Population 16,354 (2015 est) Mayor Peter Coad Website Huon Valley Council Founded 1993 Federal division Division of Franklin | Established 1993 State electorate(s) Franklin Area 5,497 km² Council seat Huonville | |
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Region Huonville, Huon Valley, and Macquarie Island Points of interest Tahune AirWalk, Hastings Caves State Res, Ida Bay Railway, Port Davey, Cockle Creek Destinations Southwest National Park, Hartz Mountains National, Huonville, Geeveston, Southport - Tasmania | ||
The Huon Valley Council is the local governing body of much of Southern Tasmania. It governs the southernmost local government area in Australia, which encompasses the towns of Cygnet, Dover, Franklin, Geeveston, Glen Huon, Huonville, Port Huon, and Southport as well as many protected conservation areas and a number of forestry plantations.
Contents
Map of Huon Valley, TAS, Australia
History
In 1993 the municipalities of Esperance, Huon and Port Cygnet were amalgamated to form the Huon Valley Council. Remote subantarctic Macquarie Island, which is located some 1400 km southeast of Tasmania proper, was part of Esperance until then, and has been administratively part of the Huon Valley since then.
Demographics
The townships in the south east region of Tasmania that experienced the largest growth were Huonville, Franklin (where the population was up by 1,300 people) and Cygnet (up by 440).
Elections
The Huon Valley Council is composed of nine Councilors elected using the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation as a single ward. All Councilors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are each directly elected for a four-year term. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor must also be elected as Councilors in order to hold office. Elections are normally held in October, with the next election due to be held in October 2018. Neither the Australian Labor Party nor the Liberal Party of Australia endorse local government candidates in Tasmania.
The most recent election of Councilors was held over a two-week period from 14 October to 28 October 2014. Ian Mackintosh was elected to Council in September 2015 following the election of Rosalie Woodruff to the House of Assembly and her subsequent resignation as Councilor.
As elected the Council had 9 members:
Councilor Ken Studley resigned in May 2016 following a Board of Inquiry into the Council, and a replacement was elected via recount of the votes.
In 2016 the entire Huon Valley Council was sacked by the state government after a long period of severe dysfunction. The municipality is presently controlled by an administrator, former Glenorchy mayor and Elwick MLC Adriana Taylor.