# City of Maitland

The City of Maitland is a local government area in the lower Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line.
The mayor of the City of Maitland is Cr. Philip Penfold, a Liberal party turned Independent politician.
The deputy mayor of the City of Maitland is Cr. Bill Hackney, who once aspired to be a member of the Liberal party, but was elected to Council as part of Mayor Penfold's Independent party.
The current General Manager is Mr Jeff Smith.

## Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended the merger of a number of adjoining councils. In the initial proposal, the City of Maitland was not included in any amalgamation proposals. However, following the lodging of an alternate proposal by Mid-Coast Council Council to amalgamate the Gloucester, Great Lakes and Greater Taree councils, the NSW Minister for Local Government proposed a merger between the Dungog Shire with the City of Maitland. In February 2017, the NSW Government announced that it will not proceed with the proposed amalgamation.

## Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 67,478 people in the City of Maitland local government area, of these 48.9 per cent were male and 51.1 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.5 per cent of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the City of Maitland was 36 years, which was marginally lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 22.0 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.7 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 50.9 per cent were married and 11.8 per cent were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Maitland between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 15.19 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 9.05 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the City of Maitland local government area was significantly higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Maitland was approximately equal to the national average.
At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the City of Maitland local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 82 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 67% of all residents in the City of Maitland nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the City of Maitland local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (4.7 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93.2 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).
Selected historical census data for the City of Maitland local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on Census night | 53,718 | 61,880 | 67,478 | 77,305 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | | 29th |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | | 0.98% | 0.98% | 1.03% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.29% | 0.31% | 0.31% | 0.33% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | | | 35.0% | 33.0% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | | | 32.1% | 31.8% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | | | 8.2% | 8.9% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | | | 7.1% | 7.8% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | German | | | 3.6% | 3.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Cantonese | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Afrikaans | n/c | n/c | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Tagalog | 0.1% | n/c | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Mandarin | | | | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Malay | | | | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Polish | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 30.3% | 29.4% | 28.9% | 26.6% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 32.1% | 30.2% | 28.9% | 24.1% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No Religion | 9.1% | 12.0% | 15.8% | 24.0% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Uniting Church | 8.3% | 7.1% | 6.4% | 4.9% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Presbyterian and Reformed | 4.4% | 4.1% | 3.7% | |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | A$428 | A$562 | A$644 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 91.8% | 97.4% | 97.3% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | A$1,159 | A$1,664 | A$1,555 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 99.0% | 105.0% | 96.0% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | A$1,025 | A$1,292 | A$1,415 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 99.8% | 104.7% | 98.4% |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Maitland City Council is composed of thirteen councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three councillors. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows.
| Party | Councillors |
| Penfold Independents | 7 |
| Labor | 4 |
| Liberal | 1 |
| Independent Liberal | 1 |
| Total | 13 |
Cr. Philip Penfold, an Independent, defeated the incumbent Cr. Loretta Baker in the 2021 mayoral election.
The council consists of the following:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Mayor | Philip Penfold | Penfold Independents | First elected 2008 |
| Central Ward (Now Ward 1) | Sally Halliday | Liberal | First elected 2017 |
| Central Ward (Now Ward 1) | Amelia Atkinson | Labor | First elected 2024 |
| Central Ward (Now Ward 1) | Ken Jordan | Penfold Independents | First elected 2024 |
| East Ward (Now Ward 3) | Ben Whiting | Labor | First elected 2012 |
| East Ward (Now Ward 3) | Bill Hackney | Penfold Independents | First elected 2021 |
| East Ward (Now Ward 3) | Ben Worth | Penfold Independents | First elected 2024 |
| North Ward (Now Ward 2) | Race Barstow | Labor | First elected 2024 |
| North Ward (Now Ward 2) | Mitchell Griffin | Independent Liberal | First elected 2017 |
| North Ward (Now Ward 2) | Kristy Flannery | Penfold Independents | First elected 2021 |
| West Ward (Now Ward 4) | Don Ferris | Labor | First term 2017-2021 Re-elected 2024 |
| West Ward (Now Ward 4) | Mike Yarrington | Penfold Independents | First elected 2017 |
| West Ward (Now Ward 4) | Warrick Penfold | Penfold Independents | First elected 2024 |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Maitland :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Penfold Independents | Penfold Independents | 22,450 | 40.7 | +12.7 | 6 | 2 |
| | Labor | Labor | 19,199 | 34.8 | −2.9 | 4 | |
| | Liberal | Liberal | 3,141 | 5.7 | −17.6 | 1 | 3 |
| | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | 2,478 | 4.5 | +4.5 | 1 | 1 |
| | Greens | Greens | 6,388 | 11.6 | +6.3 | 0 | |
| | Independent National | Independent National | 1,501 | 2.7 | +2.7 | 0 | |
| | Independents | Independents | 65 | 0.1 | -6.1 | 0 | |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 55,222 | 92.7 | | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,322 | 7.3 | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 59,544 | | | | |