Port Stephens Council facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Port Stephens Council New South Wales
The Port Stephens Council chambers in Raymond Terrace, the council's centre of government
Location in Greater Newcastle
Population	75,276 (2021 census) 72,695 (2018 est.)
• Density	76.89/km2 (199.1/sq mi)
Area	979 km2 (378.0 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor	Ryan Palmer
Location	168 km (104 mi) NNE of Sydney 25.8 km (16 mi) N of Newcastle 22 km (14 mi) E of Maitland
Council seat	Raymond Terrace
Region	Hunter
State electorate(s)	Port Stephens Newcastle
Federal Division(s)	Paterson Newcastle
Website	Port Stephens Council
LGAs around Port Stephens Council: Dungog Dungog, Mid-Coast Mid-Coast Maitland Port Stephens Council Tasman Sea Maitland Newcastle Tasman Sea

Port Stephens Council is a local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located just north of Newcastle. The Pacific Highway runs through Raymond Terrace, which is the largest town and the main office for the Council.

The area is named after Port Stephens, a large natural harbour. The Council area stretches from the Hunter River in the south to near Clarence Town in the north. It goes from the Tasman Sea in the east to just south of Paterson in the west. The current mayor of Port Stephens Council is Ryan Palmer. Port Stephens is about two and a half hours drive north of Sydney.

Towns and Suburbs

Raymond Terrace, where the Hunter and Williams rivers meet, is the biggest town and the main office for Port Stephens Council.

Nelson Bay, a suburb in Port Stephens.

Most people in Port Stephens live in Raymond Terrace and its nearby suburb of Heatherbrae. Many also live around the beautiful shores of Port Stephens. These areas include Anna Bay, Boat Harbour, Corlette, Fingal Bay, Fishermans Bay, Karuah, Lemon Tree Passage, Mallabula, Nelson Bay, One Mile, Oyster Cove, Salamander Bay, Shoal Bay, Soldiers Point, Swan Bay, Tanilba Bay and Taylors Beach.

Other people live in the large rural areas west of the Pacific Highway. These include towns and suburbs like Balickera, Butterwick, Duns Creek, Eagleton, East Seaham, Glen Oak, Hinton, Nelsons Plains, Osterley, Seaham, Wallalong and Woodville. There is also a residential area called Brandy Hill.

In the southern part of the area, you'll find rural communities like Bobs Farm, Fern Bay, Fullerton Cove, Salt Ash, Tomago and Williamtown. Tomago has both farms and factories. Williamtown is home to a Royal Australian Air Force base, which shares its airfield with Newcastle Airport.

In the northern part of the area are Karuah and Twelve Mile Creek. Karuah is mostly a residential area next to Port Stephens and the Karuah River. It has the largest Aboriginal community in the area. Twelve Mile Creek is almost entirely rural.

In the middle of the area, between Raymond Terrace and Port Stephens, are Campvale, Ferodale and Medowie. Ferodale is known for Grahamstown Dam, a large man-made dam. This dam holds 131,800 megalitres (4,650×10^⁶ cu ft) of water and is a key source of fresh water for the region. The rest of this central area has a mix of farms, semi-rural homes, and residential developments.

You can find a map of all the towns, suburbs, and places in the Port Stephens Council area on the Port Stephens Council website.

Population Information

At the 2011 census, there were about 64,807 people living in the Port Stephens local government area. Slightly more than half (50.8%) were female, and 49.2% were male.

About 3.6% of the population were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The average age of people in Port Stephens Council was 42 years old, which is a bit older than the national average of 37 years. Children aged 0 to 14 made up 19.5% of the population, and people aged 65 and over made up 19.3%.

Between 2001 and 2011, the population of Port Stephens Council grew at a similar rate to the rest of Australia. The average weekly income for people living in Port Stephens was a bit lower than the national average.

Most residents (over 81%) said their ancestry was Australian or Anglo-Celtic. Over 63% of people identified with Christianity in 2011. Most households (92.2%) spoke English only at home, which is higher than the national average.

Selected historical census data for the Port Stephens Council local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011	2016
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	56,474	60,484	64,807	69,556
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales				36th
		% of New South Wales population			0.94%	0.93%
		% of Australian population	0.30%	0.30%	0.30%	0.30%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			33.3%	32.0%
		English			32.5%	32.0%
		Irish			8.0%	8.2%
		Scottish			7.5%	7.7%
		German			3.1%	3.0%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Italian	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%
		Spanish	n/c	n/c	n/c	0.2%
		German	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
		Greek	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
		French	n/c	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		No Religion	11.9%	14.9%	18.7%	25.9%
		Anglican	32.5%	31.3%	29.4%	24.9%
		Catholic	24.2%	23.5%	23.3%	21.7%
		Uniting Church	8.0%	7.2%	6.4%	4.9%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	4.5%	4.1%	3.9%	n/c
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$388	A$498	A$571
		% of Australian median income		83.3%	86.3%	86.3%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,029	A$1,245	A$1,431
		% of Australian median income		87.9%	84.1%	82.5%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$830	A$999	A$1,180
		% of Australian median income		80.8%	81.0%	82.1%

How the Council Works

The Port Stephens Council is made up of ten councillors. This includes the mayor, who is chosen directly by the people. The other nine councillors are elected from three different areas called wards, with three councillors from each ward. They serve for a set term of four years.

The most recent election was on December 4, 2021. Here's how the Council is currently made up:

How the Port Stephens Council was made up after the 2021 election.

Here are the councillors who were elected in 2021, listed by their ward:

Past Councillors

Here are some of the councillors who served in the past:

Central Ward

East Ward

West Ward

Proposed Merger with Newcastle

In 2015, the NSW Government looked at changing local government areas. At first, Port Stephens Council was not part of any plans to join with other councils. However, after the Lake Macquarie City Council avoided joining with Newcastle City Council, the government suggested that Newcastle City Council should instead merge with Port Stephens Council. This would have created a new, larger council.

Many people were against this idea. Thousands of residents attended meetings and signed petitions to show their opposition. Local politicians and community leaders also spoke out against the merger. Port Stephens Council stated that 93% of its residents were against the plan. The Council even suggested joining with Dungog Shire instead, which was supported by some in both communities.

On February 14, 2017, the NSW government announced that it would not go ahead with any more regional council mergers, including the one between Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council.

Getting Around Port Stephens

Interior of Newcastle Airport terminal building in 2011.

Port Stephens Coaches runs bus services within Port Stephens. They also have buses that go to Newcastle Interchange and between Newcastle and Newcastle Airport. You can also take a daily coach service from Port Stephens to Sydney, ending at Central railway station.

Newcastle Airport is located in Williamtown. You can fly directly from here to many cities like Brisbane, Melbourne, Ballina, Canberra, Dubbo, Gold Coast, Sydney and Taree. Airlines like Virgin Australia, QantasLink, FlyPelican and Jetstar use this airport.

The closest main train station to Port Stephens is Newcastle Interchange. From here, NSW TrainLink offers train services to Sydney, Maitland, Telarah, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Scone.

The Port Stephens Ferry Service provides a boat link between Nelson Bay and Tea Gardens.

Climate

The Port Stephens Council area covers about 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi). It stretches about 57 kilometres (35 mi) from east to west and 30 km (19 mi) from north to south. Because it's so big, it has different weather conditions across the area.

The weather is watched by five stations, mostly located at the main points of the area, run by the Bureau of Meteorology. One station is at RAAF Base Williamtown. The tables below show the average weather data for different parts of the area.

Eastern Climate

Northern Climate

South-Central Climate

Western Climate

Southern Climate

Climate Action

In 2020, Port Stephens Council created a plan to deal with climate change and joined the Cities Power Partnership. This plan recognizes that Australia's climate is changing and that we need to act now for a healthy future.

The Council's climate action plan focuses on three main areas:

• Education: Helping local residents and businesses learn about climate change risks and how to manage them.
• Reducing Emissions: Finding ways to lower the amount of greenhouse gases released into the air.
• Adapting: Preparing for the changes that climate change will bring.

The Council has promised to:

• Talk with local people and businesses to raise awareness about climate change.
• Ask the community for ideas on how to manage climate change risks.
• Create a plan to show its actions, goals, and how well it's doing.
• Work on projects to reduce its impact on climate change.
• Keep reviewing its plan to adapt to climate change.
• Share its progress in managing climate change risks regularly.
• Look for ways to get money to support its climate projects.

In 2021, the Council decided to make its own operations carbon neutral by 2025. This means they want to balance the amount of carbon they release with the amount they remove. They have already put solar panels and LED lights in some council buildings to save energy and money. They also used recycled glass in a new roundabout, which was a first for the region.

The Council is currently studying its greenhouse gas emissions and plans to create a "roadmap" to become carbon neutral later in 2022.

There is also a community group called Climate Action Port Stephens (CAPS), started in 2019. This group is made up of local residents who care about climate change and want the community to take real action. CAPS has asked the Council to declare a climate emergency. CAPS is part of EcoNetwork Port Stephens, a volunteer group that has been working for nature conservation since 1993.

Sister Cities

Port Stephens has special "sister city" relationships with these cities around the world:

• Bellingham, Washington, United States (since 1982)
• Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan (since 1994)
• Tateyama, Chiba, Japan (Friendship Cities from 1999–2009, sister cities since 2009)
• Yugawara, Kanagawa, Japan (Since 1999)