# Bathurst Regional Council

Bathurst Regional Council is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Great Western Highway, Mid-Western Highway, Mitchell Highway and the Main Western railway line. At the 2021 census, the Bathurst Region had a population of 43,567.
The administrative centre of the area is located in the city of Bathurst, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Sydney.
The mayor of Bathurst is Cr. Dr Jess Jennings, Deputy Mayor being Cr. Benjamin Fry, both unaligned politicians.

## City, towns and localities

In addition to the city of Bathurst, the LGA contains the villages of Eglinton, Freemantle, Perthville, Rockley, Raglan, Georges Plains, Trunkey Creek, Brewongle, Vittoria, Peel, Wattle Flat, Sofala, Hill End, Meadow Flat, Sallys Flat, Caloola and Kelso

## Demographics

Selected historical census data for Bathurst Regional local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 38,519 | 41,300 | 43,567 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 52nd | 51st | |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | 0.56% | 0.55% | 0.53% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.18% | 0.18% | 0.17% |
| Population | Population | Estimated ATSI population on census night | 1,634 | 2,244 | 3,153 |
| Population | Population | % of ATSI population to residents | 4.20% | 5.40% | 7.2% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 32.9% | 31.5% | 42.1% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | 30.1% | 29.5% | 40.9% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | 10.9% | 11.1% | 14.3% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | 7.3% | 7.5% | 10.6% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | German | 2.6% | 2.6% | – |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian Aboriginal | – | – | 6.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Mandarin | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Arabic | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Cantonese | 0.2% | 0.2% | – |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Punjabi | n/a | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.2% | 0.2% | – |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Nepali | – | – | 0.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Tagalog | – | – | 0.3% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 34.1% | 31.1% | 28.4% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion, so described | 16.0% | 22.4% | 32.4% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 23.2% | 19.1% | 15.7% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Not stated | n/a | 11.3% | 8.0% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Presbyterian and Reformed | 4.6% | 4.2% | 3.4% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | $544 | $646 | $796 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | 94.28% | 97.58% | 98.88% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | $1,437 | $1,632 | $2,026 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | 97.02% | 94.11% | 95.56% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | $1,142 | $1,310 | $1,585 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | 93% | 92.54% | 90.77% |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Bathurst Regional Council is composed of nine 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 of councillors was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Independents | 9 |
| | Total | 9 |
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:
| Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Ben Fry | Balanced Bathurst | Deputy Mayor |
| Robert 'Stumpy' Taylor | Back Bathurst | Mayor 2022-2023 |
| Ian North | Independent | Mayor 2021-2021 |
| Marg Hogan | Marg Hogan Team | |
| Kirralee Burke | Balanced Bathurst | |
| Graeme Hanger OAM | Team Hanger | Mayor 2017-2019 |
| Jess Jennings | Better Bathurst | Mayor - 2023-Current |
| Andrew (Struthy) Smith | Back Bathurst | |
| Warren Aubin | Team Aubin | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Bathurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate |
| | Balanced Bathurst | 1. Ben Fry 2. Jaclyn Underwood 3. Beau Yates 4. Jasmyn Nankervis 5. Kirralee Burke |
| | Responsible Financial Management | 1. Geoff Fry 2. Juanita Kwok 3. Margaret Hargans 4. Michael McCormick 5. Rob Quinn |
| | Bathurst United | 1. Warren Aubin 2. Lachlan Host 3. Andrew Sherlock 4. Teodora Todorova 5. Warren McCaull |
| | Figuring It Out | 1. Sophie Wright 2. Natalie Cranston 3. Anne Balcomb 4. Jeffery Muir 5. Rowan Bracken 6. Gavin Press 7. Fiona Carlisle |
| | Team Back Bathurst | 1. Robert (Stumpy) Taylor 2. Timothy Fagan 3. Kelly Richardson 4. James Connors 5. Rebecca Mathie |
| | Greens | 1. Elaine West 2. Elizabeth Barrett 3. Cath Jackson 4. Steph Luke 5. Julie Kramer |
| | Bathurst Matters | 1. Stuart Pearson 2. Ingrid Pearson 3. Pauline Graf 4. Irene Hancock 5. Timothy Herbert |
| | Together We Can Fix This | 1. Stuart Driver 2. Larry Lewis |
| | Commitment To Our Community | 1. Graeme Hanger 2. Luisa Simeonidis |
| | Better Bathurst | 1. Jess Jennings 2. Nick Packham 3. Sharon Sewell 4. Shona Kennedy 5. Angus Thompson |
| | Independent | Gordon Crisp |
| | Independent | Tony Gullifer |
| | Independent | Liam O'Hara |
| | Independent | Ian North |
| | Independent | Marilyn Osborne |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout |

### 2021

| Elected councillor | Party |
| Ben Fry | Balanced Bathurst |
| Kirralee Burke | Balanced Bathurst |
| Ian North | TEAM NORTH |
| Marg Hogan | Marg Hogan Team |
| Graeme Hanger | Team Hanger |
| Jess Jennings | Better Bathurst |
| Robert 'Stumpy' Taylor | Back Bathurst |
| Andrew 'Struthy' Smith | Back Bathurst |
| Warren Aubin | Bathurst First |
2021 New South Wales local elections: Bathurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Balanced Bathurst | Balanced Bathurst | 4,943 | 20.0 |
| | Back Bathurst | Back Bathurst | 4,334 | 17.5 |
| | TEAM NORTH | TEAM NORTH | 2,475 | 10.0 |
| | Marg Hogan Team | Marg Hogan Team | 2,119 | 8.6 |
| | Better Bathurst | Better Bathurst | 2,057 | 8.3 |
| | Team Hanger – Working Together for Bathurst | Team Hanger – Working Together for Bathurst | 1,737 | 7.0 |
| | The Restore Bathurst Team | The Restore Bathurst Team | 1,458 | 5.9 |
| | Nick Packham for Bathurst | Nick Packham for Bathurst | 1,244 | 5.0 |
| | Bathurst First | Bathurst First | 1,125 | 4.6 |
| | Bathurst Matters | Bathurst Matters | 792 | 3.2 |
| | Independent | Alex Christian | 733 | 3.0 |
| | TEAM BOURKE | Bobby Bourke | 456 | 1.8 |
| | Independent (Group J) | Independent (Group J) | 393 | 1.6 |
| | Independent | Stuart Driver | 292 | 1.2 |
| | Team Singleton | Team Singleton | 214 | 0.9 |
| | Independent | Catherine Strods | 129 | 0.5 |
| | Independent | Steve Semmens | 105 | 0.4 |
| | TEAM BOURKE | Jeff Muir | 42 | 0.2 |
| | TEAM BOURKE | Steve Ellery | 25 | 0.1 |
| | TEAM BOURKE | Ken Hope | 21 | 0.1 |
| | TEAM BOURKE | Michael Forde | 10 | 0.0 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 24,704 | 92.7 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,939 | 7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 86.3 |

### 2017

| Elected councillor | Party |
| Bobby Bourke | TEAM BOURKE |
| Jacqui Rudge | TEAM BOURKE |
| Ian North | TEAM NORTH |
| Warren Aubin | Bathurst First |
| Alex Christian | Ind. SFF |
| Graeme Hanger | Independent (Group G) |
| Jess Jennings | Independent (Group C) |
| John Fry | Greens |
| Monica Morse | Independent (Group B) |
2017 New South Wales local elections: Bathurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | TEAM BOURKE | TEAM BOURKE | 4,745 | 20.4 |
| | Independent (Group G) | Independent (Group G) | 4,634 | 19.9 |
| | Bathurst First | Bathurst First | 2,571 | 11.1 |
| | Independent SFF | Alex Christian | 2,190 | 9.4 |
| | TEAM NORTH | TEAM NORTH | 2,093 | 9.0 |
| | Independent (Group C) | Independent (Group C) | 2,118 | 9.1 |
| | Independent (Group B) | Independent (Group B) | 1,945 | 8.4 |
| | Greens | Greens | 1,617 | 7.0 |
| | Independent Labor | Nick Packham | 926 | 4.0 |
| | Independent (Group F) | Independent (Group F) | 421 | 1.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 23,260 | 93.55 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,605 | 6.45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,865 | 84.86 |

## History

Bathurst was proclaimed a city in 1885. The Bathurst Region was created on 26 May 2004 as a result of a merger of Bathurst City and Evans Shire.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Bathurst Region merge with the Oberon Shire to form a new council with an area of 7,443 square kilometres (2,874 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 47,000. The outcome of an independent review was expected to be completed by mid–2016. Bathurst Regional Council was officially notified on 6 March 2017 by the NSW State Government that the proposed merger between Bathurst Regional Council and Oberon Council will not proceed. The letter from the Minister for Local Government Gabrielle Upton advising Council of the decision can be viewed on the Bathurst Regional Council official website.

## Sister cities

Bathurst has had a sister city relationship with Ohkuma (Japan) since March 1991.The relationship provides an opportunity for both Bathurst and Ohkuma residents to learn about each other's culture and language. As part of the relationship Council coordinates the Sister City Working Party. This group is made up of different community members who have an interest in Japan and further developing the strong relationship that already exists between Bathurst and Ohkuma. Bathurst has sister city relations with the following city:
* Ōkuma, Japan, since 1991