# Hay Shire

The Hay Shire is a local government area in the Riverina area of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Shire comprises 11,326 square kilometres (4,373 sq mi) and is located adjacent to the Sturt, Mid-western and Cobb Highways. The area includes the towns of Hay, Booligal and Maude.
Hay Shire was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the Municipality of Hay with the surrounding Waradgery Shire.
The mayor of Hay Shire is Cr. Carol Oataway, an unaligned politician who had previously held the position of Principal of Hay Public School.

## Demographics

Selected historical census data for Hay Shire local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 3,562 | 3,383 | 2,956 | 2,946 | 2,884 |
| Population | Population | Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders (%) | 3.5% | 4.2% | 5.6% | 6.0% | 8.3% |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 123rd | 121st | 121st |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.04% | 0.04% | 0.04% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Cultural and linguistic diversity | Cultural and linguistic diversity | Cultural and linguistic diversity | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Country of birth (top responses) | Country of birth (top responses) | Australia | 90.4% | 90.5% | 88.2% | 80.3% | 80.0% |
| Country of birth (top responses) | Country of birth (top responses) | India | | | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Country of birth (top responses) | Country of birth (top responses) | New Zealand | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 1.1% |
| Country of birth (top responses) | Country of birth (top responses) | England | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Country of birth (top responses) | Country of birth (top responses) | Fiji | | | | 0.4% | 0.6% |
| Country of birth (top responses) | Country of birth (top responses) | Scotland | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Language (top responses, other than English) | Language (top responses, other than English) | Italian | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Language (top responses, other than English) | Language (top responses, other than English) | Punjabi | | | | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Language (top responses, other than English) | Language (top responses, other than English) | Fijian | 0.2% | | | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Language (top responses, other than English) | Language (top responses, other than English) | Afrikaans | | | | | 0.4% |
| Language (top responses, other than English) | Language (top responses, other than English) | Malayalam | | | | | 0.3% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Religious affiliation (top responses) | Religious affiliation (top responses) | Catholic | 36.4% | 36.1% | 35.8% | 31.9% | 27.6% |
| Religious affiliation (top responses) | Religious affiliation (top responses) | No Religion | 7.1% | 10.4% | 10.9% | 16.3% | 24.3% |
| Religious affiliation (top responses) | Religious affiliation (top responses) | Anglican | 31.8% | 31.1% | 31.1% | 24.7% | 21.7% |
| Religious affiliation (top responses) | Religious affiliation (top responses) | Not stated | n/c | n/c | n/c | 12.8% | 12.3% |
| Religious affiliation (top responses) | Religious affiliation (top responses) | Presbyterian and Reformed | 9.2% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 5.8% | 4.8% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | A$404 | A$441 | A$587 | A$700 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 86.7% | 76.4% | 88.7% | 86.9% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | A$983 | A$981 | A$1,344 | A$1,622 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 83.9% | 66.2% | 77.5% | 76.5% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | A$741 | A$805 | A$1,075 | A$1,236 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 72.2% | 65.2% | 74.8% | 70.8% |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Hay Shire Council is composed of eight 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 |
| Unaligned | 7 |
| Independent | 1 |
| Total | 8 |
The current Council was elected in September 2024 . The councillors, in order of election, are:
| Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Carol Oataway | Unaligned | Mayor |
| Will Miller | Unaligned | |
| Lionel Garner | Unaligned | |
| Martyn Quinn | Unaligned | Deputy Mayor |
| Darren Tapper | Unaligned | |
| Geoff Chapman | Unaligned | |
| Paul Porter | Independent | |
| John Perry | Unaligned | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Hay :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Carol Oataway (elected) | 366 | 22.79 |
| | Independent | Will Miller (elected) | 348 | 21.67 |
| | Independent | Lionel Garner (elected) | 200 | 12.45 |
| | Independent | Martyn Quinn (elected) | 197 | 12.27 |
| | Independent | Darren Tapper (elected) | 141 | 8.78 |
| | Independent | Geoff Chapman (elected) | 97 | 6.04 |
| | Independent | David Townsend | 82 | 5.11 |
| | Independent | Paul Porter (elected) | 79 | 4.92 |
| | Independent | John Perry (elected) | 76 | 4.73 |
| | Independent | Steven Young | 20 | 1.25 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 1,606 | 100 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 55 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,661 | |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Hay :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Jenny Dwyer (elected) | 491 | 28.1 |
| | Independent | Martyn Quinn (elected) | 264 | 15.1 |
| | Independent | Peter Handford (elected) | 198 | 11.3 |
| | Independent | Peter Dwyer (elected) | 190 | 10.9 |
| | Independent | Carol Oataway (elected) | 117 | 6.7 |
| | Independent | Lionel Garner (elected) | 103 | 5.9 |
| | Independent | Geoff Chapman (elected) | 90 | 5.2 |
| | Independent | John Perry | 64 | 3.7 |
| | Independent | Darren Clarke | 62 | 3.5 |
| | Independent | Paul Porter (elected) | 57 | 3.3 |
| | Independent | Beverley McRae | 48 | 2.7 |
| | Independent | David Townsend | 33 | 1.9 |
| | Independent | Megan Ruska | 30 | 1.7 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 1,747 | 97.4 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 47 | 2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,794 | 83.6 |

## Literary reference

Banjo Paterson (1864–1941) wrote a poem called Hay and Hell and Booligal about the district.