The Hills Shire

The Hills Shire New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°46′S 151°00′E / 33.767°S 151.000°E / -33.767; 151.000Coordinates: 33°46′S 151°00′E / 33.767°S 151.000°E / -33.767; 151.000
Population	160,339 (2015)[1]
• Density	415/km2 (1,070/sq mi)
Area	386 km2 (149.0 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor	Clr Michelle Byrne (Liberal)
Council seat	Castle Hill
Region	Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)	Baulkham Hills Castle Hill Hawkesbury Parramatta Seven Hills
Federal Division(s)	Berowra Mitchell Parramatta
Website	The Hills Shire
LGAs around The Hills Shire: Hawkesbury Central Coast Council Hornsby Blacktown The Hills Shire Hornsby Blacktown Parramatta Parramatta

The Hills Shire (previously Baulkham Hills Shire) is a local government area of in the north western region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area encompasses 401 square kilometres (155 sq mi) stretching from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to Wiseman's Ferry on the Hawkesbury River in the north.

The current Mayor of The Hills Shire is Cr. Michelle Byrne, a member of the Liberal Party. The Mayoral position is soon to be elected by popular vote, ending a system of short term, usually one year, appointment of the Mayor by the elected councillors.

History

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) recommended that The Hills Shire merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of parts of The Hills with the Hawkesbury City Council to form a new council with an area of 3,161 square kilometres (1,220 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 224,000.^[2] The second proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta, Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council with an area of 82 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 215,725.^[3] Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced that the merger of parts of The Hills Shire suburbs south of the M2 Motorway (North Rocks, Northmead and part of Baulkham Hills) with the City of Parramatta to form a revised City of Parramatta Council, with immediate effect. Other proposals impacting The Hills Shire were rejected by the Government.^[4]

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs at least partially within The Hills Shire are:

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 169,872 people in The Hills local government area, of these 49.4% were male and 50.6% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.4% of the population. The median age of people in The Hills Shire was 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 11.6% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 61.1% were married and 7.2% were either divorced or separated.^[5]

Population growth in The Hills Shire between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 15.2%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 6.58%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in The Hills local government area was nearly double the national average.^[6] The median weekly income for residents within The Hills Shire was approximately 150% higher than the national average.^[5][7]

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in The Hills local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon approached 45% of all residents. In excess of 50% of all residents in The Hills Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was in line with the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in The Hills local government area had a higher than average proportion (33.0%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a lower proportion (68.9%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).^[5]

Selected historical census data for The Hills local government area
Census year			2001[6]	2006[7]	2011[5]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	138,420	159,391	169,872
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			9th
		% of New South Wales population			2.46%
		% of Australian population	0.74%	0.80%	0.79%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			22.1%
		English			21.5%
		Chinese			8.5%
		Irish			6.5%
		Scottish			5.4%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Cantonese	4.4%	4.5%	4.4%
		Mandarin	1.5%	2.4%	3.9%
		Korean	1.3%	1.6%	2.1%
		Arabic	1.6%	1.8%	1.9%
		Hindi	0.6%	0.9%	1.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	32.3%	32.5%	31.4%
		Anglican	22.7%	20.0%	18.5%
		No Religion	10.4%	12.5%	15.7%
		Uniting Church	6.2%	5.1%	4.2%
		Hinduism	1.6%	2.4%	3.1%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$625	A$719
		% of Australian median income		134.1%	124.6%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,732	A$2,188
		% of Australian median income		168.6%	147.7%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,847	A$2,044
		% of Australian median income		157.7%	165.6%

Current composition and election method

The Hills Shire Council is composed of twelve Councillors elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three Councillors. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:^{[8][9][10][11]}

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

A referendum was held on 1 September 2015 and an absolute majority of voters resolved in favour of the direct election of the Mayor by electors for a four-year term which necessarily increases the number of Councillors by one.^[13] The change will take effect at the next elections in 2017 unless changed by another referendum before then.^[14]

Sister cities

• County Wexford, Ireland
• Cootamundra, Australia

See also

• Hills District
• Hills Centre

References

External links

• The Hills Shire Council