# Nambucca Valley Council

Nambucca Valley Council is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
The shire services an area of 1,491 square kilometres (576 sq mi) and is located adjacent to the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line. At the 2016 census, Nambucca Valley Council had a high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people residing within its boundaries; being 7.6 per cent of the population, nearly treble the national and state averages of 2.8 and 2.9 per cent respectively. Within the Shire's boundaries is Bowraville, one of the most socially disadvantaged areas in Australia.
The mayor of the Nambucca Valley Council is Gary Lee, an independent politician.
The local government area was created on 15 December 1915, from land excised from Bellingen Shire, and was originally called Nambucca Shire. The area was renamed Nambucca Valley from 4 December 2019.

## Towns and localities

Towns and localities in the Nambucca Valley Council area:
* Allgomerra
* Bowraville
* Burrapine
* Congarinni
* Eungai Creek
* Eungai Rail
* Gumma
* Hyland Park
* Macksville
* Medlow
* Missabotti
* Nambucca Heads
* Newee Creek
* Scotts Head
* Talarm
* Tamban
* Taylors Arm
* Tewinga
* Thumb Creek
* Utungun
* Valla
* Valla Beach
* Warrell Creek
* Wirrimbi
* Yarranbella

## Heritage listings

The Nambucca Valley has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Macksville, North Coast railway: Macksville railway station

## Demographics

At the 2021 census, there were 20,407 people in the Nambucca Valley local government area, of these 48.7 per cent were male and 51.3 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 8.0 per cent of the population, which was greater than the national and state averages of 3.2 and 3.4 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the Nambucca Valley Council was 52 years, some fourteen years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 15.7 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 30.0 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 42.4 per cent were married and 17.6 per cent were either divorced or separated.
The median weekly income for residents within the Nambucca Valley Council was significantly below the national average with $976 household income compared to $1,746 nationally, being one of the factors that place parts of the Nambucca Valley Council in an area of social disadvantage.
At the 2021 Census, the proportion of residents in the Nambucca Valley Council local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon was 84.2 per cent of all residents (the national average was 62.9 per cent). About 40.4 per cent of all residents in the Nambucca Valley Council identified with No Religion, so described at the 2021 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 38.4 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the 2021 census date, compared to the national average, households in the Nambucca Valley Council local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion of residents that 4.3 per cent spoke two or more languages at home (the national average was 24.8 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion of residents 89.0 per cent where English only was spoken at home (the national average was 72.0 per cent). Of the other languages, 0.3% of residents stated they speak Punjabi, 0.2% of residents stated they speak German, 0.2% stated they speak Nepali, 0.2% of residents stated that they speak Gumbaynggir, an Australian Aboriginal language, and 0.2% of residents stated they speak French.
Selected historical census data for Nambucca local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 17,660 | 17,897 | 18,644 | 19,212 | 20,407 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 71st | | |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | – | – | 0.27% | 0.26% | 0.25% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.09% | 0.09% | 0.09% | 0.08 | 0.08% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | – | – | 33.4% | 33.2% | 41.0% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | – | – | 32.6% | 31.9% | 43.2% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | – | – | 8.7% | 8.6% | 11.6% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | – | – | 7.9% | 7.8% | 11.2% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | German | – | – | 3.0% | 2.9% | – |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian Aboriginal | – | – | – | – | 7.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Gumbaynggir | – | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | French | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Dutch | – | 0.1% | 0.2% | – | – |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Nepali | – | – | – | – | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | – | – |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 30.3% | 28.1% | 25.7% | 21.7% | 15.8% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 22.1% | 21.4% | 21.8% | 19.4% | 17.2% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No Religion | 13.5% | 17.8% | 21.2% | 29.2% | 40.4% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Presbyterian and Reformed | 6.2% | 5.8% | 5.5% | 4.8% | 3.6% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Uniting Church | 6.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% | – | – |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | $296 | $377 | $467 | $527 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 63.5% | 65.3% | 70.5% | 65.2% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | $562 | $853 | $1080 | $1309 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 54.7% | 57.6% | 62.2% | 61.74% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | $642 | $700 | $835 | $976 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 54.8% | 56.7% | 58.1% | 55.8 |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Nambucca Valley Council is composed of nine councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the eight other councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021.
| Party | Councillors |
| Independents | 7 |
| Labor | 1 |
| Greens | 1 |
| Total | 9 |
The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is:
| Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Gary Lee | Independent | Mayor |
| James Angel | Independent | |
| Ljubov Simson | Independent | |
| David Jones | Greens | |
| Susan Jenvey | Labor | |
| Jane Smith | Independent | |
| Troy Vance | Independent | |
| Tamara Castle | Independent | |
| Martin Ballangarry | Independent | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Nambucca Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate |
| | Independent | James Angel |
| | Independent | Ljubov Simson |
| | Independent | Tamara Castle |
| | Greens | David Jones |
| | Labor | Susan Jenvey |
| | Independent | Jane Smith |
| | Independent | Troy Vance |
| | Independent | Martin Ballangarry |
| | Independent | Marc Percival |
| | Independent | Gary Lee |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Nambucca Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Rhonda Hoban | 5,161 | 42.9 |
| | Labor | Susan Jenvey (elected) | 1,984 | 16.5 |
| | Independent | James Angel (elected) | 828 | 6.9 |
| | Independent | Ricky Buchanan (elected) | 602 | 5.0 |
| | Independent | Trevor Ballangarry (elected) | 524 | 4.4 |
| | Independent | David Hall | 498 | 4.1 |
| | Independent | David Jones (elected) | 415 | 3.4 |
| | Independent | Martin Ballangarry (elected) | 414 | 3.4 |
| | Independent | Barry Clow | 365 | 3.0 |
| | Independent | Peter Sobey | 352 | 2.9 |
| | Independent | Michael Scafidi | 345 | 2.9 |
| | Independent | Troy Vance (elected) | 342 | 2.8 |
| | Independent | John Wilson (elected) | 213 | 1.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 12,043 | 93.9 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 783 | 6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,826 | 80.4 |