Inner West Council

Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Inner West LGA makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of the former Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville councils.

The Inner West LGA covers an area of and as at the had an estimated population of .

The Mayor of Inner West Council is Darcy Byrne, re-elected by the councillors on 8 October 2024. The most recent NSW local government election, held on 14 September 2024, resulted in a Labor majority of 8 Councillors, for the second consecutive term.

History In the early 2010s, the New South Wales Government explored merging various local government areas to create larger councils within Sydney. In 2013, the Independent Local Government Review Panel (ILGRP) initially proposed a merger of the six inner west councils - Burwood, Strathfield, Canada Bay, Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville, into a single council that would govern almost all of the inner west region.Merger Proposal: Burwood Council, City of Canada Bay Council, Strathfield Municipal Council , January 2016 Alternative mergers were also proposed, such as one between Auburn, Burwood and Canada Bay, or between Burwood, Canada Bay, Strathfield and Ashfield.Strathfield Council rejects proposal to merge with Burwood, Ashfield and Canada Bay, 26 April 2013 The final proposal in the 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Municipality of Ashfield, the Municipality of Leichhardt and the Marrickville Council merge to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately . On 12 May 2016, Ashfield Council, Marrickville Council and the Municipality of Leichhardt merged to form the Inner West Council.

The Inner West Council was the first local authority in Sydney to end Australia Day celebrations, from 2020.

Proposed de-amalgamation In December 2021, a majority of voters in the Inner West LGA voted in favour of reversing the 2016 merger and separating the three pre-existing councils of Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville. The final declared results were: 62% yes and 38% no.

In 2022, the council prepared a business case for de-amalgamation. In December 2022, Inner West Council prepared and submitted a final submission to the NSW Minister for Local Government.

However in March 2024, the Minister for Local Government received the NSW Local Government Boundaries Commission's report regarding the Council's business case for de-amalgamation. The report recommended that the proposed de-amalgamation of Inner West Council should not proceed, stating this would be the best outcome for residents and ratepayers of the current local government area.

Suburbs and localities in the local government area are:

Demographics At the , there were people in the Inner West local government area; of these 48.8 per cent were male and 51.2 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.2 per cent of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 3.4 and 3.2 per cent respectively. The median age of people in Inner West Council was 38 years; same as the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 14.6 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, 37.1 per cent were married and 10.7 per cent were either divorced or separated.

At the 2021 census, the proportion of residents in the Inner West local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or from Britain or Ireland was about 68 per cent of all residents. In excess of 49 per cent of all residents in Inner West Council nominated a no religious affiliation at the 2021 census, which was in excess of the national average of 38.4 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Inner West local government area had a higher than average proportion (42.9 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (the national average was 31.8 per cent); and a lower proportion (69.8 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72.0 per cent).

The demographics of renters leaving the council area, possibly due to the Australian rental crisis, is of interest. In 2016 there were 14,085 people aged 20-24, which dropped to 13,582 by 2024. In 2016 there were 20,091 people aged 25-29, which dropped to 19,933 by 2024.; Table 3, J8269, J12645, K8269, K12645.

Selected historical census data for Inner West Council local government areaCensus year 20212016201120062001Population Estimated residents on census night   182,043 263,560  168,323155,456 LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 14 % of New South Wales population 2.43% % of Australian population 0.78% Estimated ATSI population on census night  2,162 2,034  1,585 624636% of ATSI population to residents  1.2% 1.1% 0.6 0.4%0.4%Cultural and language diversity Ancestry,top responses English 29.9% 21.0%16.6%--Australian 24.4% 16.7%15.7--Irish 13.7% 9.8%7.5%--Scottish 9.6%6.5%---Chinese 8.5% 5.9%10.3%--Language,top responses(other than English) Mandarin 3.3% 3.6% 5.9% 6.2%4.0%Greek 2.7% 2.9%2.7%-3.2%Italian 2.2%  2.8% 5.7% 7.6%9.0%Vietnamese 2.0% 2.0%---Cantonese 1.9%  1.9% 4.3% 5.6%5.3%Religious affiliation Religious affiliation,top responses No religion, so described  49.7% 40.4% 23.6% 15.5%12.7%Catholic 20.5% 22.4% 31.9% 36.2%38.8%Not stated 5.4% 10.7%---Anglican 5.8% 7.1% 9.6% 10.0%12.1%Eastern Orthodox 4.2% 4.2% 4.8% 5.0%5.5%Median weekly incomes Personal income Median weekly personal income $1,207 $957 $723$534-% of Australian median income 144.6% Family income Median weekly family income  $3,155 $2,498 $1,985$1,456-% of Australian median income 144.1% Household income Median weekly household income  $2,340 $2,048 $1,662$1,191-% of Australian median income 142.4%

Council The Inner West Council comprises fifteen Councillors elected proportionally, with three Councillors elected in five wards. On 9 September 2017, the previous composition of the council was elected for a fixed three-year term of office (which was extended for twelve months in 2020 to December 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic); the mayor is appointed biennially and deputy mayor annually by the councillors at the first meeting of the council.

Officeholders MayorTermNotes Richard Pearson (Administrator) 12 May 2016 – 21 September 2017 Darcy Byrne (ALP) 21 September 2017 – 7 September 2021 Mayor of Leichhardt 2012–2014, 2015–2016. Rochelle Porteous (GRN) 7 September 2021 – 29 December 2021 Mayor of Leichhardt 2011–2012, 2014–2015. Darcy Byrne (ALP) 29 December 2021 – present Deputy MayorTermNotes Julie Passas (Lib) 21 September 2017 – 11 September 2018 Ashfield East Ward Councillor 2012–2016. Victor Macri (Ind) 11 September 2018 – 10 September 2019 Mayor of Marrickville 2012–2013. Vittoria Raciti (Lib) 10 September 2019 – 22 September 2020 Ashfield North East Ward Councillor 2012–2016. Victor Macri (Ind) 22 September 2020 – 7 September 2021 Marrickville Ward Councillor 2017–2021. Pauline Lockie (Ind) 7 September 2021 – 29 December 2021 Jessica D'Arienzo (ALP) 29 December 2021 – 13 September 2022 Philippa Scott (ALP) 13 September 2022 – 19 September 2023 Chloe Smith (ALP) 19 September 2023 – 2024 Mat Howard (ALP) 8 October 2024 – 2025 Chloe Smith (ALP) 22 September 2025 – present General Manager/CEOKnown as the Chief Executive Officer until 30 October 2020.TermNotes Vanessa Chan 12 May 2016 – 1 September 2016 General Manager of Ashfield Council 2010–2016 Rik Hart 9 September 2016 – 20 February 2019 General Manager of Warringah Council 2007–2016 Michael Deegan 20 February 2019 – 19 October 2020 Elizabeth Richardson (acting) 19 October 2020 – 30 October 2020 Brian Barrett (acting) 30 October 2020 – 9 April 2021 General Manager of Marrickville Council 2013–2016 Elizabeth Richardson (acting) 9 April 2021 – 3 May 2021 Peter Gainsford 3 May 2021 – present General Manager of the City of Canada Bay 2018–2021

Current composition The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council by order of election, is as follows:

PartyCouncillors  Australian Labor Party 8  Greens NSW 5  Liberal Party 1  Independents 1 Total 15

WardCouncillorPartyNotes Ashfield – Djarrawunang (Magpie) Ward   Izabella Antoniou Greens   Jo Carlisle Labor   Jessica D'Arienzo Labor Deputy Mayor 2021–2022.Balmain – Baludarri (Leather Jacket) Ward  Ismet Tastan Greens   Darcy Byrne Labor Elected 2017; Mayor 2017–2021, 2021–present;  Kerrie Fergusson Labor Leichhardt – Gulgadya (Grass Tree) Ward  Andrew Blake Greens   Philippa Scott Labor Deputy Mayor 2022–2023.  Vittoria Raciti LiberalMarrickville – Midjuburi (Lillypilly) Ward  Mat Howard Labor Deputy Mayor 2024–present  Olivia Barlow Greens   Victor Macri Independent Stanmore – Damun (Port Jackson Fig) Ward  Liz Atkins Greens Elected 2021  Chloe Smith Labor Deputy Mayor 2023–2024.  Vicki Clay Labor

Town halls

The Inner West Council owns and maintains the three seats of the three pre-merger councils, being Ashfield Town Hall, Petersham Town Hall and Leichhardt Town Hall. Since 2021, all Council meetings have been held at the Ashfield Service Centre.

In addition, the Council also owns the Marrickville, Balmain and St Peters town halls, which were the seats of municipal councils that had existed prior to their merger into the immediate predecessor councils.

Election results 2024

2021

Past councillors Ashfield–Djarrawunang Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Mark DruryLabor Tom KiatGreens Julie PassasLiberal 2021 Dylan GriffithsGreens Jessica D'ArienzoLabor

Balmain–Baludarri Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Darcy ByrneLabor Rochelle PorteousGreens John Stamolis Independent 2021 Kobi ShettyGreens

Leichhardt–Gulgadya Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Lucille McKennaLabor Marghanita Da CruzGreens Vittoria RacitiLiberal 2021 Philippa ScottLabor Tim StephensLabor

Marrickville–Midjuburi Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Sam IskandarLabor Colin HesseGreens Victor MacriIndependent 2021 Mat HowardLabor Justine LangfordGreens Zoi TsardouliasLabor

Stanmore–Damun Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Anna YorkLabor Louise SteerGreens Pauline LockieIndependent 2021  Chloe SmithLabor Liz AtkinsGreens

Inner West Library Service

The Inner West Library Service consists of a network of 8 libraries located within the Inner West Council boundaries. After the Inner West Council amalgamation, a new library management system was launched on 1 March 2019, with a soft launch in late February allowing members to borrow from all libraries in the service.

The libraries of the Inner West Library Service include: Ashfield Library Balmain Library Emmanuel Tsardoulias Community Dulwich Hill Library Haberfield Library Leichhardt Library Marrickville Library Stanmore Library St Peters/Sydenham Library

See also

Local government areas of New South Wales

Notes

References

External links