City of Blue Mountains

City of Blue Mountains New South Wales
The Three Sisters are a top attraction of the city
City of Blue Mountains
Population:	77,784(2009)[1]
Area:	1430 km² (552.1 sq mi)
Mayor:	Daniel Myles[2]
Council Seat:	Katoomba (2 Civic Place)[3]
Region:	Blue Mountains
State District:	Blue Mountains, Penrith
Federal Division:	Macquarie
Website: http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au
LGAs around City of Blue Mountains: Lithgow Hawkesbury Hawkesbury Lithgow City of Blue Mountains Penrith Oberon Wollondilly Liverpool

Location in New South Wales

The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.

Demographics

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there:^[4]

• Were 75,770 people as at 30 June 2006, the 28th largest Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 1.1% of the New South Wales population of 6,827,694
• Was a fall of 505 people over the year to 30 June 2006. It detracted 0.9% from the 58,753 increase in the population of New South Wales
• Was, in percentage terms, a decline of 0.7% in the number of people over the year to 30 June 2006. In New South Wales the population grew by 0.9%
• Was an increase in population over the 10 years to 30 June 2006 of 890 people or 1.2% (0.1% in annual average terms), the 95th highest rate of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 622,966 or 10% (1.0% in annual average terms) over the same period.

Main towns and villages

The urban part of the city consists of a ribbon of close or contiguous towns which lie on the Main Western railway line (served by CityRail's Blue Mountains services) and Great Western Highway between Emu Plains (a western suburb of Sydney) and Lithgow. About 70% of the city's area is within the Blue Mountains National Park which lies north and south of the ribbon of towns. The National Park is part of the much larger Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site and the city brands itself as "The City Within a World Heritage National Park".

The two main towns are Springwood (80 kilometres west of Sydney) and Katoomba (110 kilometres west). The towns of the lower mountains (Lapstone, Glenbrook, Blaxland, Mount Riverview, Warrimoo, Sun Valley, Valley Heights, Springwood, Winmalee, Yellow Rock and Faulconbridge), tend to be dormitory suburbs for Sydney. This is also the case, to a lesser extent, for the towns of the mid mountains (Linden, Woodford, Hazelbrook, Lawson and Bullaburra) and the upper mountains (Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba, Medlow Bath, Blackheath, Mount Victoria and Bell). The economy of the upper mountains is dependent almost entirely on tourism.

The road to Sydney, the Great Western Highway, is mostly dual carriageway but is relatively slow due to the urban development and hilly terrain. An electric train service integrates into CityRail, Sydney's suburban rail network.

Council

Blue Mountains City Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally. The city is divided into four wards, each electing three councillors. The mayor is not directly elected.^[5] The current makeup of the council is as follows:^[5]

Party		Councillors
	Australian Labor Party	3
	Liberal Party of Australia	3
	The Greens	3
	Independents	3
	Total	12

The current council, elected in 2008, is:^[5]

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
First Ward		Eleanor Gibbs	Greens
		Terri Hamilton	Independent
		Janet Mays	Independent
Second Ward		David Clark	Greens
		Chris van der Kley	Liberal
		Adam Searle	Labor	Mayor
Third Ward		Brendan Luchetti	Independent
		Daniel Myles	Liberal
		Alison McLaren	Labor
Fourth Ward		Fiona Creed	Liberal
		Mark Greenhill	Labor
		Howard McCallum	Greens

Blue Mountains Youth Council

The Blue Mountains Youth Council is a government-related youth voice program in the City of Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains Youth Council was chartered in 2003 after being approved by the city council the previous year. The council was founded with the intention of encouraging youth participation in local politics, hence its affiliation with the city council. Membership requires a signed petition, and members are chosen based on a variety of conditions, including location, age, and diversity. In particular, the council encourages involvement by Aboriginals, disabled youth, and other minorities.

In the past, the Youth Council has been responsible for organizing community youth events, as well as acting as a bridge between the city council and the youth of the community. The members also travel to various leadership conferences, and share information they learn with their peers.

The Youth Council is supervised by an advisory committee, which is composed of four city councillors. Although the advisory committee has no voting powers, the members serve as mentors to the group.

Sister cities

• Sanda, Hyōgo, Japan^[6]
• Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A.^[7]

References

1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (30 March 2010). "Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2008–09". http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3218.0Main%20Features42008-09?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3218.0&issue=2008-09&num=&view=. Retrieved 3 June 2010. 
2. ^ "Blue Mountains City Council". New South Wales Government. http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/councillors. Retrieved 2011-04-01. 
3. ^ "Blue Mountains City Council". Department of Local Government. http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_CouncilContactDetails.asp?slacode=900. Retrieved 2006-11-27. 
4. ^ "Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2005-06". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 30 July 2007. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/C33E4C093D8E0951CA2573210018D691?opendocument. Retrieved 2008-06-22. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Blue Mountains City Council". 2008 Election results. Electoral Commission NSW. http://www.lg.elections.nsw.gov.au/LGE2008/result.Blue_Mountains.html. Retrieved 2009-06-16. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Blue Mountains City Council". New South Wales Government. http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/sistercities. Retrieved 2011-04-01. 
7. ^ "Blue Mountains City Council". New South Wales Government. http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/sistercities. Retrieved 2011-04-01. 

External links

New South Wales portal

• Blue Mountains City Council Website
• Blue Mountains Gazette
• Blue Mountains
• Blue Mountains Youth Council

Coordinates: 33°42′S 150°18′E / 33.7°S 150.3°E / -33.7; 150.3