| City of Greater Geelong | |
| Type: | lga |
| State: | vic |
| Pop: | 271,057 |
| Pop Year: | 2021 |
| Poprank: | 12th |
| Area: | 1248 |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Est: | 1993 |
| Gazetted: | 18 May 1993[2] |
| Mayor: | Trent Sullivan (Liberal) |
| Mayortitle: | Mayor |
| Seat: | Geelong city centre |
| Region: | Barwon South West |
| Logo Upright: | 1.2 |
| Url: | http://www.geelongcity.vic.gov.au/ |
| Stategov: | Bellarine |
| Stategov2: | Geelong |
| Stategov3: | Lara |
| Stategov4: | South Barwon |
| Fedgov: | Corangamite |
| Fedgov2: | Corio |
| Near-Nw: | Golden Plains |
| Near-N: | Moorabool |
| Near-Ne: | Wyndham |
| Near-E: | Port Phillip Bay |
| Near-Se: | Queenscliffe |
| Near-S: | Bass Strait |
| Near-Sw: | Surf Coast |
| Near-W: | Golden Plains |
The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of 1248km2 and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census.[3] It is primarily urban with the vast majority of its population living in the Greater Geelong urban area, while other significant settlements within the LGA include Anakie, Balliang, Barwon Heads, Batesford, Ceres, Clifton Springs, Drysdale, Lara, Ocean Grove, Portarlington and St Leonards. It was formed in 1993 from the amalgamation of the Rural City of Bellarine, Shire of Corio, City of Geelong, City of Geelong West, City of Newtown, City of South Barwon, and parts of Shire of Barrabool and Shire of Bannockburn.
The City is governed and administered by the Greater Geelong City Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Geelong, it also has service centres located in Drysdale, Ocean Grove and several other locations within Geelong. The City is named after the main urban settlement located in the centre-west of the LGA, that is Geelong, which is also the LGA's most populous urban centre with a population of 211,986.[4]
In 2019, City of Greater Geelong announced a new headquarters across the road from WorkSafe Victoria. The project will be part of the new "Civic Precinct" in the Geelong CBD.
Sourced from Appendix V, A Journey to Destiny 1890–1990 – 100 Years of Cement Manufacturing at Fyansford by Australian Cement Limited .[6]
Due to conflicts in the previous council a new electoral structure was established for Geelong in 2017. The number of wards was reduced to 4 with 3 councillors for each (except Windermere having 2) elected by proportional representation. Residents were also no longer able to directly elect a mayor. [7] The current councillors, in order of election at the 2020 election, are:[8]
| Ward | Party | Councillor | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellarine | Put Climate First | Elise Wilkinson | Elected on a countback to replace Stephanie Asher | ||
| Independent Liberal | Trent Sullivan | Mayor | |||
| Independent Labor | Jim Mason | ||||
| Brownbill | Independent Labor | Melissa Cadwell | Elected on a countback to replace Sarah Mansfield | ||
| Independent | Eddy Kontelj | ||||
| Independent | Peter Murrihy | ||||
| Kardinia | Independent | Bruce Harwood | |||
| Independent Liberal | Ron Nelson | ||||
| Put Climate First | Belinda Moloney | ||||
| Windermere | Independent | Anthony Aitken | |||
| Sarah Hathway | Elected on a countback to replace Kylie Grzybek[9] | ||||
In December 2015, the Minister for Local Government Natalie Hutchins appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the Greater Geelong City Council in response to concerns about the workplace culture and adequacy of governance structures.[10]
The Inquiry found that the council is riven with conflict, unable to manage Geelong's economic challenges, has dysfunctional leadership and has a culture of bullying.[11]
On the recommendation of the Commission, the Victorian Government dismissed the entire Greater Geelong City Council on 16 April 2016 and appointed Yehudi Blacher as interim administrator.[12] On 25 May 2016, Dr Kathy Alexander (chairperson), Peter Dorling and Laurinda Gardner were sworn in as administrators, replacing Yehudi Blacher.[13]
Under the Local Government (Greater Geelong City Council) Act 2016, the panel of administrators constitutes the Greater Geelong City Council, and has the same functions, powers and duties as the Greater Geelong City Council and its councillors. Likewise, the chairperson of the panel of administrators has the same functions, powers and duties as the mayor of the council.
The council was run by administrators until fresh council elections were held on 27 October 2017.[14]
The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Geelong City Hall Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. Council customer service centres are located in Belmont, Corio, Drysdale, Geelong West, Ocean Grove, Waurn Ponds and at Brougham St in Geelong.
The 2021 census, the city had a population of 271,057 up from 233,429 in the 2016 census[17]
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| ^ | 690 | 734 | |
| 4,247 | 11,247 | ||
| 293 | 255 | ||
| ^ | 290 | 254 | |
| 3,875 | 4,353 | ||
| ^ | 952 | 1,141 | |
| 5,009 | 5,602 | ||
| 4,919 | 5,083 | ||
| 169 | 169 | ||
| 14,054 | 15,066 | ||
| 1,014 | 1,060 | ||
| ^ | 162 | 151 | |
| 254 | 266 | ||
| 364 | 2,612 | ||
| 7,519 | 7,646 | ||
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| ^ | 788 | 953 | |
| 15,296 | 15,497 | ||
| 1,551 | 4,175 | ||
| 560 | 571 | ||
| 4,275 | 4,976 | ||
| 3,862 | 4,012 | ||
| 196 | 1,206 | ||
| 5,210 | 5,811 | ||
| 6,966 | 7,345 | ||
| 14,308 | 14,869 | ||
| 6,293 | 6,518 | ||
| 3,413 | 3,507 | ||
| 18,953 | 20,736 | ||
| 1,133 | 1,391 | ||
| 16,355 | 19,014 | ||
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| 12,814 | 13,272 | ||
| ^ | 1,322 | 1,353 | |
| 2,301 | 2,782 | ||
| 2,649 | 2,681 | ||
| 88 | 108 | ||
| 159 | 164 | ||
| 1,885 | 2,299 | ||
| 1,373 | 1,825 | ||
| 90 | 94 | ||
| ^ | 1,578 | 6,182 | |
| 4,500 | 4,704 | ||
| 122 | 189 | ||
| 8,306 | 8,682 | ||
| 2,966 | 3,225 | ||
| 357 | 325 | ||
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| 14,165 | 17,714 | ||
| ^ | 2,684 | 3,788 | |
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 3,619 | 4,436 | ||
| 875 | 994 | ||
| 993 | 1,014 | ||
| 4,843 | 4,942 | ||
| 2,480 | 3,542 | ||
| 98 | 105 | ||
| 59 | 103 | ||
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 1,364 | 1,515 | ||
| 2,037 | 2,195 | ||
| 5,046 | 4,956 | ||
| 3,879 | 3,990 | ||
Geelong has sister city relations with the following cities:[18]
Izumiōtsu, Japan (established 1992)