The Snowy Monaro Regional Council is a local government area located in the Snowy Mountains and Monaro regions of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a forced merger of the Bombala, Cooma-Monaro and Snowy River shires.
The council comprises an area of and occupies the higher slopes of the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range between the Australian Capital Territory to the north and the state boundary with Victoria to the south. At the time of its establishment the council had an estimated population of . Its population at the was 21,666.
The Mayor of the Snowy Monaro Regional Council is Chris Hanna since 21 September 2023.
Towns and localities The following towns are located within Snowy Monaro Regional Council:
The following localities are located within Snowy Monaro Regional Council:
Heritage listings The Snowy Monaro Region has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Bombala, Goulburn-Bombala railway: Bombala railway station Bombala, 91 Main Road: Crankies Plain Bridge Bredbo, Goulburn-Bombala railway: Bredbo Rail Bridge Cooma, Bradley Street: Cooma railway station Cooma, 59–61 Lambie Street: Royal Hotel Cooma, Sharp Street: Rock Bolting Development Site Eucumbene, Old Adaminaby and Lake Eucumbene Kiandra: Kiandra Courthouse Kiandra: Matthews Cottage
Demographics The population for the predecessor councils was estimated in 2013 as: in Bombala Shire in Cooma-Monaro Shire and in Snowy River Shire.
At the there were 21,666 people in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council local government area; of these 51.5% were male and 48.5% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.1% of the population; the NSW and Australian averages are 3.4 and 3.2% respectively. The median age of people in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council was 43 years; the national median is 38 years. 78.9% of the population were born in Australia and 85.8% of households only speak English at home.
Selected historical census data for Snowy Monaro Regional Council local government areaCensus year 20162021Population Estimated residents on census night 20,218 21,666 LGA rank in terms of population size within New South Wales 69th 68th% of New South Wales population 0.27% 0.27%% of Australian population 0.09% 0.09%Cultural and language diversity Ancestry,top responses Australian 41.3% 39.8%English 39.2% 39.8%Irish 12.3% 12.8%Scottish 11.0% 12.5%German 5.4% 5.4%Language, used at home(other than English)German0.9% 0.7%Italian0.4% 0.4%Mandarin0.4% 0.7%French0.2% 0.2%Dutch0.2% 0.2%Thai0.2% 0.3%Spanish0.1% 0.5%Religious affiliation Religious affiliation,top responses No religion, so described29.8% 41.6%Catholic23.6% 20.3%Anglican20.4% 16.0%Not stated12.2% 9.2%Uniting Church2.7% 2.4%Median weekly incomes Personal incomeMedian weekly personal income A$675A$835% of Australian median income 102.0%103.7%Family income Median weekly family income A$1,569A$2,092% of Australian median income 90.5%98.7%Household income Median weekly household income A$1,200A$1,593% of Australian median income 83.4%91.2%
Council The Snowy Monaro Regional Council comprises eleven Councillors elected proportionally in a single ward. The Councillors elected for a fixed four-year term of office with effect from 4 December 2021 were: Hanna was re-elected mayor while Hopkins became deputy mayor in the 2024 council elections. New councillor Andrew Thaler was sworn in October 2024, but has subsequently been suspended three times due to his behaviour.
CouncillorPartyNotes Christopher Hanna Independent Current Mayor 2023–present Tanya Higgins Labor Deputy Mayor 2022–24 Narelle Davis Independent Mayor 2022–2023 Tricia Hopkins IndependentDeputy Mayor 2024–present Karlee Johnson Independent Elected as Karlee Pateman, switched to using her married name shortly thereafter. Bob Stewart Independent Re-elected Lynda Summers Labor Luke Williamson Independent Elected via countback in August 2022, following resignation of John Last. John Last Independent Resigned July 2022. Replaced by Luke Williamson following countback. John Castellari The GreensResigned August 2022. Replaced by Craig Mitchell following countback. Peter Beer Independent Re-elected Louise Frolich Independent Craig MitchellIndependentElected via countback in October 2022, following resignation of John Castellari. Andrew Thaler Independent Elected 2024
Election results 2024
See also
Local government areas of New South Wales
References
External links