Clarence Valley Council

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian place Clarence Valley Council is a local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia.<ref name="ElectorateCVC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The council services an area of Template:Convert and draws its name from the Clarence River, which flows through most of the council area. The area under management is adjacent to the Pacific Highway, the Gwydir Highway and the North Coast railway line. The Clarence Valley region includes the coastal plain and lower valleys of the Clarence and Nymboida river. Most of the valley is agricultural; however, the oceanside towns of Yamba and Iluka are popular holiday resorts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The council was formed in February 2004 by the merger of the City of Grafton and Maclean Shire, and parts of Copmanhurst, Pristine Waters and Richmond Valley local government areas, and the activities of North Coast Water and Clarence River County Council.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The mayor of Clarence Valley Council is Ray Smith.<ref name=Mayor2024>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Deputy Mayor is Greg Clancy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Towns and localitiesEdit

Towns and localities in the Clarence Valley Council are:<ref name="ElectorateCVC"/> Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Heritage listingsEdit

The Clarence Valley Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

High Conservation Value Old Growth forest<ref name=nswshr-1487>Template:Cite NSW SHR</ref>

DemographicsEdit

At the Template:CensusAU, there were 49,665 people in the Clarence Valley local government area, of these 49.4 per cent were male and 50.6 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.7 per cent of the population which is more than double the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Clarence Valley Council area was 46 years; some 10 years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.6 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 21.3 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 49.3 per cen% were married and 14.6% were either divorced or separated.<ref name="Census2011">Template:Census 2011 AUS</ref>

Population growth in the Clarence Valley Council area between the Template:CensusAU and the 2011 Census was 3.15 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.32 per cent, population growth in the Clarence Valley local government area was lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Clarence Valley Council area was significantly below the national average,<ref name="Census2011"/><ref name="Census2006"/> being one of the factors that place the Clarence Valley Council area in an area of social disadvantage.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Clarence Valley local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 82 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 64 per cent of all residents in the Clarence Valley Council area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was above the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Clarence Valley local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.1 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (94.0 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).<ref name="Census2011"/>

Selected historical census data for Clarence Valley local government area
Census year		2006<ref name="Census2006">Template:Census 2006 AUS</ref>	2011<ref name="Census2011"/>	2016<ref name="Census2016">Template:Census 2016 AUS</ref>
Population	Estimated residents on census night	48,146	49,665	50,671
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		Template:Ntsth	Template:Gain Template:Ntsth
	% of New South Wales population		0.72%	Template:Loss 0.68%
	% of Australian population	0.24%	Template:Loss 0.23%	Template:Loss 0.22%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	Australian		34.6%	Template:Loss 33.2%
	English		31.9%	Template:Loss 31.4%
	Irish		9.0%	Template:Gain 9.1%
	Scottish		8.3%	Template:Gain 8.6%
	German		3.4%	Template:Steady 3.4%
Language, top responses (other than English)	German	0.2%	Template:Steady 0.2%	Template:Steady 0.2%
	Cantonese	0.1%	Template:Steady 0.1%	Template:Steady 0.1%
	Spanish	n/c	Template:Gain 0.1%	Template:Steady 0.1%
	Mandarin	n/c	Template:Steady n/c	Template:Gain 0.1%
	Dutch	0.1%	Template:Profit 0.2%	Template:Loss 0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	No religion	15.3%	Template:Profit 19.0%	Template:Profit 26.4%
	Anglican	32.0%	Template:Loss 30.6%	Template:Loss 25.7%
	Catholic	22.5%	Template:Loss 22.1%	Template:Loss 20.0%
	Not stated	n/c	Template:Steady n/c	Template:Gain 10.4%
	Presbyterian and Reformed	7.4%	Template:Loss 6.7%	Template:Loss 6.0%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income	Template:AUD333	Template:AUD396	Template:AUD477
Personal income	% of Australian median income	71.5%	Template:Loss 68.6%	Template:Gain 72.1%
Family income	Median weekly family income	A$631	A$924	A$1133
Family income	% of Australian median income	61.4%	Template:Gain 62.4%	Template:Gain 65.3%
Household income	Median weekly household income	A$781	A$768	A$910
Household income	% of Australian median income	66.7%	Template:Loss 62.2%	Template:Gain 63.3%

CouncilEdit

Current composition and election methodEdit

Clarence Valley Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as one entire ward. 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. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Party		Councillors
Template:Australian party style\|	Independents	6
Template:Australian party style\|	Independent National	2
Template:Australian party style\|	Greens	1
	Total	9

The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Councillor		Party	Notes
Template:Australian party style\|	Cristie Yager	Independent	Councillor
Template:Australian party style\|	Peter Johnstone	Independent National	Councillor
Template:Australian party style\|	Greg Clancy	Greens	Deputy Mayor
Template:Australian party style\|	Ray Smith	Independent	Mayor
Template:Australian party style\|	Alison Whaites	Independent National	Councillor
Template:Australian party style\|	Shane Causley	Independent	Councillor
Template:Australian party style\|	Lynne Cairns	Independent	Councillor
Template:Australian party style\|	Debrah Novak	Independent	Councillor
Template:Australian party style\|	Karen Toms	Independent	Councillor