# City of Cessnock

The City of Cessnock is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located to the west of Newcastle. The largest population centre and council seat is the city of Cessnock.
The mayor of the City of Cessnock Council is Cr. Jay Suvaal, a member of Country Labor.

## Main towns and villages

The Cessnock City Council area includes
* Cessnock
* Kurri Kurri
* Weston
* Pelaw Main
* Abermain
* Aberdare
* Bellbird
* Kearsley
* Mulbring
* Kitchener
* Paxton
* Millfield
* Ellalong
* Wollombi
* Neath
* Branxton
* Greta

## Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 50,840 people in the City of Cessnock local government area, of these 49.7 per cent were male and 50.3 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.8 per cent of the population, which was nearly double than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the City of Cessnock was 37 years, equal to the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.4 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 14.1 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 46.6 per cent were married and 13.2 per cent were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Cessnock between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 2.52 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 10.03 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 Cessnock local government area was approximately equal to the national average over the ten-year period. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Cessnock was lower than the national average.
At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the City of Cessnock local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 83 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 64% of all residents in the City of Cessnock 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 Cessnock local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.1 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93.0 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).
Selected historical census data for the City of Cessnock local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 45,071 | 46,206 | 50,840 | 55,560 | 63,632 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 43rd | 42nd | 40th |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | | | 0.73% | 0.74% | 0.79% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.24% | 0.23% | 0.24% | 0.24% | 0.25% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | | | 35.3% | 34.9% | 44.7% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | | | 32.2% | 31.7% | 42.2% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | | | 8.4% | 8.4% | 11.5% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian Aboriginal | | | n/c | n/c | 9.1% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | | | 7.1% | 7.2% | 9.0% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Thai | n/c | n/c | n/c | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Tagalog | 0.1% | n/c | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Spanish | n/c | n/c | n/c | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Vietnamese | n/c | n/c | n/c | n/c | 0.1% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Mandarin | n/c | 0.1% | n/c | n/c | 0.1% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No Religion | 11.0% | 14.5% | 18.5% | 25.8% | 41.1% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 33.6% | 33.0% | 31.1% | 26.5% | 19.2% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 22.2% | 21.9% | 21.9% | 20.2% | 17.7% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Not stated | n/c | n/c | n/c | 10.7% | 8.2% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Uniting Church | 9.9% | 8.5% | 7.4% | 5.4% | 3.7% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | A$358 | A$472 | A$540 | A$696 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 76.8% | 81.8% | 81.6% | 86.5% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | A$1,015 | A$1,265 | A$1,414 | A$1,818 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 86.7% | 85.4% | 81.5% | 85.8% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | A$786 | A$1,042 | A$1,177 | A$1,493 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 76.5% | 84.4% | 81.8% | 85.5% |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Cessnock 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 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
| Labor | 6 |
| Liberal Party | 3 |
| Independent | 4 |
| Total | 13 |
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is:
| Ward | Councillor | Party |
| Mayor | Jay Suvaal | Labor |
| A Ward | Jessica Jurd | Independent |
| A Ward | James Hawkins | Labor |
| A Ward | Paul Dunn | Liberal |
| B Ward | Ian Olsen | Independent |
| B Ward | Anthony Burke | Labor |
| B Ward | John Moores | Liberal |
| C Ward | Anne-Marie Sander | Labor |
| C Ward | Karen Jackson | Liberal |
| C Ward | Daniel Watton | Independent |
| D Ward | Rosa Grine | Labor |
| D Ward | Mitchell Hill | Labor |
| D Ward | Paul Paynter | Independent |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Cessnock :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 15,563 | 40.65% | -1.8% | 6 | +1 |
| | Cessnock Independents | Cessnock Independents | 16,245 | 42.43% | +17.4% | 5 | +1 |
| | Greens | Greens | 1,080 | 2.82% | -7.1% | 0 | 0 |
| | Animal Justice | Animal Justice | 1,393 | 3.64% | +3.6% | 0 | 0 |
| | Independents | Independents | 4,008 | 10.47% | +9.4% | 1 | +1 |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 38,289 | 90.75% | -3.24% | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 3,905 | 9.25% | +3.24% | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 42,194 | 100.00% | | | |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Cessnock :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 15,136 | 42.5 | −6.2 | 5 | 2 |
| | Olsen Independents | Olsen Independents | 8,908 | 25.0 | +18.7 | 4 | 3 |
| | Liberal | Liberal | 7,676 | 21.6 | −0.9 | 3 | |
| | Greens | Greens | 3,509 | 9.9 | +2.8 | 0 | |
| | Independent | Independent | 389 | 1.1 | | 0 | 1 |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 35,618 | 93.99 | | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,274 | 6.01 | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 37,892 | 100.00 | | | |