City of Cessnock

This article is about the local government area. For the regional city, see Cessnock, New South Wales.

City of Cessnock Cessnock, New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates
Population	50,840 (2011 census)
• Density	25.4/km2 (66/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	2320-2327, 2330, 2334, 2335
Area	1,966 km2 (759.1 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor	Bob Pynsent
Location	154 km (96 mi) N of Sydney 52 km (32 mi) W of Newcastle
Council seat	Cessnock
Region	Hunter
State electorate(s)	Cessnock
Federal Division(s)	Hunter
Website	City of Cessnock
LGAs around City of Cessnock: Singleton Singleton, Maitland Maitland Singleton City of Cessnock Newcastle Hawkesbury Hawkesbury, Gosford Lake Macquarie, Wyong

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. Bob Pynsent, a member of the Country Labor Party.

Main towns and villages

The Cessnock City Council area includes Kurri Kurri, Weston, Pelaw Main, Abermain, Aberdare, Bellbird, Kearsley, Mulbring, Kitchener, Paxton, Millfield, Ellalong, Wollombi, Neath Branxton and 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-Saxon 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			2001	2006	2011
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	45,071	46,206	50,840
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
		% of New South Wales population			0.73%
		% of Australian population	0.24%	0.23%	0.24%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			35.3%
		English			32.2%
		Scottish			8.4%
		Irish			7.1%
		German			2.9%
Language, top responses (other than English)		German	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%
		Cantonese	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
		Tagalog	0.1%	n/c	0.1%
		French	n/c	n/c	0.1%
		Italian	n/c	0.1%	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Anglican	33.6%	33.0%	31.1%
		Catholic	22.2%	21.9%	21.9%
		No Religion	11.0%	14.5%	18.5%
		Uniting Church	9.9%	8.5%	7.4%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	5.3%	4.7%	4.2%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$358	A$472
		% of Australian median income		76.8%	81.8%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,015	A$1,265
		% of Australian median income		86.7%	85.4%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$786	A$1,042
		% of Australian median income		76.5%	84.4%

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 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council, including the Mayor, is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Australian Labor Party	6
	Liberal Party of Australia	2
	Independent	2
	Clean Sweep Independents	1
	The Greens	1
	Palmer United Party	1
	Total	13

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
Mayor		Bob Pynsent	Country Labor
A Ward		James Hawkins	Country Labor
		Cordelia Troy	Independent	Resigned from the Liberal Party
		Allan Stapleford	Clean Sweep Independents	Deputy Mayor
B Ward		Morgan Campbell	Country Labor	Elected on Bob Pynsent's ticket
		Ian Olsen	Independent
		Bryce Gibson	Liberal
C Ward		Jeff Maybury	Country Labor
		Suellen Wrightson	Palmer United Party	Defected from the Liberal Party
		Catherine Parsons	Country Labor	Elected on Jeff Maybury's ticket
D Ward		Graham Smith	Country Labor
		Rod Doherty	Liberal
		James Ryan	Greens