# Central Highlands Council

Central Highlands Council is a local government body in Tasmania, encompassing the Central Highlands region of the state. Central Highlands is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 2,144, the two largest towns are Bothwell and Hamilton.

## History and attributes

Central Highlands was established on 2 April 1993 after the amalgamation of the Bothwell and Hamilton municipalities.
Central Highlands is the least densely populated local government area of Tasmania, with only 0.3 people per square kilometre. The municipality is classified as rural, agricultural and medium (RAM) under the Australian Classification of Local Governments.

### Towns

The population of the area is small and quite decentralised, resulting in a large number of small towns. Some of these towns were founded as support sites for workers on the hydro-electric dams scattered along the upper Derwent River. Main towns are considered Hamilton (council headquarters) and Bothwell.
The towns (with population as of 2006):
* Bothwell (376)
* Bronte Park (16)
* Derwent Bridge (?)
* Hamilton (300)
* Liawenee (?)
* Miena (104)
* Ouse (137)
* Tarraleah

### Townships

The municipality is subdivided into eight townships:
* Hamilton Township
* Ouse Township
* Gretna Township
* Ellendale Township
* Fentonbury Township
* Westerway Township
* Wayatinah Township
* Bothwell Township

### Other localities

* Apsley • Arthurs Lake • Bradys Lake • Brandum • Breona • Butlers Gorge • Central Plateau • Cramps Bay • Dee • Doctors Point • Elderslie • Flintstone • Florentine • Hermitage • Hollow Tree • Interlaken • Lake Sorell • Lake St Clair • Little Pine Lagoon • London Lakes • Lower Marshes • Meadowbank • Melton Mowbray • Millers Bluff • Morass Bay • Mount Field • National Park • Osterley • Pelham • Reynolds Neck • Shannon • Southwest • Steppes • Strickland • Tods Corner • Victoria Valley • Waddamana • Walls of Jerusalem • Wilburville

### Parks and reserves

It covers most of the mountainous centre of the state, also known as the Central Plateau which contains the Central Plateau Conservation Area including sections of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, as well as the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and Walls of Jerusalem National Park. Other smaller reserves of different status occur in the region as well.

## Council
### Current composition

| Name | Position | Party affiliation |
| Loueen Triffitt | Mayor/Councillor | Independent |
| Jim Allwright | Deputy Mayor/Councillor | Independent |
| Tony Bailey | Councillor | Independent |
| Scott Bowden | Councillor | Independent |
| Robert Cassidy | Councillor | Independent |
| John Hall | Councillor | Independent |
| Julie Honner | Councillor | Independent |
| David Meacheam | Councillor | Independent |
| Yvonne Miller | Councillor | Independent |

### 2022 election results

2022 Tasmanian local elections: Central Highlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Loueen Triffitt (elected) | 728 | 36.18 |
| | Independent | Jim Allwright (elected) | 298 | 14.81 |
| | Independent | Tony Bailey (elected) | 159 | 7.90 |
| | Independent | John Hall (elected) | 143 | 7.11 |
| | Independent | Robert Cassidy (elected) | 134 | 6.66 |
| | Independent | David Meacheam (elected) | 112 | 5.57 |
| | Independent | Julie Honner (elected) | 109 | 5.42 |
| | Independent | Rob Wilkinson | 106 | 5.27 |
| | Independent | Scott Bowden (elected) | 104 | 5.17 |
| | Independent | Yvonne Miller (elected) | 75 | 3.73 |
| | Independent | Anthony Archer | 44 | 2.19 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 2,012 | 96.27 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 78 | 3.73 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,090 | 83.63 |