The mayor of Eurobodalla Shire Council is Cr. Mathew Hatcher, an unaligned politician.[3]
He is also the youngest mayor, in the modern-era, ever for the Eurobodalla.[citation needed] The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Alison Worthington, is the first female Deputy Mayor for the Eurobodalla.[citation needed]
Towns and localities
The shire chambers are located in the town of Moruya in the central part of the Shire. Other major towns within the shire include Batemans Bay and Narooma. Smaller towns, suburbs and hamlets include:
The area which is now Eurobodalla Shire was originally the home of the South Coast Bugelli-Manji and YuinAboriginal peoples[citation needed]. The council signed a Commitment to Indigenous Australians and a Local Agreement with the Aboriginal Community.[5]
The Eurobodalla Shire Council was formed in 1913 with the responsibility for administering local government functions along 110 kilometres (68 mi) of the NSW coast between Durras and Wallaga Lake. The council administers only about 30% of the area of the Shire as the remaining 70% is non-rateable crown land held as national park and state forest: 40% of the shire is national park, 30% is state forest, 20% is productive farmland and 10% is urban settlement.[6]
The Shire is unusual in that nearly half of ratepayers are non-residents. Just over 17% of ratepayers are residents of Canberra. Although the permanent population is around 34,100, the visiting population (who stay more than 3 nights) is 3.1 million per year.[6]
Heritage listings
The Eurobodalla Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
The main growth industries in the area are construction, government services, real estate, retail, retirement, aged care, tourism, while dairy farming, forestry, sawmilling and commercial fishing are traditional industries in decline. Eurobodalla Shire is serviced by two highways – the Princes Highway between Sydney and Melbourne (part of Highway One around Australia), and the Kings Highway (National Route 52) linking Batemans Bay to Canberra. Moruya Airport, just east of the township of Moruya, is serviced by regular scheduled commuter flights to Sydney and Melbourne. There are no railways or major seaports in Eurobodalla Shire.
Census 2021 statistics
Demographics
In the 2021 census, the Local Government Area of Eurobodalla recorded a population of 40,593 people.[1]
The area of 3,428 square kilometre gives a population density 11.8 people per square kilometre.
Age distribution
Median age: 54, compared to the national median on 38.
Children aged under 15 years: 13.9%.
People aged 65 years and over: 32.9%.
Nation of birth
Australia – 77.9%, compared to the national average of 66.9%
England – 4.8%
New Zealand – 1.3%
Germany – 0.7%
Scotland – 0.6%
Netherlands – 0.5%
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders: 6.1%
Languages spoken at home
English only – 88.5%
German – 0.3%
Italian – 0.3%
Croatian – 0.2%
Spanish – 0.2%
Greek – 0.2%
Religion
No Religion – 41.9%
Catholic – 18.9%
Anglican – 17.3%
Uniting Church – 2.5%
Housing
Median weekly rent: $325
Median monthly home loan repayments: $1,517
Median weekly individual income: $618
Median weekly household income: $1,167
Household motor vehicle ownership
No vehicle – 4.3%
One vehicle – 38.3%
Two vehicles – 37.7%
Three or more vehicles – 17.9%
Housing tenure
Owned outright – 49.3%
Owned with a mortgage – 23.8%
Rented – 22.5%
Structure of inhabited dwellings
Separate houses – 83.6%
Semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc. – 8.3%
Flats, units or apartments – 5.9%
Other dwellings – 1.9%
Employment
Worked full-time – 47.6%
Worked part-time – 40.4%
Away from work – 7.9%
Unemployed – 4.1%
Council
Current composition and election method
Eurobodalla Shire 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 25 October 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows:[11][12]
^"Corunna". New South Wales. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
^Shain, Kathryn (2005). "Eurobodalla Shire Council". Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements Project – Agreements Database. University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 20 May 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2006.
^"TEAM POLLOCK". Facebook. Sofia Keady - Candidate for Eurobodalla Council. 10 September 2024. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.