| Type: | lga |
| Murrumbidgee Council | |
| State: | nsw |
| Pop: | 3826 |
| Pop2: | 3961 |
| Pop2 Year: | 2018 est. |
| Pop2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area: | 6880 |
| Coordinates: | -35.15°N 191°W |
| Mayor: | Ruth McRae |
| Region: | Riverina |
| Url: | https://www.murrumbidgee.nsw.gov.au |
| Stategov: | Murray |
| Near-Nw: | Carrathool |
| Near-N: | Carrathool, Griffith |
| Near-Ne: | Leeton |
| Near-W: | Hay, Edward River |
| Near-E: | Narrandera, Federation |
| Near-Sw: | Edward River |
| Near-S: | Berrigan |
| Near-Se: | Federation |
Murrumbidgee Council is a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Murrumbidgee Shire and the Jerilderie Shire.
The combined area comprises and covers the urban areas of Coleambally, Darlington Point and Jerilderie and the surrounding cropping and pastoral areas. At the time of its establishment, the estimated population of the area was 4,047.
The inaugural mayor of Murrumbidgee Council is former Jerilderie Shire councillor Ruth McRae, elected on 21 September 2017.[2] Cr McRae was elected as mayor for the second term on 24 September 2019.[3]
| Selected historical census data for Murrumbidgee Council local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | ||
| Population | ||||||
| % of New South Wales population | 0.04% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.05% | ||
| % of Australian population | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.02% | ||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 36.4% | 35.0% | |||
| English | 27.4% | 27.6% | ||||
| Irish | 9.6% | 9.3% | ||||
| Scottish | 7.7% | 7.8% | ||||
| Italian | n/c | 3.2% | ||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.4% | |
| Spanish | n/c | n/c | n/c | 0.3% | ||
| Arabic | n/c | n/c | n/c | 0.3% | ||
| Tagalog | 0.2% | n/c | 0.5% | 0.3% | ||
| Mandarin | n/c | n/c | n/c | 0.3% | ||
| Religious affiliation | ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 28.9% | 28.0% | 28.3% | 28.9% | |
| Anglican | 33.0% | 32.8% | 29.9% | 22.3% | ||
| No Religion, so described | 9.2% | 8.7% | 13.6% | 18.7% | ||
| Not stated | n/c | n/c | n/c | 12.1% | ||
| 11.2% | 9.8% | 8.2% | 8.5% | |||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | 467 | 508 | 659 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 100.2% | 88.0% | 99.5% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | |||||
| % of Australian median income | 89.4% | 74.9% | 84.3% | |||
| Median weekly household income | ||||||
| % of Australian median income | 83.8% | 72.4% | 83.2% | |||
The Murrumbidgee Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Murrumbidgee Council has nine councillors, with three councillors elected proportionally from three wards – Jerilderie, Murrumbidgee and Murrumbidgee East. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office.[6] The mayor and deputy mayor are elected for 12 month terms, each September.
The most recent election was held on 9 September 2017, and the councillors elected are as follows:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerilderie Ward[7] | Faith Bryce | Independent | |
| Ruth McRae | Independent | Mayor Former mayor of Jerilderie Shire | |
| Angelina (Gaila) Smith | Independent | ||
| Murrumbidgee Ward[8] | Phillip Wells | Independent | |
| Robert Curphey | Independent | ||
| Gavin Gilbert | Independent | ||
| Murrumbidgee East Ward[9] | Robert Black | Independent | Deputy Mayor |
| Christine Chirgwin | Independent | ||
| Austin Evans | Unaligned | Former mayor of Murrumbidgee Shire, Administrator of Murrumbidgee Council 2016–17 | |
| Pat Brown | Independent | Elected at by-election on 10 March 2019.[10] | |