24-589: The City of Greater Geraldton is a local government area in the Mid West region of Western Australia , 424 kilometres (263 mi) north of the state capital, Perth on the Indian Ocean. It covers an area of 12,625.5 square kilometres (4,874.7 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Geraldton . It was established on 1st July 2011 following the amalgamation of the Shire of Mullewa and
48-443: A significant reduction in the number of decisions requiring ministerial approval which allowed for streamlined decision-making and greater local government autonomy. Although successive state governments have periodically promoted municipal amalgamation, only a small number of local governments have merged over the course of Western Australia's history. Historically most local governments have strongly resisted forced amalgamations and
72-1197: A state government elsewhere in Australia are provided by departments of the Western Australian Government, and by contractors, with the costs met by the federal government. An ordinance subsequently created the Shire of Christmas Island out of a merger of the two previous entities. A nine-member Shire Council was established to provide local services. Councillors serve four-year terms, with four or five being chosen every second year. The first elections were held in May 1993. The Shire's offices are located at George Fam Centre, Murray Road, Christmas Island . The shire has around 1,200 residents consisting mostly of Malaysian Chinese , Malays , people of Anglo Australian descent and smaller communities of Malaysian Indians and Eurasians. The main languages spoken are English, Malay , and Mandarin Chinese . Some residents speak other Chinese dialects . About 60% of
96-536: A tax on private allotments to fund the construction and maintenance of "roads, paths and plantations". As the Colony began to develop, the first form of local government was established in some areas under the Towns Improvement Act of 1838. These trusts were empowered to elect ratepayers as Trustees and assess and collect a property tax for the construction of roads. Many of these town trusts, including
120-782: The Indian Ocean Territories Administration of Laws Act , which allows the Western Australian Local Government Act to apply "on-island" as though it were a Commonwealth act. Nonetheless, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are not parts of Western Australia. The most recent local government elections were held in 2023 . Land was originally granted in the Swan River Colony under regulations which allowed for land commissioners to assess
144-687: The City of Geraldton-Greenough , itself a product of a 2007 amalgamation between the City of Geraldton and Shire of Greenough . A recommendation was made to the Minister for Local Government by the Local Government Advisory Board in August 2006 to amalgamate the Shire of Greenough with the City of Geraldton . The Greenough electors successfully petitioned for a referendum to determine whether amalgamation should proceed. This
168-619: The Greater Perth Movement around this time led to the amalgamation of inner city local governments to create a greatly expanded City of Perth until 1993, when the City was broken up once again. The first local government department was established by the state in 1949 to guide local government authorities. Following the war local governments increasingly expanded their services from property, health and local infrastructure (roads, drainage) to community and social services. This
192-513: The Perth Town Trust , experienced severe administrative and financial difficulties, and in some cases barely functioned at all. The Guildford Town Trust lasted only a couple of years before ceasing to function until it was reconstituted in 1863. The District Roads Act and Municipal Institutions Act , both of 1871 improved matters by allowing for the establishment of Roads Boards and Municipal Corporations. Municipal Corporations had
216-483: The Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands are also included for comparison purposes. Federal external territory. Currently, Western Australia has ten regional councils. Each regional council comprises two or more local government areas (LGAs). Shire of Christmas Island The Shire of Christmas Island is a local government area encompassing the Australian external territory of Christmas Island . Under
240-641: The Christmas Island Act, Western Australian laws apply to the island, including the Local Government Act 1995 . It covers an area of 136.7 km in the Indian Ocean about 2,360 km north-west of Perth and 500 km south of Java in Indonesia. It has a population of 1,692 (LGA 2021). The island was previously a British territory administered through Singapore but was transferred to Australia in 1945. After 1958, it
264-536: The City of Greater Geraldton with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census : The population of Greater Geraldton grew from 34,019 in 2001 to 38,634 at the 2016 census , representing an increase of 14%. Unemployment in Greater Geraldton at the census was estimated at 8.8%, compared to 7.8% in Western Australia and 6.9% nationally. The historical populations of
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#1732790494870288-486: The Territory."; non-application or partial application of such laws is at the discretion of the federal government. The Act also gives Western Australian courts judicial power over Christmas Island. Christmas Island remains constitutionally distinct from Western Australia, however; the power of the state to legislate for the territory is power delegated by the federal government. The kind of services typically provided by
312-635: The area which formed Geraldton-Greenough were: As of 2023, 744 places are heritage-listed in the City of Greater Geraldton, of which 86 are on the State Register of Heritage Places . 28°46′44″S 114°36′25″E / 28.779°S 114.607°E / -28.779; 114.607 Local government areas of Western Australia There are 137 local government areas (LGAs) in Western Australia , which comprise 27 cities, 102 shires, and 8 towns that manage their own affairs to
336-627: The capacity to levy property taxes, pass municipal by-laws and undertake various local regulatory services previously carried out by colonial officials and other central bodies. Corporations could also establish civic institutions and facilities with the governors' consent, including libraries and botanical gardens. Road Boards where strictly limited to the construction of roads, could not levy property taxes and depended on colonial government grants for any expenditures. Women were permitted to be elected to Road Boards from 1911 and to Municipal Corporations from 1919. The influence of town clerk W.E. Bold and
360-606: The extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1995 . The Local Government Act 1995 also makes provision for regional local governments (referred to as "regional councils", established by two or more local governments for a particular purpose. There are three classifications of local government in Western Australia: The Shire of Christmas Island and the Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands are federal external territories and covered by
384-419: The mayor of City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder , and including Ian Carpenter, the mayor of the former City and Nino Messina, the mayor of the former Shire. Wards were abolished in 2019 and all twelve councillors represent the area at large. Prior to 2019, the city was divided into seven wards, each with two councillors, plus a directly elected mayor to serve the entire district. The towns, suburbs and localities of
408-595: The merger. Polls were held in both municipalities, with 72.61% of voters in Geraldton-Greenough and 83.23% of voters in Mullewa voting against the merger. However, both polls failed to reach the minimum 50% required to be a valid poll, and the City of Greater Geraldton came into being on 1 July 2011. Until the October 2011 elections, the council was administered by five commissioners, led by Ron Yuryevich ,
432-459: The population speaks Chinese at home, 20% speak Malay at home, and 20% speak English or another European language at home. The office was known as the "President of Christmas Island Shire Council" prior to 2004. The shire has nine councillors and no wards. Christmas Island District High School is the school on Christmas Island. Until the end of 2002 the school was a K-Year 10 school; previously all post-compulsory levels and now compulsory with
456-455: The present day. In the 1970s, the scope of local government services expanded to encompass the provision of nursing homes and other forms of aged care. During the late 1980s, and early 1990s a bi-partisan reform process led to the Local Government Act 1995 , which amongst other changes, established for the first time a clear separation of responsibility between elected councillors and local government administration. Other key changes included
480-424: The state in line with reforms undertaken elsewhere in Australia. Ultimately, the plan did not succeed, but a number of local governments commenced negotiations for voluntary mergers. One such group included the City, the Shire of Chapman Valley and the Shire of Mullewa . In February 2010, Chapman Valley decided not to proceed, citing community opposition. In December 2010, the Local Government Advisory Board approved
504-783: The total number of authorities has declined only marginally over the last century. The most recent state government led effort to encourage the voluntary amalgamation of 30 metropolitan local governments into 16 was abandoned by the Barnett government in 2014. In 2017, the McGowan government initiated a review process to reform the Local Government Act 1995. The 30 metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 20 cities, 3 shires, and 7 towns. The 107 non-metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 7 cities, 99 shires, and 1 town . The Shire of Christmas Island and
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#1732790494870528-408: Was held on 2 December 2006, and with a participation rate of 28.74%, a majority of 80% voted against the proposal. However, under the Local Government Act 1995 (clause 10 of Schedule 2.1) as the vote did not attract 50% of registered voters, it did not meet the requirements for a valid poll. The Liberal government, elected in mid-2008, announced its intentions to amalgamate local governments around
552-795: Was managed by the Christmas Island Assembly and Christmas Island Services Corporation. The Australian Government provides Commonwealth-level government services through the Christmas Island Administration and the Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government . As per the Federal Government's Territories Law Reform Act 1992 , which came into force on 1 July 1992, Western Australian laws are applied to Christmas Island "so far as they are capable of applying in
576-414: Was termed the “New Order” at the time, and encompassed the development of community centres, infant health clinics and sporting facilities. Only a few cities – Fremantle , Nedlands , Perth , South Perth , and Subiaco – existed prior to 1961. On 1 July 1961, all road districts became shires, and all municipalities became towns or cities. This structure has continued till
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