| Type: | lga |
| City of Lake Macquarie | |
| State: | nsw |
| Pop: | 213,845 |
| Pop Footnotes: | [1] |
| Pop2 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Poprank: | 23rd |
| Density: | 315 |
| Local Map: | yes |
| Zoom: | 9 |
| Area: | 648 |
| Timezone: | AEST |
| Utc: | +10 |
| Timezone-Dst: | AEDT |
| Utc-Dst: | +11 |
| Mayor: | Kay Fraser[3] |
| Seat: | Speers Point |
| Region: | Hunter[4] |
| Stategov: | Lake Macquarie[5] |
| Stategov2: | Swansea[6] |
| Stategov3: | Charlestown[7] |
| Stategov4: | Cessnock[8] |
| Stategov5: | Wallsend[9] |
| Fedgov: | Shortland[10] |
| Fedgov2: | Hunter |
| Url: | http://www.lakemac.com.au |
| Near-N: | Newcastle |
| Near-Ne: | Newcastle |
| Near-E: | Tasman Sea |
| Near-Se: | Tasman Sea |
| Near-S: | Central Coast |
| Near-Sw: | Central Coast, Cessnock |
| Near-W: | Cessnock |
| Near-Nw: | Maitland |
The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city from 7 September 1984. The city is situated adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is widely considered as a part of the Greater Newcastle area.[11] The city is approximately 1500NaN0 north of Sydney. One of its major tourist attractions is its lake, also named Lake Macquarie.
The mayor of the City of Lake Macquarie Council is Councillor Kay Fraser, a member of the Labor Party.
The Royal Australian Navy ship was granted the Right of Freedom of Entry to the City of Lake Macquarie on 9 August 1991.[12]
The Shire of Lake Macquarie was proclaimed on 6 March 1906. It became a Municipality on 1 March 1977, and a city on 7 September 1984.[13] [14]
Lake Macquarie is home to several prominent coastal suburbs such as Catherine Hill Bay, Caves Beach, Blacksmiths and Redhead. Retail and commercial centres include Belmont, Cardiff, Charlestown Glendale, Swansea, Toronto and Morisset.
The towns and villages in the City of Lake Macquarie are split into three wards – East, North and West.[15] These include:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies various towns and suburbs in the LGA as being part of the Greater Newcastle Statistical District. The City of Lake Macquarie has its own independent local government (Lake Macquarie City Council). The largest commercial centre in the area is Charlestown.
| Type: | Lake Macquarie suburbs (2021) |
| Group1: | Charlestown |
| Pop1: | 13,601 |
| Group2: | Cameron Park |
| Pop2: | 9,977 |
| Group3: | Warners Bay |
| Pop3: | 8,237 |
| Group4: | Belmont |
| Pop4: | 7,289 |
| Group5: | Cooranbong |
| Pop5: | 7,077 |
| Group6: | Eleebana |
| Pop6: | 6,460 |
| Group7: | Edgeworth |
| Pop7: | 6,401 |
| Group8: | Cardiff |
| Pop8: | 6,318 |
| Group9: | Belmont North |
| Pop9: | 6,291 |
| Group10: | Toronto |
| Pop10: | 5,973 |
The area is a set of contiguous towns that surround a coastal saltwater lake. These towns merge with the suburbs of Newcastle to the north. Some suburbs, such as Adamstown Heights are partly in the City of Newcastle and partly within the City of Lake Macquarie. There are 92 identified settlements ranging from small rural style communities through to larger and higher density areas such as Toronto, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown and Morisset.
At the, there were 189,006 people in the Lake Macquarie local government area, of these 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.0% of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages. The median age of people in the City of Lake Macquarie was 41 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 51.0% were married and 12.2% were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Lake Macquarie between the and the was 3.36%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 3.20%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Lake Macquarie local government area was approximately half the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Lake Macquarie was marginally below the national average.
At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Lake Macquarie local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 81% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 58% of all residents in the City of Lake Macquarie nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Lake Macquarie local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (5.4%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (93.0%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).
| Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Estimated residents on Census night | ||||||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 4th | 4th | 13th | ||||
| % of New South Wales population | 2.73% | 2.64% | 2.65% | ||||
| % of Australian population | 0.94% | 0.92% | 0.88% | 0.84% | 0.84% | ||
| Cultural and language diversity | |||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 33.7% | 32.0% | 42.7% | |||
| English | 32.2% | 31.9% | 43.9% | ||||
| Scottish | 8.2% | 8.6% | 11.8% | ||||
| Irish | 7.7% | 8.3% | 10.9% | ||||
| German | 3.0% | 3.1% | |||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | ||
| Macedonian | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | ||
| Mandarin | 0.3% | 0.3% | |||||
| Italian | 0.3% | 0.2% | |||||
| German | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | ||
| Cantonese | n/c | 0.2% | 0.2% | ||||
| Spanish | n/c | n/c | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | ||
| Religious affiliation | |||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | No Religion | 12.5% | 15.5% | 19.7% | 28.9% | 42.0% | |
| Anglican | 29.1% | 27.6% | 26.2% | 21.3% | 15.7% | ||
| Catholic | 23.0% | 22.9% | 22.8% | 20.8% | 18.0% | ||
| Uniting Church | 10.0% | 8.8% | 5.8% | 5.9% | 4.1% | ||
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 4.4% | 4.0% | 3.6% | ||||
| Median weekly incomes | |||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$394 | A$520 | A$609 | A$759 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 84.5% | 90.1% | 92% | 94.3% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$922 | A$1,396 | A$1,610 | A$2,050 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 89.8% | 94.3% | 92.8% | 96.7% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$1,102 | A$1,177 | A$1,313 | A$1,623 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 94.1% | 90.5% | 91.3% | 93.0% | |||
Lake Macquarie has a significant coal mining industry and smaller agriculture and manufacturing industries. Eraring power station, a 1980s-era coal-fired power station, supplies 25% of New South Wales' power.[27] Lake Macquarie has a number of Constructed Wetlands with the council placing an emphasis on the environment.
See also: List of mayors of Lake Macquarie.
Lake Macquarie City Council is composed of thirteen councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing four Councillors. The most recent election was held on 04 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows:[28]
| Party | Councillors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor Party | align=right | 7 | ||
| Liberal Party | align=right | 3 | ||
| Lake Mac Independents | align=right | 3 | ||
| Total | align=right | 13 | ||
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor[29] | Kay Fraser | Labor | |||
| East Ward[30] | Adam Shultz | Labor | |||
| Nick Jones | Liberal | ||||
| Christine Buckley | Labor | ||||
| Kate Warner | Lake Mac Independents | ||||
| North Ward[31] | Brian Adamthwaite | Labor | |||
| Jack Antcliff | Liberal | ||||
| Keara Conroy | Labor | ||||
| Colin Grigg | Lake Mac Independents | ||||
| West Ward[32] | David Belcher | Labor | |||
| Jason Pauling | Liberal | ||||
| Luke Cubis | Lake Mac Independents | ||||
| Madeline Bishop | Labor | ||||
Major shopping centres include:
Lake Macquarie has a number of cultural and artistic locations:[33]
The City of Lake Macquarie has sister city relations with the following cities:[34]