Liverpool Plains Shire

Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian place Liverpool Plains Shire is a local government area located in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed on 17 March 2004 by the amalgamation of Quirindi Shire with parts of Parry, Murrurundi and Gunnedah shires.

Main towns

The main town and council seat is located in Quirindi. Other towns and villages in the Shire include Ardglen, Blackville, Caroona, Currabubula, Parraweena, Premer, Spring Ridge, Wallabadah, Werris Creek, and Willow Tree.

Heritage listings

The Liverpool Plains Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Pine Ridge, Windy Road: Windy Station Woolshed<ref name=nswshr-1963>Template:Cite NSW SHR</ref>
• Quirindi, Main Northern railway: Quirindi railway station<ref name=nswshr-1227>Template:Cite NSW SHR</ref>
• Warrah Creek, Merriwa-Murrurundi Road: East Warrah Woolshed<ref name=nswshr-1962>Template:Cite NSW SHR</ref>
• Werris Creek, Main Northern railway: Werris Creek railway station<ref name=nswshr-1285>Template:Cite NSW SHR</ref>

Demographics

At the Template:CensusAU, there were 7,480 people in the Liverpool Plains Shire local government area, of these 50.4 per cent were male and 49.6 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 10.9 per cent of the population, which was three times higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Liverpool Plains Shire was 44 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.5 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 20.2 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 50.8 per cent were married and 12.1 per cent were either divorced or separated.<ref name="Census2011">Template:Census 2011 AUS</ref>

Population growth in the Liverpool Plains Shire between the 2006 census and the 2011 census was −0.80 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.32 per cent, population growth in the Liverpool Plains Shire local government area was significantly lower than the national average.<ref name="Census2006"/> The median weekly income for residents within the Liverpool Plains Shire was significantly lower than the national average.<ref name="Census2011"/>

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Liverpool Plains Shire local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 88 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 75% of all residents in the Liverpool Plains Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was much higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Liverpool Plains Shire local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (2.1 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (94.5 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).<ref name="Census2011"/>

Selected historical census data for the Liverpool Plains Shire local government area
Census year		2001	2006<ref name="Census2006">Template:Census 2006 AUS</ref>	2011<ref name="Census2011"/>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Population	Estimated residents on Census night	n/a	7,540	7,480	7,551
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
	% of New South Wales population			0.11%
	% of Australian population	n/a	0.04%	Template:Decrease 0.03%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	Australian			38.4%	Template:Increase42.9%
	English			30.6%	Template:Increase39.4%
	Australian Aboriginal				13.6%
	Irish			8.8%	Template:Increase10.1%
	Scottish			7.5%	Template:Increase9.9%
	German			2.8%
Language, top responses (other than English)	Italian		nom	Template:Increase 0.1%
	Cantonese		0.3%	Template:Decrease 0.1%
	Vietnamese		n/c	Template:Increase 0.1%
	German		n/c	Template:Increase 0.1%
	Afrikaans		n/c	Template:Increase 0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	Anglican		42.7%	Template:Decrease 42.5%	Template:Decrease29.1%
	Catholic		23.9%	Template:Steady 23.9%	Template:Decrease19.9%
	No Religion		8.4%	Template:Increase 11.8%	Template:Increase27.0%
	Uniting Church		6.3%	Template:Decrease 5.8%	Template:Decrease3.6%
	Presbyterian and Reformed		3.6%	Template:Steady 3.6%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income		Template:AUD438	Template:AUD433	A$620
	% of Australian median income		94.0%	Template:Decrease75.0%	Template:Increase77.0%
Family income	Median weekly family income		Template:AUD1,090	Template:AUD988	A$1,479
	% of Australian median income		93.1%	Template:Gain 66.7%	Template:Increase69.76%
Household income	Median weekly household income		Template:AUD882	Template:AUD797	A$1,165
	% of Australian median income		85.9%	Template:Gain 64.6%	Template:Increase66.72%

Council

Current composition and election method

Liverpool Plains Shire Council is composed of seven councillors elected proportionally as a single 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 current Council, which was elected on 14 September 2024, comprises:

Party		Councillors
scope="row" Template:Australian party style|	Independents	7
	Total	7

Councillor		Party	Notes
Template:Australian party style|	Charile Simkin	Independent
Template:Australian party style|	Shawn Cain	Independent
Template:Australian party style|	Ken Cudmore	Independent
Template:Australian party style|	Terry Cohen	Independent
Template:Australian party style|	James Robertson	Independent
Template:Australian party style|	Donna Lawson	Independent
Template:Australian party style|	Jason Allan	Independent

Geography

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Liverpool Plains have a generally flat to undulating terrain formed from the remnants of old volcanoes such as that of the Liverpool Ranges to the southwest. To the south and east, it merges into the higher and cooler Northern Tablelands.

The Liverpool Plains is generally regarded as the richest agricultural region in Australia owing to its rich black soils, which originally supported a mixed grassland vegetation containing both annual and perennial grasses, which early in the region's history were used to feed cattle and sheep.

Wheat and cotton are the chief crops, although production fluctuates wildly according to rainfall and soil erosion is a major problem occurring both after droughts and floods. The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter, and of moderate rainfall. The average is generally around Template:Convert with a slight summer maximum, but is quite erratic and can vary from Template:Convert in very wet years to as little as Template:Convert. Temperatures in summer frequently exceed Template:Convert and make cropping without irrigation risky without sophisticated meteorological forecasting techniques.