Mackay Regional Council
It has an estimated operating budget of A$118 million.
In the 2021 census, the Mackay Region had a population of 121,691 people.
History
Yuwibara (also known as Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuwibara country. It is closely related to the Biri languages/dialects. The Yuwibara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mackay Region.
Prior to 2008, the Mackay Region was an entire area of three previous and distinct local government areas:
- the City of Mackay;
- the Shire of Mirani;
- and the Shire of Sarina.
The city had its beginning in the Mackay Municipality which was proclaimed on 22 September 1869 under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864. Its first mayor was David Dalrymple, and the council first met on 1 December 1869. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the Local Government Act. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Mackay became a Town on 31 March 1903, and was ultimately proclaimed a City on 17 August 1918.
On 11 December 1879, the Pioneer Division came into being as one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879, chaired by John Ewen Davidson. On 31 March 1903, Pioneer became a Shire. Two areas split away from it over the next decade; the Shire of Sarina on 1 January 1912, and the Shire of Mirani on 4 September 1913.
On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Mackay area be rationalised. The Local Government (Mackay and Pioneer) Regulation 1993 was gazetted on 17 December 1993, and on 30 March 1994, the two amalgamated into a larger City of Mackay, which first met on 8 April 1994.
Mackay Region
In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released a report making recommendations for statewide reform of local government boundaries, and recommended that the three areas of Mackay, Mirani and Sarina amalgamate, due mainly to Mackay's role as a regional centre and all three shires' involvement in sugar production. The City of Mackay endorsed the suggestion, but the two shires proposed alternative options. In the end, the commission's proposal was unchanged. On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.
Mayors
 |
- 2000–present: Gregory Roy Williamson
Council
Mackay Regional Council | |
|---|---|
| Leadership | |
Mayor | |
Deputy Mayor | Karen May, Team Greg Williamson |
| Seats | 11 elected representatives, including a mayor and 10 councillors |
| Elections | |
Last election | 16 March 2024 |
Mackay Regional Council is unsubdivided, meaning it does not have any wards. The mayor is directly-elected.
The incumbent mayor, Greg Williamson, formed the Greg Williamson Alliance ahead of the 2016 election, with six members of the group re-elected in 2020.
In 2023, four councillors left the group, and in 2024 Team Greg Williamson was formed with the stated aim of "creat[ing] a progressive, modern council".
Current composition
The current council, elected in 2024, is:
| Position | Councillor | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Greg Williamson | Team Greg Williamson | |
| Councillor | Karen May | Team Greg Williamson | |
| Martin Bella | Independent | ||
| George Christensen | Mackay First | ||
| Namarca Corowa | Mackay First | ||
| Peter Sheedy | Independent | ||
| Belinda Hassan | Independent Labor | ||
| Allison Jones | Independent | ||
| Ash-Lee Johnson | Team Greg Williamson | ||
| Nathenea MacRae | Mackay First | ||
| Heath Paton | Mackay First | ||
Past councillors
2020−present
| Year | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Karen May (Williamson Alliance/Team Williamson) | Martin Bella (Ind/Ind. LNP/Ind) | Laurence Bonaventura (Ind.) | Justin Englert (Williamson Alliance/Ind.) | Michelle Green (Williamson Alliance/Team Williamson) | Belinda Hassan (Williamson Alliance/Ind. Labor) | Alison Jones (Ind.) | Fran Mann (Williamson Alliance/Ind. Labor) | Russell Seymour (Ind.) | Pauline Townsend (Williamson Alliance/Ind.) | ||||||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | George Christensen (Mackay First) | Namarca Corowa (Mackay First) | Peter Sheedy (Ind.) | Ash-Lee Johnson (Team Williamson) | Nathenea MacRae (Mackay First) | Heath Paton (Mackay First) | ||||||||||||||
Election results
2024
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Labor | Belinda Hassan (elected) | 26,376 | 4.16 | ||
| Mackay First | George Christensen (elected) | 25,556 | 4.03 | ||
| Mackay First | Namarca Corowa (elected) | 25,440 | 4.01 | ||
| Independent | Martin Bella (elected) | 25,364 | 4.00 | ||
| Independent | Peter Sheedy (elected) | 25,118 | 3.96 | ||
| Team Greg Williamson | Ash-Lee Johnson (elected) | 24,404 | 3.85 | ||
| Independent | Alison Jones (elected) | 24,399 | 3.84 | ||
| Mackay First | Nathenea MacRae (elected) | 24,149 | 3.80 | ||
| Mackay First | Heath Paton (elected) | 24,084 | 3.79 | ||
| Team Greg Williamson | Karen May (elected) | 24,000 | 3.78 | ||
| Team Greg Williamson | Michelle Green | 23,941 | 3.77 | ||
| Independent | Pauline Townsend | 23,601 | 3.72 | ||
| Mackay First | Melissa Fowler | 23,486 | 3.70 | ||
| Independent Labor | Fran Mann | 23,118 | 3.64 | ||
| Mackay First | Keith Hicks | 22,705 | 3.58 | ||
| Mackay First | Jeff Keioskie | 22,390 | 3.53 | ||
| Mackay First | Kylee Stanton | 22,274 | 3.51 | ||
| Mackay First | Ian Christensen | 21,831 | 3.44 | ||
| Team Greg Williamson | Neil Wallace | 21,730 | 3.42 | ||
| Mackay First | Lindsay Temple | 21,222 | 3.34 | ||
| Independent | Justin Englert | 19,432 | 3.06 | ||
| Independent | Greg Fisher | 19,076 | 3.01 | ||
| Team Greg Williamson | Peter Freeleagus | 18,902 | 2.98 | ||
| Independent | Russell Seymour | 18,063 | 2.85 | ||
| Independent | Kimberly Doyle | 17,805 | 2.81 | ||
| Team Greg Williamson | Stephen Cutting | 17,792 | 2.80 | ||
| Independent | Les Scott | 17,462 | 2.75 | ||
| Team Greg Williamson | Joshua Thornton | 17,370 | 2.74 | ||
| Independent LNP | Ian Rowan | 13,580 | 2.14 | ||
| Turnout | 73,008 | 82.16 | |||
| Party total votes | |||||
| Mackay First | 233,137 | 36.73 | +36.73 | ||
| Independent | 190,320 | 29.98 | |||
| Team Greg Williamson | 148,139 | 23.34 | |||
| Independent Labor | 49,494 | 7.80 | |||
| Independent LNP | 13,580 | 2.14 | |||
| Party total seats | Seats | ± | |||
| Mackay First | 4 |  4
| |||
| Independent | 3 |  1
| |||
| Team Greg Williamson | 2 | 4
| |||
| Independent Labor | 1 | 1
| |||
- Team Greg Williamson changes compared with Greg Williamson Alliance at 2020 election
- Belinda Hassan was elected as Greg Williamson Alliance but became Independent Labor in December 2023
- Fran Mann was elected as Greg Williamson Alliance but became Independent Labor in December 2023
- Justin Englert was elected as Greg Williamson Alliance but became independent in December 2023
- Pauline Townsend was elected as Greg Williamson Alliance but became independent in December 2023
Settlements
The Mackay Region includes the following settlements:
Suburbs
|
Towns |
Localities |
National Parks
|
Mirani area
|
Sarina area
|
Demographics
The population figures for each of the predecessor local government areas prior to the 2008 amalgamation:
| Year | Total Region | Mackay | Pioneer | Mirani | Sarina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 28,124 | 10,665 | 9,926 | 4,412 | 3,121 |
| 1947 | 32,947 | 13,486 | 11,606 | 4,587 | 3,268 |
| 1954 | 37,924 | 14,762 | 14,316 | 5,056 | 3,790 |
| 1961 | 41,196 | 16,809 | 15,741 | 4,760 | 3,886 |
| 1966 | 48,580 | 18,640 | 19,900 | 5,379 | 4,611 |
| 1971 | 51,903 | 19,148 | 22,561 | 4,772 | 5,422 |
| 1976 | 57,903 | 20,224 | 26,938 | 4,889 | 5,852 |
| 1981 | 66,057 | 20,664 | 33,732 | 4,739 | 6,922 |
| 1986 | 70,674 | 22,199 | 36,084 | 4,854 | 7,537 |
| 1991 | 76,372 | 23,052 | 40,614 | 4,625 | 8,081 |
| 1996 | 86,376 | 71,894 | 5,088 | 9,394 | |
| 2001 | 89,877 | 75,020 | 5,220 | 9,637 | |
| 2006 | 101,525 | 85,450 | 5,406 | 10,720 | |
The estimated population figures (official census population figures are in bold) for the amalgamated Mackay Region from 2008.
| Year | Total Region Population | Change Since Previous Year | % Change Since Previous Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 108,644 | +2,618 | +2.47% | |
| 2009 | 111,455 | +2,811 | +2.59% | |
| 2010 | 113,699 | +2,244 | +2.01% | |
| 2011 | 112,798 | -901 | -0.79% | |
| 2012 | 117,603 | +4,805 | +4.26% | |
| 2013 | 119,076 | +1,473 | +1.25% | |
| 2014 | 119,272 | +196 | +0.16% | |
| 2015 | 118,771 | -501 | -0.42% | |
| 2016 | 114,969 | -3,802 | -3.20% | |
| 2017 | 116,601 | +1,632 | +1.42% | |
| 2018 | 116,514 | -87 | -0.07% | |
| 2019 | 116,761 | +247 | +0.21% | |
| 2020 | 117,902 | +1,141 | +0.98% | |
| 2021 | 121,691 | +3,789 | +3.21% |
Services
The Mackay Regional Council operates libraries in Mackay, Mount Pleasant, Walkerston, Sarina and Mirani. A mobile library service visits the following districts on a fortnightly schedule: Yalboroo, Bloomsbury, Midge Point, Ball Bay, Seaforth, Koumala, Swayneville, Hay Point, St Helens Beach, Calen, Shoal Point, Oakenden, Habana, Blacks Beach, Slade Point, Hampden, Marian, Gargett, Finch Hatton, Homebush, Chelona, McEwens Beach and Bucasia.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mackay Region (LGA)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ "2016 Mackay Regional Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^
This Wikipedia article incorporates CC BY 4.0 licensed text from: "Yuwibara". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ 28 Vic No. 21 (Imp)
- ^ Mackay Regional Council (2009). "History of council". Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ Queensland Local Government Reform Commission (July 2007). Report of the Local Government Reform Commission (PDF). Vol. 2. Local government Reform Commission. pp. 199–203. ISBN 978-1-921057-11-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Mackay councillors to break from Mayor Greg Williamson's alliance in 2024". The Courier Mail.
- ^ "FOR OUR REGION Team Greg Williamson Announces Candidates For Local Election". Mackay & Whitsunday Life.
- ^ "Steve 'Jacko' Jackson's Mackay First team: Meet the candidates". The Courier Mail.
- ^ "Mackay councillors to break from Mayor Greg Williamson's alliance in 2024". The Courier Mail.
- ^ "IAN JAMES ROWAN". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
- ^ 2011 Census QuickStats: Mackay (R) Australian Bureau of Statistics 28th March 2013
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mackay Region (LGA)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ Mackay Economic Profile 2018 Mackay Regional Council 2018
- ^ "Libraries: Contact/Opening Hours". Mackay Regional Council. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- ^ "Mobile Library Timetable 2017" (PDF). Mackay Regional Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
External links
Media related to Mackay Region at Wikimedia Commons
- "Looking back and moving forward: A brief history of Mackay Regional Council" (PDF). Mackay Regional Council. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 January 2022.