The Federation Council is a local government area located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Corowa Shire with its neighbouring Urana Shire.[3]
Federation Council New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 35°34′S 146°18′E | ||||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||||
• Density | 2.15954/km2 (5.5932/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Established | 12 May 2016 (2016-05-12)[3] | ||||||||||||||
Area | 5,685 km2 (2,195.0 sq mi)[3] | ||||||||||||||
Mayor | Patrick Bourke | ||||||||||||||
Council seat | Corowa | ||||||||||||||
Region | Riverina | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Albury | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Farrer | ||||||||||||||
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Website | Federation Council | ||||||||||||||
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The council comprises an area of 5,685 square kilometres (2,195 sq mi) and covers the urban areas of Corowa and Mulwala and the surrounding cropping and pastoral region to the north. It is bounded to the south by the Murray River and the state of Victoria. At the time of its establishment the council had an estimated population of 12,602.[3]
The inaugural mayor of Federation Council is Patrick Bourke from Urana, elected by his fellow councillors on 26 September 2017.[4]
In addition to the main urban centres of Corowa, Urana and Mulwala, localities in the area include Balldale, Boree Creek, Buraja, Coreen, Daysdale, Hopefield, Howlong, Lowesdale, Morundah, Oaklands, Rand, Rennie and Savernake.
The Federation Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (May 2016) |
Federation Council comprise nine Councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office.[3]
The interim Administrator of the Federation Council was solicitor and former professional rugby league footballer Mike Eden, until elections were held on 9 September 2017
The most recent election was held on 9 September 2017, and the makeup of the council is as follows:[10]
Party | Councillors | |
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Australian Labor Party | 0 | |
Greens NSW | 0 | |
Liberal Party of Australia | 0 | |
Independents and unaligned | 9 | |
Total | 9 |
Councillor | Party | Notes | |
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Shaun Whitechurch | Unaligned | Deputy Mayor | |
Patrick Bourke | Independent | Mayor, Former councillor and Mayor of Urana Shire | |
David Longley | Independent | ||
Paul Miegel | Independent | Former councillor and Mayor of Corowa Shire | |
Fred Longmire | Unaligned | Former councillor and Mayor of Corowa Shire | |
Bronwyn Thomas | Unaligned | ||
Gail Law | Unaligned | Former councillor of Corowa Shire | |
Norm Wales | Independent | ||
Andrew Kennedy | Unaligned | ||
The Federation Council was created by the Government of New South Wales as a result of an amalgamation of some local government bodies through a reform program between 2013 and 2016.[11][12] As part of the review, all New South Wales local government authorities were assessed by the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal on their historical and projected demographic data, financial sustainability, and other measures including their impact on the State's resources. Those council deemed "unfit" were asked to nominate their preferred merger partner in order to achieve economies of scale.[12][13] Corowa and Urana shires both nominated to merge with each other. In addition Lockhart Shire nominated Urana Shire as a preferred merger partner.[13] In December 2015, the Minister for Local Government Paul Toole proposed the amalgamation of all three Councils.[14] All three Councils opposed the proposal and a group of residents in the town of Mulwala in Corowa Shire threatened to secede and join Berrigan Shire if the three-way merger went ahead.[15][16] Corowa Shire put forward the alternate proposal being a merger of Corowa and Urana shires, despite objections from Urana Shire.[17] The Minister accepted the Corowa and Urana merger proposal and the Federation Council was proclaimed on 12 May 2016.[3]
Towns in the Federation Council local government area | |
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Towns and localities | |
Rural places | |
Main Article: Local government areas of New South Wales |
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