Greens | Deputy Mayor[13] | |
| Mitch Nadin | Independent | ||
| David Porter | Independent | ||
| Liz Seckold | Independent | ||
| Joy Robin | Independent | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independents For Change | 1. Mitchell Nadin (elected) 2. David Porter (elected) 3. Peggy Noble (elected) 4. Jason Hetherington 5. Morgan Eneberg |
7,374 | 34.63 | +34.63 | |
| Labor | 1. Helen O'Neil (elected) 2. Simon Daly (elected) 3. David Neyle 4. Nicola Collins |
5,296 | 24.87 | +7.57 | |
| Greens | 1. Peter Haggar (elected) 2. Liane Munro 3. Emma Goward 4. Vivian Harris 5. Jamie Shaw |
2,926 | 13.74 | +1.34 | |
| Independent | Russell Fitzpatrick (elected mayor) | 2,044 | 9.60 | −3.50 | |
| Independent | Tony Allen (elected) | 1,836 | 8.62 | −3.48 | |
| Independent | Clair Mudaliar (elected) | 1,082 | 5.08 | +5.08 | |
| Independent | Phillip Dummett | 733 | 3.44 | +3.44 | |
| Total formal votes | 21,291 | 90.87 | −0.53 | ||
| Informal votes | 2,138 | 9.13 | +0.53 | ||
| Turnout | 23,429 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | 1. Helen O'Neil (elected) 2. Simon Daly |
4,943 | 17.3 | ||
| Independent | Russell Fitzpatrick (elected) | 2,818 | 13.1 | ||
| Greens | 1. Cathy Griff (elected) 2. Vivian Harris 3. Paula Park 4. Angus Ashcroft 5. Peter Haggar |
2,665 | 12.4 | ||
| Independent | Tony Allen (elected) | 2,594 | 12.1 | ||
| Independent | Karen Wright (elected) | 2,539 | 11.8 | ||
| Independent | Mitch Nadin (elected) | 1,201 | 5.6 | ||
| Independent | Joy Robin (elected) | 1,080 | 5.0 | ||
| Independent | David Porter (elected) | 1,003 | 4.7 | ||
| Independent | Mike Britten | 884 | 4.1 | ||
| Independent | Liz Seckhold (elected) | 875 | 4.1 | ||
| Independent | Nathan O'Donnell | 852 | 4.0 | ||
| Independent | Joshua Shoobridge | 650 | 3.0 | ||
| Independent | Neil Bourke | 568 | 2.6 | ||
| Total formal votes | 21,435 | 91.4 | |||
| Informal votes | 2,026 | 8.6 | |||
| Turnout | 23,461 | 87.9 | |||
| Selected historical census data for Bega Valley Shire local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2011[16] | 2016[17][6] | 2021 | |||
| Population | Estimated residents on census night | 31,950 |  33,253 |
35,942
| ||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 56th |  57th
| ||||
| % of New South Wales population | 0.46% | 0.44% |
 0.44%
| |||
| % of Australian population | 0.15% | 0.14% |
0.14%
| |||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses |
English | 32.5% | 31.9% |
43.8%
| ||
| Australian | 31.3% | 30.9% |
40.7
| |||
| Irish | 9.3% | 9.2% |
13.0%
| |||
| Scottish | 8.4% | 8.2% |
11.4%
| |||
| German | 3.8% | 3.7% |
5.1%
| |||
| Language, top responses (other than English) |
German | 0.6% | 0.5% |
0.4%
| ||
| Dutch | 0.3% | 0.2% |
– | |||
| Italian | 0.2% | 0.2% |
– | |||
| French | 0.2% | 0.2% |
0.2%
| |||
| Thai | n/r | 0.2% | 0.2%
| |||
| Religious affiliation | ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses |
No religion, so described | 26.7% | 35.1% |
46.9%
| ||
| Anglican | 27.3% | 21.9% |
16.4%
| |||
| Catholic | 20.0% | 17.9% |
15.1%
| |||
| Not stated | n/r | 10.4% | 8.3%
| |||
| Uniting Church | 4.6% | 3.7% |
2.7%
| |||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | $454 | $538 |
$645
| ||
| % of Australian median income | 78.7% | 81.3% |
80.1%
| |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | $1,014 | $1,242 |
$1,501
| ||
| % of Australian median income | 68.5% | 71.6% |
70.8%
| |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | $848 | $986 |
$1,200
| ||
| % of Australian median income | 68.7% | 68.6% |
68.7%
| |||
The following candidates were declared elected on 21 December 2021: Helen O'NEIL (ALP) Karen WRIGHT (IND) Russell FITZPATRICK (IND) Tony ALLEN (IND) Cathy GRIFF (GRN) Mitch NADIN (IND) David PORTER (IND) Liz SECKOLD (IND) Joy ROBIN (IND)
| Cities | |
|---|---|
| Towns & Townships |
|
| Local government areas | |
| National parks | |
| Rivers and other waterbodies | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
