48-682: The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland , Queensland , Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns . It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave . However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was de-amalgamated from the Cairns Region and re-established as
96-577: A unitary authority , but the Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to the whole of the ACT as an unincorporated area. The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection. Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of
144-593: A Town on 31 March 1903 and was proclaimed a City on 12 October 1923. The Shire of Mulgrave had its origins in the Cairns Division , one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879. The Douglas Division was created on 3 June 1880. They became the Shire of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas on 31 March 1903. On 20 December 1919, it grew to include some territory from
192-586: A geographic or historical interpretation. The council board members are generally known as councillors , and the head councillor is called the mayor . As of August 2016, there were 547 local councils in Australia. Despite the single tier of local governance in Australia, there are a number of extensive regions with relatively low populations that are not a part of any established LGA. Powers of local governments in these unincorporated areas may be exercised by special-purpose governing bodies established outside of
240-535: A larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia. In 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A 2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils. Local government powers are determined by state governments, and states have primary responsibility for funding and exclusive responsibility for supervision of local councils. Local government
288-506: A separate local government authority. The Cairns Regional Council's 2023-24 operating budget is A$ 433.5 million. In the 2021 census , the Cairns Region had a population of 166,943 people. Yidinji (also known as Yidinj , Yidiny , and Idindji ) is an Australian Aboriginal language and a traditional Indigenous country. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region , in such localities as Cairns City (CBD) , Gordonvale , and
336-403: A shift from 'services to property' towards 'services to people'. Community expectations of local government in Australia have risen in the 21st century partly as a result of wider participation in decision-making and transparent management practices. Recent years have seen some State governments devolving additional powers onto LGAs. In Queensland and Western Australia LGAs have been granted
384-517: Is mentioned in the annotated Australian constitution, as a department of the State Governments, and they are mentioned in the constitutions of each of the six states. Under the Constitution, the federal government cannot provide funding directly to local governments; a 1974 referendum sought to amend the Constitution to authorise the federal government to directly fund local governments, but it
432-447: Is part of a local government area. Unincorporated areas are often in remote locations, cover vast areas, or have very small populations. Queensland and Tasmania are entirely partitioned into LGAs and have no unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has no municipalities. The ACT government is responsible for both state-level and local-level matters. In some countries, such an arrangement would be referred to as
480-504: Is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state/territory it belongs to. The functions and practices of local councils are mostly centered around managing public services and land uses at the community level, and are similar throughout Australia, but can vary to some degree between jurisdictions. State departments oversee the activities of local councils and may intervene in their affairs when needed, subject to relevant legislation. For more details in each state and territory, see
528-585: Is the City of Brisbane , the most populous LGA in the country, which administers a significant part of the Brisbane metropolitan area . In most cases, when a city's population statistics are used, it is the statistical division population rather than the local government area. The following table provides a summary of local government areas by states and territories by local government area types as of December 2023: The Australian Classification of Local Governments (ACLG) categorises local governing authorities using
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#1732851351518576-572: Is the third level of government in Australia , administered with limited autonomy under the states and territories , and in turn beneath the federal government . Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia , and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state/territory government recognises local government in its own respective constitution . Unlike
624-639: The Local Government Act does not mandate adopting a designation, some local government areas are legally known simply as "council", such as Port Macquarie-Hastings Council , Inner West Council and Federation Council . Some rural areas in South Australia are known as "district council", and all the LGAs in Tasmania that were previously municipalities have been renamed "council". Almost all local councils have
672-581: The Mulgrave River , and the southern part of the Atherton Tableland including Atherton and Kairi . Tjapukai (also known as Djabuganydji , Djabugay , and Djabuganydji ) is the traditional Aboriginal country and language north of the Barron River in the Cairns Region, with the traditional group extending west towards Mareeba and north towards Douglas Shire and Port Douglas . Prior to
720-485: The Outback Communities Authority . Victoria has a number of unincorporated areas which are not part of any LGA: Western Australia has two unincorporated areas: Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland , Australia, south of Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail , Cardwell and Tully . It
768-703: The Pastoral Unincorporated Area in South Australia . Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory . The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), however, considers
816-759: The Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin , Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula , Alyangula on Groote Eylandt , and Yulara in Central Australia . In South Australia , 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency,
864-522: The 2008 amalgamation, the Cairns Region consisted of the entire area of three previous local government areas: The city, which for most of its existence covered only the central business district and inner suburbs of Cairns, had its beginning in the Borough of Cairns which was proclaimed on 28 May 1885 under the Local Government Act 1878 . With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902 , it became
912-559: The abolished Shire of Barron , and on 16 November 1940, the shire was renamed Mulgrave. On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission , created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Cairns area be rationalised, and that the Shire be dissolved and amalgamated with the City of Cairns . The Local Government (Cairns, Douglas, Mareeba and Mulgrave) Regulation 1994
960-483: The component entities prior to 2008. The only census in which the Cairns Region included the Douglas Shire was conducted in 2011. In the 2016 census , the Cairns Region had a population of 156,901 people. In the 2021 census , the Cairns Region had a population of 166,943 people. On 1 January 2014, Julia Leu ceased to be a Councillor upon the de-amalgamation of the Shire of Douglas. On 31 January 2015, Rob Pyne
1008-450: The entire ACT as an " unincorporated " local government area, even though it is technically a state-level administrative region . Although all essentially identical in functions and jurisdictions, Australian local governments have a variety of different titles. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of
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#17328513515181056-504: The first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from
1104-448: The first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78. South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in
1152-415: The following: The Australian Capital Territory is not divided into local government areas, so it is regarded as a single "unincorporated" local government area during censusing . Unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. Aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia
1200-473: The foundation of the Cassowary Coast Region combines the population of its component entities prior to their amalgamation in 2008. Its population was officially recorded for the first time in the 2011 Census . In the 2016 census , the Cassowary Coast Region had a population of 28,726 people. In the 2021 census , the Cassowary Coast Region had a population of 29,157 people. As part of preparing
1248-682: The gazetted form was that of six divisions each electing a single councillor, plus a mayor. Below is the current council, elected in 2024 The Cassowary Coast Region includes the following settlements: Greater Innisfail area: Greater Tully area: Cardwell area: Johnstone area: - shared with Cairns Region - shared with Tablelands Region - shared with Cairns Region and Tablelands Region The Cassowary Coast Regional Council operate public libraries in Cardwell , Tully (Dorothy Jones Library), Innisfail and Wongaling Beach . The total population recorded at each census before
1296-496: The government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations . New South Wales has three unincorporated areas: In the Northern Territory , 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in
1344-561: The local legislation, as with Victoria 's alpine resorts ; or directly administered by state/territory governments, such as the entirety of the Australian Capital Territory . The administrative area covered by local government councils in Australia ranges from as small as 1.5 km (0.58 sq mi) for the Shire of Peppermint Grove in the Perth metropolitan region , to as big as 624,339 km (241,059 sq mi) for
1392-540: The mayor is elected by the board of fellow councillors . The powers of mayors vary as well; for example, mayors in Queensland have broad executive functions, whereas mayors in New South Wales are essentially ceremonial figureheads who can only exercise power at the discretion of the council. Most of the capital city LGAs administer only the central business districts and nearby central suburbs . A notable exception
1440-618: The names of LGAs, and today the stylised titles of " town ", " borough ", " municipality ", " district ", " region ", "community government", " Aboriginal council/shire" and "island" are used in addition. The word "municipality" occurs in some states with differing meanings: in New South Wales it is typically used for older urban areas, and the word is used for some rural towns in South Australia . Larger towns and small metropolitan exurban centres in Queensland and Western Australia simply use
1488-649: The number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils. The main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy . An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced
Cairns Region - Misplaced Pages Continue
1536-597: The part of local governments. There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia , though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936. The first official local government in Australia
1584-812: The population, the population density and the proportion of the population that is classified as being urban for the council. The classification, at the two-digit level, is: All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia. The councils' chief responsibility in
1632-414: The power to independently enact their own local subsidiary legislation , in contrast to the previous system of by-laws . Councils also have organised their own representative structures such as Local Government Associations and Regional Organisations of Councils . Doctrines of New Public Management have shaped state government legislation towards increased freedoms aiming to allow greater flexibility on
1680-526: The purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation , however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction. General purpose grants become available for
1728-408: The same administrative functions and similar political structures, regardless of their naming, and retain a particular designation ("shire", "borough", "town", "city") for historical reasons only. They will typically have an elected council and usually a mayor or shire president responsible for chairing meetings of the council. In some councils, the mayor is a directly elected figure, but in most cases
1776-820: The same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council. In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Douglas from the Cairns Region. On 9 March 2013, the citizens of the former Douglas shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate. The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014. The Cairns Region includes the following settlements: Cairns Central area: Northern Mulgrave area: Southern Mulgrave area: – shared with Cassowary Coast Region – shared with Cassowary Coast Region and Tablelands Region The Cairns Regional Council operate public libraries at Babinda , Cairns City , Earlville , Edmonton , Gordonvale , Manunda , Smithfield and Stratford . The populations given relate to
1824-493: The state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish. However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control as well as community safety and accessible transport. The changes in services has been described as
1872-606: The term "town", while in Victoria they are designated as "rural city". Historically, the word "borough" was common for small towns and suburban centers in Victoria, but nowadays only the Borough of Queenscliffe remains as the one and only borough in the entire country. New South Wales and Queensland have also introduced a new term "region" for outback LGAs formed by the amalgamation of smaller shires and rural cities. In New South Wales, where
1920-745: The two-tier local government system in Canada or the United States , there is only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between counties and cities . The Australian local government is generally run by a council , and its territory of public administration is referred to generically by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the local government area or LGA , each of which encompasses multiple suburbs or localities (roughly equivalent to neighborhoods) often of different postcodes ; however, stylised terms such as "city", " borough ", " region " and " shire " also have
1968-501: The varying designations, whilst the local governing legislature itself is generally known as a council . In general, an urban / suburban LGA is called a " city ", as in the City of Melbourne , City of Canada Bay and City of Bunbury ; while an exurban / rural LGA covering a larger agricultural / natural area is usually called a " shire ", as in Shire of Mornington Peninsula , Shire of Banana and Lachlan Shire . Sometimes designations other than "city" or "shire" are used in
Cairns Region - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-443: Was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Cardwell and the Shire of Johnstone . The Regional Council, which administers the region, has an estimated operating budget of A$ 64 million. In the 2021 census , the Cassowary Coast Region had a population of 29,157 people. Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Cassowary Coast Region consisted of the entire area of two previous local government areas: The Hinchinbrook Division
2064-684: Was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 . On 28 October 1881, the Johnstone Division split away from it. On 18 January 1884, the Cardwell Division also split away. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902 , both Cardwell and Johnstone became shires on 31 March 1903. In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Cardwell and Johnstone merge. Cardwell
2112-539: Was defeated. A 1988 referendum sought to explicitly insert mention of local government in the federal constitution but this was comprehensively defeated. A further referendum was proposed in 2013 , but was cancelled due to the change in the election date . Federal government interaction with local councils happens regularly through the provision of federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. Local government in Australia has very limited legislative powers and no judicial powers , and executive -wise
2160-699: Was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and resigned as a Councillor. Cathy Zeiger was appointed on 12 March 2015 to replace Rob Pyne by a panel comprising Mayor Bob Manning and former Councillors Fran Lindsay and Jeff Pezzutti. Bob Manning announced his retirement as mayor on 17 November 2023. Councillor Terry James was elected as mayor on 22 November 2023. The current council, elected in 2024, is: 16°55′24″S 145°46′26″E / 16.92333°S 145.77389°E / -16.92333; 145.77389 Local government in Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Local government
2208-485: Was gazetted on 16 December 1994. On 22 March 1995, the Shire was abolished and became part of the new City of Cairns . In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Cairns amalgamate with the Shire of Douglas, and that the new Cairns Regional Council be undivided with 10 councillors and a mayor. On 15 March 2008, the City and Shire formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on
2256-402: Was in particular opposed because Johnstone was rated as "financially distressed" and its council had just been sacked by the state government. On 15 March 2008, the two shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect six councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council. Although the commission recommended the council be undivided with six councillors and a mayor,
2304-600: Was the Perth Town Trust , established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for
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