# Blayney Shire

Blayney Shire is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railway line, and is centred on the town of Blayney.
Blayney Shire consists of approximately 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi) of well watered, gently undulating to hilly country and the climate is partially suitable for cool climate crops and trees. There is also significant mining industry in the shire.

## Towns and localities

Towns and localities within the Blayney Shire are:
* Blayney
* Athol
* Barry
* Carcoar
* Forest Reefs
* Garland
* Hobbys Yards
* Junction Reefs
* Kings Plains
* Lyndhurst
* Mandurama
* Millthorpe
* Neville
* Newbridge
* Wombiana

## Demographics

Selected historical census data for Blayney Shire local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2011 | 2016 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 6,985 | 7,257 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | 100th |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 35.0% | 35.4% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | 32.0% | 31.1% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | 11.1% | 10.9% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Chinese | 7.4% | 7.4% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | German | 2.3% | 2.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | German | n/a | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Arabic | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Cantonese | n/a | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Tamil | n/a | 0.1% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | French | n/a | 0.1% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 31.0% | 28.6% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 27.9% | 24.2% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion | 14.4% | 20.8% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Not stated | not reported | 8.5% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Uniting Church | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$553 | A$620 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | % | % |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | A$1376 | A$1581 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | % | % |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | A$1092 | A$1227 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | % | % |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Blayney Shire Council is composed of seven 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 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
| Independent | 6 |
| Independent National | 1 |
| Total | 7 |
The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is:
| Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Bruce Reynolds | Independent National | Mayor |
| Michelle Pryse Jones | Independent | |
| Karl Hutchings | Independent | |
| John Newstead | Independent | |
| Craig Gosewisch | Independent | |
| Rebecca Scott | Independent | Deputy Mayor |
| Iris Dorsett | Independent | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Blayney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent National | Bruce Reynolds (elected) | 1,074 | 23.6 | +9.7 |
| | Independent | Michelle Pryse Jones (elected) | 629 | 13.8 | +0.6 |
| | Independent | Karl Hutchings (elected) | 622 | 13.7 | |
| | Independent | John Newstead (elected) | 556 | 12.2 | +3.1 |
| | Independent | Craig Gosewisch (elected) | 485 | 10.7 | −1.6 |
| | Independent | Rebecca Scott (elected) | 450 | 9.9 | |
| | Independent | Iris Dorsett (elected) | 394 | 8.7 | +1.2 |
| | Independent | Stephen Johnston | 264 | 5.8 | |
| | Independent | Angus Norton | 73 | 1.6 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 4,547 | 94.1 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 284 | 5.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,831 | 86.8 | |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Blayney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Scott Ferguson (elected) | 1,036 | 22.7 |
| | Independent | Bruce Reynolds (elected) | 635 | 13.9 |
| | Independent | Michelle Pryse Jones (elected) | 605 | 13.3 |
| | Independent | Craig Gosewisch (elected) | 559 | 12.3 |
| | Independent | Allan Ewin (elected) | 526 | 11.5 |
| | Independent | David Somervaille (elected) | 443 | 9.7 |
| | Independent | John Newstead (elected) | 416 | 9.1 |
| | Independent | Iris Dorsett | 340 | 7.5 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 4,560 | 95.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 224 | 4.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,784 | 87.7 |

### 2017

2017 New South Wales local elections: Blayney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Scott Ferguson (elected) | 1,329 | 30.9 | +19.4 |
| | Independent | Allan Ewin (elected) | 605 | 14.1 | −3.9 |
| | Independent | David Kingham (elected) | 447 | 10.4 | −0.1 |
| | Country Labor | Scott Denton (elected) | 418 | 9.7 | +9.7 |
| | Independent | John Newstead (elected) | 416 | 9.1 | |
| | Independent | Bruce Reynolds (elected) | 393 | 9.1 | +9.1 |
| | Independent | David Somervaille (elected) | 311 | 7.2 | −0.1 |
| | Greens | Greens | 272 | 6.3 | +6.3 |
| | Independent | Nyree Reynolds | 139 | 3.2 | +3.2 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 4,299 | 94.82 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 235 | 5.18 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,784 | 85.73 | |

## Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Blayney Shire merge with the Cabonne Shire and the City of Orange to form a new council with an area of 7,833 square kilometres (3,024 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 63,000. Despite originally planning for the amalgamation to go ahead, the merger scheduled for May 2016 was delayed due to legal action, and in February 2017 the NSW Government decided not to proceed with the amalgamation.