| Type: | lga |
| Walgett Shire | |
| State: | nsw |
| Pop: | 6107 |
| Pop2: | 6051 |
| Pop2 Year: | 2018 est. |
| Pop2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area: | 22336 |
| Coordinates: | -30.0167°N 155°W |
| Seat: | Walgett |
| Mayor: | Jasen Ramien (Unaligned) |
| Region: | Orana |
| Logo Upright: | 1.2 |
| Url: | http://www.walgett.nsw.gov.au |
| Stategov: | Barwon |
| Fedgov: | Parkes |
| Near-Nw: | Balonne (Qld) |
| Near-N: | Balonne (Qld) |
| Near-Ne: | Balonne (Qld) |
| Near-E: | Moree Plains |
| Near-W: | Brewarrina |
| Near-Sw: | Warren |
| Near-S: | Coonamble |
| Near-Se: | Narrabri |
Walgett Shire is a local government area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland. The town of Walgett is located on the Namoi River, nearby to its junction with the Barwon River and at the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Castlereagh Highway. The Shire is divided between the agricultural areas (producing wool, cattle, wheat and cotton), which are near the Barwon and Namoi rivers or south-east of the Barwon River, and the outback country north-west of the Barwon River, including the black opal mining and fossicking town of Lightning Ridge. Prior to 1957, when Lightning Ridge was established as a significant settlement, the outback country was part of the Western Division.
The mayor of Walgett Shire Council is Jasen Ramien who is unaligned with any political party.[2]
Walgett Shire includes Walgett, Lightning Ridge, Collarenebri, Pokataroo, Rowena, Burren Junction, Cryon, Cumborah, Glengarry and Carinda. Come By Chance was established in 1840, before all of the above towns and villages.
Walgett Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics during 2003–04 there:[4]
| Selected historical census data for Walgett Shire local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2011 | 2016 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| % of New South Wales population | ||||||
| % of Australian population | ||||||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | English | |||||
| Australian | ||||||
| Italian | ||||||
| Chinese | ||||||
| Irish | ||||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | |||||
| Mandarin | ||||||
| Cantonese | ||||||
| Korean | ||||||
| Greek | ||||||
| Religious affiliation | ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | |||||
| No religion | ||||||
| Anglican | ||||||
| Eastern Orthodox | ||||||
| Buddhism | ||||||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Median weekly personal income | ||||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | |||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | |||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
Between 2004 and 2008, the council was controlled by an Administrator, Vic Smith,[5] appointed by the New South Wales Minister for Local Government. The previous Walgett Shire Council was split between factions representing Lightning Ridge and the rest of the Shire and apparently became unworkable as a result. In 2004, a public inquiry investigated the dispute, among other things, under the . Other matters investigated included poor administration, failure to properly inform councillors in relation to some matters, apparently illegal walkouts by some Councilors to frustrate votes and, in particular, events surrounding a failed project to build a community centre in Lightning Ridge.[6]
Walgett Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. 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 22 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:[7]
| Party | Councillors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaligned | align=right | 9 | ||
| Total | align=right | 9 | ||
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:[7]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Seaton | Unaligned | ||||
| Jasen Ramien | Unaligned | Mayor | |||
| Pauline Kearl | Unaligned | ||||
| Jane Keir | Unaligned | ||||
| Gregory Rummery | Unaligned | Deputy Mayor | |||
| Scott Bailey | Unaligned | ||||
| Jo Coleman | Unaligned | ||||
| Michael Cooke | Unaligned | ||||
| Daniel Walford | Unaligned | ||||