| Type: | lga |
| Bega Valley | |
| State: | nsw |
| Coordinates: | -36.6667°N 199°W |
| Area: | 6279 |
| Mayor: | Russell Fitpatrick (Mayor) Anthony McMahon (CEO) |
| Seat: | Bega[1] |
| Region: | South Coast |
| Stategov: | Bega |
| Logo Upright: | 1.3 |
| Url: | http://www.begavalley.nsw.gov.au |
| Near-N: | Eurobodalla |
| Near-Ne: | Tasman Sea |
| Near-E: | Tasman Sea |
| Near-Se: | Tasman Sea |
| Near-S: | East Gippsland (Vic) |
| Near-Sw: | East Gippsland (Vic) |
| Est: | 1981 |
The Bega Valley Shire is a local government area located adjacent to the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the Municipality of Bega, Imlay Shire and Mumbulla Shire,[2] with its name deriving from the town of Bega. The shire is also known as the Sapphire Coast for tourism and marketing purposes. During the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, the area was devastated by fire, with 448 houses being destroyed by fire[3] and approximately 365,000 hectares burned, which is 58% of the Shire's total land mass.[4]
The estimated population as at the was .
The current Mayor is Russell Fitzpatrick, an independent who joined the Liberal Party in 2023.[5]
The shire covers 6040km2, and includes a coastline of, with 101 beaches and 26 estuaries. Around 78% of the area belongs to various national parks and state forests. The biggest industry is the production of timber, followed by dairy farming and other agriculture. Smaller industries include fishing, oyster harvesting, and tourism.[6] The Biamanga National Park includes important Aboriginal sites.[7]
The area extends from Bermagui in the north to the Victorian border in the south and includes the towns of Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Tura Beach, Wolumla, Cobargo, Bemboka, Pambula, Pambula Beach and the former whaling port, tourism hotspot, and major port of Eden.
Smaller localities include:
Bega Valley Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as one entire 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 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:[8]
| Party | Councillors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | 6 | |||
| Labor | 1 | |||
| Liberal | 1 | |||
| Greens | align=right | 1 | ||
| Total | align=right | 9 | ||
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helen O’Neil | Labor | ||||
| Karen Wright | Independent | ||||
| Russel Fitzpatrick | Liberal[9] | Mayor[10] | |||
| Tony Allen | Independent | ||||
| Cathy Griff | Greens | Deputy Mayor | |||
| Mitch Nadin | Independent | ||||
| David Porter | Independent | ||||
| Liz Seckold | Independent | ||||
| Joy Robin | Independent | ||||
| Selected historical census data for Bega Valley Shire local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2011 | 2016 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| % of New South Wales population | 0.46% | 0.44% | 0.44% | |||
| % of Australian population | 0.15% | 0.14% | 0.14% | |||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | English | 32.5% | 31.9% | 43.8% | ||
| Australian | 31.3% | 30.9% | 40.7 | |||
| Irish | 9.3% | 9.2% | 13.0% | |||
| Scottish | 8.4% | 8.2% | 11.4% | |||
| German | 3.8% | 3.7% | 5.1% | |||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | ||
| Dutch | 0.3% | 0.2% | – | |||
| Italian | 0.2% | 0.2% | – | |||
| French | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | |||
| Thai | n/r | 0.2% | 0.2% | |||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion, so described | 26.7% | 35.1% | 46.9% | ||
| Anglican | 27.3% | 21.9% | 16.4% | |||
| Catholic | 20.0% | 17.9% | 15.1% | |||
| Not stated | n/r | 10.4% | 8.3% | |||
| Uniting Church | 4.6% | 3.7% | 2.7% | |||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | $454 | $538 | $645 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 78.7% | 81.3% | 80.1% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | $1,014 | $1,242 | $ | ||
| % of Australian median income | 68.5% | 71.6% | 70.8% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | $848 | $986 | $ | ||
| % of Australian median income | 68.7% | 68.6% | 68.7% | |||