| Type: | lga |
| City of Penrith | |
| State: | nsw |
| Pop: | 217,664 |
| Poprank: | 24th |
| Area: | 404.9 |
| Timezone: | AEST |
| Utc: | +10 |
| Timezone-Dst: | AEDT |
| Utc-Dst: | +11 |
| Coordinates: | -33.75°N 192°W |
| Est: | (Municipality) (City) |
| Seat: | Civic Centre, Penrith |
| Mayor: | Todd Carney |
| Region: | Greater Western Sydney |
| Url: | https://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au |
| Stategov: | Badgerys Creek |
| Stategov2: | Londonderry |
| Stategov3: | Penrith |
| Stategov4: | Wollondilly |
| Fedgov: | Hume |
| Fedgov2: | Lindsay |
| Fedgov3: | McMahon |
| Near-Nw: | Hawkesbury |
| Near-N: | Hawkesbury |
| Near-Ne: | Hawkesbury |
| Near-E: | Blacktown |
| Near-W: | Blue Mountains |
| Near-Sw: | Wollondilly |
| Near-S: | Liverpool |
| Near-Se: | Fairfield |
The City of Penrith is a local government area in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the city is located in Penrith, located within Sydney about 50km (30miles) west of Sydney central business district. It occupies part of the traditional lands of the Darug people. First incorporated as a municipality on 12 May 1871, on 1 January 1949, the municipalities of Penrith, St Marys and Castlereagh and part of the Nepean Shire amalgamated to form a new Municipality of Penrith. Penrith was declared a City on 21 October 1959, and expanded westwards to include Emu Plains and Emu Heights, formerly part of the City of Blue Mountains, on 25 October 1963. As of the the City of Penrith had an estimated population of 217,664.
The mayor of the City of Penrith is Todd Carney, a member of the Labor Party.[1]
The following suburbs and localities are located within the City of Penrith:
The Municipality of Penrith was incorporated on 12 May 1871 under the . On 3 March 1890, St Marys was separately incorporated, and on 26 July 1893 and 9 September 1895, Mulgoa and Castlereagh followed respectively. In 1913, Mulgoa became the "A" Riding of the neighbouring Nepean Shire.[2]
On 1 January 1949, under the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, the Municipalities of Penrith, St Marys and Castlereagh and A Riding of the Nepean Shire amalgamated to form a new Municipality of Penrith. It was declared a City on 21 October 1959, and expanded westwards to include Emu Plains and Emu Heights, formerly part of the City of Blue Mountains, on 25 October 1963.[2]
At the 2021 census, there were 217,644 people in the Penrith local government area, of these 49.4% were male and 50.6% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5% of the population; notably above the national average of 3.4%. The median age of people in the City of Penrith was 35 years; notably below the national median of 39 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.9% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 45.5% were married and 12.3% were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Penrith between the 2001 Census and the was 0.15% and in the subsequent five years to the, population growth was 3.68%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Penrith local government area was significantly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Penrith was on with par with the national average.
At the, the proportion of residents in the Penrith local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 63.5% of all residents (national average was 58.4%). In excess of 28.7% of all residents in the City of Penrith area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the, which was fairly higher than the national average of 20%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Penrith local government area had a marginally lower than average proportion (23.9%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 24.8%); and a higher proportion (74.2%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72%).
| Selected historical census data for Penrith local government area | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 | ||
| Population | 217,644 | ||||||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 7th | 8th | 13th | 9th | |||
| % of New South Wales population | 2.58% | 2.63% | 2.67% | ||||
| % of Australian population | 0.92% | 0.87% | 0.83% | 0.84% | 0.85% | ||
| Cultural and language diversity | |||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 29.1% | 26.3% | 33.3% | |||
| English | 25.2% | 24.5% | 30.2% | ||||
| Irish | 6.8% | 7.2% | 8.2% | ||||
| Scottish | 5.3% | 5.5% | 6.7% | ||||
| Maltese | 3.0% | 2.8% | |||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Arabic | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.8% | |
| Tagalog | 1.3% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.2% | ||
| 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | ||||
| Maltese | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.7% | |||
| Hindi | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.1% | ||
| Religious affiliation | |||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 34.5% | 34.9% | 35.2% | 32.1% | 28.7% | |
| Anglican | 26.1% | 24.7% | 23.6% | 18.4% | 13.1% | ||
| No religion | 9.8% | 11.9% | 14.0% | 21.1% | 28.9% | ||
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2.9% | ||||
| Uniting Church | 3.7% | 3.1% | 2.7% | ||||
| Median weekly incomes | |||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | 517 | 623 | A$728 | A$866 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 110.9% | 108.0% | 109.6% | 106.52% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$1,147 | A$1,582 | A$1,858 | A$2188 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 111.7% | 106.8% | 107.1% | 100.14% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$1,285 | A$1,398 | A$1,658 | A$1903 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 109.7% | 113.3% | 111.5% | 104.05% | |||
| Term | Aldermen/Councillors | Wards | Mayor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871–1891 | 9 | No wards | Annual election by Aldermen |
| 1891–1893 | 12 | ||
| 1893–1948 | 9 | ||
| 1949–1950 | 24 | Ward One (9, Penrith) Ward Two (9, St Marys) Ward Three (3, Nepean) Ward Four (3, Castlereagh) | |
| 1950–1959 | 12 (3 per ward) | Ward One Ward Two Ward Three Ward Four | |
| 1959–1963 | 13 (3 per ward: 12 Aldermen, 1 Mayor) | Direct triennial election | |
| 1963–1968 | 13 (4 per ward: 12 Aldermen, 1 Mayor) | North Ward South Ward East Ward | |
| 1968–1987 | 12 (4 per ward) | Annual election by Aldermen/Councillors | |
| 1987–date | 15 (5 per ward) |
Penrith City Council is composed of fifteen councillors elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing five 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 for a two-year term, while the deputy mayor is elected for a single-year term only. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021. The current council is as follows:
| Party | Councillors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | align=right | 4 | ||
| Liberal Party of Australia | align=right | 6 | ||
| Independents | align=right | 4 | ||
| Vacant Seats | align=right | 1 | ||
| Total | align=right | 15 | ||
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Ward[3] | Bernard Bratusa | Liberal | |||
| Tricia Hitchen | Liberal | Mayor 2022-2023;[4] Deputy Mayor 2016–2017, 2020–2021[5] | |||
| Todd Carney | Labor | Mayor 2023–Present; Deputy Mayor 2022–2023 | |||
| Marlene Shipley | Independent | ||||
| Robin Cook | Labor | ||||
| North Ward[6] | John Thain | Labor | Mayor 2005–2006, 2016–2018; Deputy Mayor 2004–2005 | ||
| Ross Fowler | Liberal | Mayor 1995–1996, 2013–2015, 2018–2020; Deputy Mayor 2015–2016 | |||
| Glenn Gardiner | Liberal | ||||
| Jonathan Pullen | Independent | Member of the Multicultural Working Party and the Recreation Working Party. Was a member of the Labor Party until 2022.[7] | |||
| Kevin Crameri | Independent | Mayor 1996–1997, 2009–2011; Deputy Mayor 1988–1989. | |||
| South Ward[8] | Labor | Mayor 2015–2016, 2020–2021; Deputy Mayor 2006–2007, 2019–2020[9] | |||
| Mark Davies | Liberal | Mayor 2012–2013; Deputy Mayor 2023–Present | |||
| Mark Rusev | Labor | ||||
| Sue Day | Independent | ||||
| Jim Aitken | Resigned[10] | Mayor 2008–2009; Deputy Mayor 2010–2011, 2013–2014. Resigned 2023. | |||
| Mayor | Party | Term | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patros Athanas Tornaros | Labor | 1 January 1949 – 5 December 1949 | [11] | |||
| Bill Chapman | Independent | 5 December 1949 – 11 December 1956 | [12] | |||
| Bernard Noel Fowler | Independent | 11 December 1956 – 11 December 1957 | [13] | |||
| Leo Joseph Spies | Labor | 11 December 1957 – 19 April 1961 | [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] | |||
| Bill Chapman | Independent | 3 June 1961 – December 1968 | [20] [21] | |||
| Ron Mulock | Labor | December 1968 – September 1971 | ||||
| Brian King | Independent | September 1971 – September 1974 | ||||
| Eileen Cammack | Independent | September 1974 – September 1977 | [22] | |||
| Brian King | Independent | September 1977 – September 1985 | ||||
| Kevin Dwyer | Independent | September 1985 – September 1987 | ||||
| Rodney Field | Independent | September 1987 – September 1988 | ||||
| Kevin Dwyer | Independent | September 1988 – September 1989 | ||||
| Brian King | Independent | September 1989 – September 1990 | [23] | |||
| Labor | September 1990 – September 1991 | |||||
| Tony Aquilina | September 1991 – September 1992 | |||||
| Bill Gayed | Independent | September 1992 – September 1993 | ||||
| Diane Beamer | Labor | September 1993 – September 1994 | ||||
| Pat Sheehy | September 1994 – September 1995 | |||||
| Ross Fowler | Independent | September 1995 – September 1996 | ||||
| Kevin Crameri | Independent | September 1996 – September 1997 | ||||
| Kevin Dwyer | Independent | September 1997 – September 1998 | [24] | |||
| John Bateman | Independent | September 1998 – September 2000 | ||||
| David Bradbury | Labor | September 2000 – September 2001 | ||||
| Pat Sheehy | September 2001 – September 2002 | |||||
| Greg Davies | September 2002 – April 2004 | |||||
| David Bradbury | April 2004 – September 2004 | |||||
| Jackie Greenow | Independent | September 2004 – September 2005 | ||||
| John Thain | Labor | September 2005 – September 2006 | ||||
| Pat Sheehy | September 2006 – September 2007 | [25] | ||||
| Greg Davies | September 2007 – September 2008 | |||||
| Jim Aitken | Independent | September 2008 – September 2009 | [26] | |||
| Kevin Crameri | Independent | September 2009 – September 2011 | [27] [28] | |||
| Greg Davies | Labor | September 2011 – September 2012 | ||||
| Mark Davies | Liberal | September 2012 – 23 September 2013 | ||||
| Ross Fowler | 23 September 2013 – September 2015 | [29] [30] | ||||
| Labor | September 2015 – 26 September 2016 | [31] | ||||
| John Thain | 26 September 2016 – 24 September 2018 | |||||
| Ross Fowler | Liberal | 24 September 2018 – 28 September 2020 | [32] | |||
| Labor | 28 September 2020 – 13 January 2022 | |||||
| Tricia Hitchen | Liberal | 13 January 2022 – October 2023 | [33] | |||
| Todd Carney | Labor | October 2023 – present | ||||
The City of Penrith is served by a weekly newspaper, The Western Weekender, which was founded in 1991. It produces a print edition each Friday as well as a digital news service. The newspaper is independently owned.
Since it signed its first agreement with Fujieda, Japan in 1984, Penrith City has gradually expanded its sister cities and international links programme. Presently Penrith has links with:
Penrith, Cumbria, England – Sister City
Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan – Sister City Hakusan City (incorporating Matto City), Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan – Friendship City
Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China – Friendship City Xicheng District of Beijing City, China – Mutual Co-operation Agreement
Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea – Mutual Co-operation AgreementThe City of Penrith has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: