60-697: Moree Plains Shire is a local government area in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales , Australia . The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland . The Shire is located adjacent to the Newell and Gwydir Highways and the North West railway line . The mayor of Moree Plains Shire Council is Cr. Katrina Humphries, an independent politician. The main town and seat of council
120-588: A unitary authority , but the Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to the whole of the ACT as an unincorporated area. The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection. Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of
180-591: A geographic or historical interpretation. The council board members are generally known as councillors , and the head councillor is called the mayor . As of August 2016, there were 547 local councils in Australia. Despite the single tier of local governance in Australia, there are a number of extensive regions with relatively low populations that are not a part of any established LGA. Powers of local governments in these unincorporated areas may be exercised by special-purpose governing bodies established outside of
240-545: A larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia. In 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A 2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils. Local government powers are determined by state governments, and states have primary responsibility for funding and exclusive responsibility for supervision of local councils. Local government
300-608: A number of springs and seeps , mostly in the southern part of the basin. The age of the groundwater, determined by carbon-14 and chlorine-36 measurements combined with hydraulic modelling, ranges from several thousand years for the recharge areas in the north to nearly 2 million years in the south-western discharge zones. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, waters of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) discharged through mound springs, many in arid South Australia, such as Witjira-Dalhousie Springs . These springs sustained
360-687: A program pool, children's hidroplay area and a giant waterslide. Moree also known as the Home of the Big Rocket. There is 14-metre rocket and a space themed command centre playground, along with a double swing set in local Kirkby Park. A Liberty Swing for disabled children is installed alongside the Rocket. The Shire has a relatively high Indigenous Australian population (seventeen per cent), and in recent years has achieved recognition for its Aboriginal Employment Strategy, targeting indigenous employment in
420-677: A result of coal seam gas extraction. In one incident, reported in the program, the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) " fracked " its Myrtle 3 well connecting the Springbok aquifer to the coal seam below (the Walloon Coal Measures) in 2009. A local farmer was concerned that the process might have released 130 litres (29 imp gal; 34 US gal) of a potentially toxic chemical into the Basin. QGC admitted
480-403: A shift from 'services to property' towards 'services to people'. Community expectations of local government in Australia have risen in the 21st century partly as a result of wider participation in decision-making and transparent management practices. Recent years have seen some State governments devolving additional powers onto LGAs. In Queensland and Western Australia LGAs have been granted
540-560: A variety of endemic invertebrates, such as molluscs , and supported extensive Aboriginal communities and trade routes. After the arrival of Europeans, the springs facilitated exploration, and allowed the provision of faster communications between south-eastern Australia and Europe, via the Australian Overland Telegraph Line . The Great Artesian Basin became an important water supply for cattle stations , irrigation , and livestock and domestic purposes, and
600-509: Is Moree . Other towns and villages in the Shire include Ashley , Boomi , Boggabilla , Garah , Gurley , Millie , Mungindi , Pallamallawa and Weemelah . Moree has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: At the 2011 census , there were 13,429 people in the Moree Plains local government area, of these 50.8 per cent were male and 49.2 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 20.8 per cent of
660-487: Is a vital life line for rural Australia. To tap it, boreholes are drilled down to a suitable rock layer, and the pressure of the water often forces it up without the need for pumps . The discovery and use of the water in the Great Artesian Basin allowed the settlement of thousands of square kilometres of country away from rivers in inland New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia, that would otherwise have been unavailable for pastoral activities. European discovery of
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#1732794282949720-489: Is expected to continue operating until approximately 2060. In addition, the Basin provides water, via a 1.2-kilometre-deep ( 3 ⁄ 4 mi) bore, for a geothermal power station at Birdsville . Water emerges from the bore at 98 °C (208 °F) and provides 25% of the town's electricity needs. After being cooled, the water is also the source of the town's drinking water. The Great Artesian Basin underlies parts of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and
780-531: Is mentioned in the annotated Australian constitution, as a department of the State Governments, and they are mentioned in the constitutions of each of the six states. Under the Constitution, the federal government cannot provide funding directly to local governments; a 1974 referendum sought to amend the Constitution to authorise the federal government to directly fund local governments, but it
840-462: Is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger East Australian Basins division, and includes the smaller Wilcannia Threshold physiographic section. The water of the Great Artesian Basin is held in a sandstone layer laid down by continental erosion of higher ground during the Triassic , Jurassic , and early Cretaceous periods. During a time when much of what is now inland Australia
900-447: Is part of a local government area. Unincorporated areas are often in remote locations, cover vast areas, or have very small populations. Queensland and Tasmania are entirely partitioned into LGAs and have no unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has no municipalities. The ACT government is responsible for both state-level and local-level matters. In some countries, such an arrangement would be referred to as
960-504: Is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state/territory it belongs to. The functions and practices of local councils are mostly centered around managing public services and land uses at the community level, and are similar throughout Australia, but can vary to some degree between jurisdictions. State departments oversee the activities of local councils and may intervene in their affairs when needed, subject to relevant legislation. For more details in each state and territory, see
1020-640: Is the City of Brisbane , the most populous LGA in the country, which administers a significant part of the Brisbane metropolitan area . In most cases, when a city's population statistics are used, it is the statistical division population rather than the local government area. The following table provides a summary of local government areas by states and territories by local government area types as of December 2023: The Australian Classification of Local Governments (ACLG) categorises local governing authorities using
1080-664: The Local Government Act does not mandate adopting a designation, some local government areas are legally known simply as "council", such as Port Macquarie-Hastings Council , Inner West Council and Federation Council . Some rural areas in South Australia are known as "district council", and all the LGAs in Tasmania that were previously municipalities have been renamed "council". Almost all local councils have
1140-637: The Outback Communities Authority . Victoria has a number of unincorporated areas which are not part of any LGA: Western Australia has two unincorporated areas: Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin ( GAB ) of Australia is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, extending over 1,700,000 square kilometres (660,000 sq mi). Measured water temperatures range from 30 to 100 °C (86 to 212 °F). The basin provides
1200-735: The Pastoral Unincorporated Area in South Australia . Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory . The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), however, considers
1260-805: The Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin , Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula , Alyangula on Groote Eylandt , and Yulara in Central Australia . In South Australia , 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency,
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#17327942829491320-652: The United States , there is only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between counties and cities . The Australian local government is generally run by a council , and its territory of public administration is referred to generically by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the local government area or LGA , each of which encompasses multiple suburbs or localities (roughly equivalent to neighborhoods) often of different postcodes ; however, stylised terms such as "city", " borough ", " region " and " shire " also have
1380-537: The states and territories , and in turn beneath the federal government . Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia , and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state/territory government recognises local government in its own respective constitution . Unlike the two-tier local government system in Canada or
1440-488: The 2001 census and the 2011 census the Moree Plains Shire experienced negative population growth in both absolute and real terms. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Moree Plains local government area was significantly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within
1500-429: The 2011 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Moree Plains local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.6 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (89.4 per cent) where English only
1560-460: The Committee comprises all state, territory, and Australian government agencies with responsibilities for management of parts of the Great Artesian Basin, community representatives nominated by agencies; and sector representatives. In 2011, ABC TV 's public affairs program Four Corners revealed that significant concerns were being expressed about depletion and chemical damage to the Basin as
1620-423: The Moree Plains Shire was generally close to the national average. At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Moree Plains local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 77 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 70 per cent of all residents in the Moree Plains Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at
1680-1156: The Northern Territory, which each operate under different legislative frameworks, policies and resource management approaches. In 2020 the Australian government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water published the Great Artesian Basin Strategic Management Plan, which was prepared together with the individual governments and in consultation with the GABCC, stakeholders and public feedback. The Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee (GABCC) provides advice from community organisations and agencies to state, territory and Australian government ministers on efficient, effective and sustainable whole-of-Basin resource management and to coordinate activity between stakeholders. Membership of
1740-526: The area has been known for also growing sunflowers. Both as a cash crop and as a polyculture crop. Though sunflower cropping has decreased, wild sunflowers are extremely abundant in the central shire. [REDACTED] Media related to Moree Plains Shire at Wikimedia Commons Local government in Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Local government is the third level of government in Australia , administered with limited autonomy under
1800-473: The basin dates from 1878 when a shallow bore near Bourke produced flowing water. There were similar discoveries in 1886 at Back Creek east of Barcaldine , and in 1887 near Cunnamulla . In essence, water extraction from the GAB is a mining operation, with recharge much less than current extraction rates. In 1915, there were 1,500 bores providing 2,000 megalitres (1,600 acre⋅ft ) of water per day, but today
1860-453: The entire ACT as an " unincorporated " local government area, even though it is technically a state-level administrative region . Although all essentially identical in functions and jurisdictions, Australian local governments have a variety of different titles. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of
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1920-504: The first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from
1980-448: The first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78. South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in
2040-415: The following: The Australian Capital Territory is not divided into local government areas, so it is regarded as a single "unincorporated" local government area during censusing . Unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. Aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia
2100-501: The government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations . New South Wales has three unincorporated areas: In the Northern Territory , 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in
2160-437: The groundwater contaminated by coal seam gas. Instances of groundwater being contaminated and by extension poisoning the ecosystems sustained by the availability of groundwater have been widely documented, and are an exacerbating factor in regards to the population's capability to cope with drought through usage of groundwater sources in Australia. Glencore planned to inject up to 110,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year into
2220-666: The incident, but "did not alert authorities or nearby water users about the problem until thirteen months after the incident". The safety data sheet QGC had submitted for the hydraulic fracturing chemical was derived from the United States, incomplete and ten years out of date. Over thirty chemicals may be used in the process of hydraulic fracturing and their long-term impact on aquifers, agriculture and people supported by them has been quantifiable and verified for quite some time. Lead, aluminium, arsenic, barium, boron, nickel and uranium have all been found beyond recommended levels in
2280-628: The local legislation, as with Victoria 's alpine resorts ; or directly administered by state/territory governments, such as the entirety of the Australian Capital Territory . The administrative area covered by local government councils in Australia ranges from as small as 1.5 km (0.58 sq mi) for the Shire of Peppermint Grove in the Perth metropolitan region , to as big as 624,339 km (241,059 sq mi) for
2340-427: The mainstream workforce through a process of mentoring and counselling of both employer and employee. Moree Plains Shire is the most productive agricultural Local Government area in Australia, averaging around A$ 1Billion per year in agricultural primary production. Current produce includes wheat , barley , sorghum , pulses , cotton , maize , beef , sheep , wool , olives , pecans , and canola . Historically,
2400-553: The mayor is elected by the board of fellow councillors . The powers of mayors vary as well; for example, mayors in Queensland have broad executive functions, whereas mayors in New South Wales are essentially ceremonial figureheads who can only exercise power at the discretion of the council. Most of the capital city LGAs administer only the central business districts and nearby central suburbs . A notable exception
2460-509: The mound springs referred to above have dried up due to a drop in water pressure, probably resulting in extinction of several invertebrate species. The Olympic Dam mine in South Australia is permitted to extract up to 42 megalitres (1.5 × 10 ^ cu ft) of water daily from the Great Artesian Basin under the Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act 1982 . The underground copper and uranium mine commenced operations in 1988 and
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2520-631: The names of LGAs, and today the stylised titles of " town ", " borough ", " municipality ", " district ", " region ", "community government", " Aboriginal council/shire" and "island" are used in addition. The word "municipality" occurs in some states with differing meanings: in New South Wales it is typically used for older urban areas, and the word is used for some rural towns in South Australia . Larger towns and small metropolitan exurban centres in Queensland and Western Australia simply use
2580-649: The number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils. The main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy . An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced
2640-650: The only source of fresh water through much of inland Australia. The basin underlies 22% of the Australian continent, including most of Queensland , the south-east corner of the Northern Territory , north-eastern South Australia , and northern New South Wales . It is 3000 metres (9800 feet) deep in places and is estimated to contain 64,900 cubic kilometres (15,600 cubic miles) of groundwater . The Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee (GABCC) coordinates activity between federal, state/territory and local levels of government and community organisations. This area
2700-619: The part of local governments. There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia , though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936. The first official local government in Australia
2760-505: The population which is approximately nine times above both the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Moree Plains Shire was 35 years; slightly lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 23.4 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.5 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 44.2 per cent were married and 9.9 per cent were either divorced or separated. Between
2820-818: The population, the population density and the proportion of the population that is classified as being urban for the council. The classification, at the two-digit level, is: All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia. The councils' chief responsibility in
2880-414: The power to independently enact their own local subsidiary legislation , in contrast to the previous system of by-laws . Councils also have organised their own representative structures such as Local Government Associations and Regional Organisations of Councils . Doctrines of New Public Management have shaped state government legislation towards increased freedoms aiming to allow greater flexibility on
2940-538: The purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation , however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction. General purpose grants become available for
3000-402: The rock formations from relatively high ground near the eastern edge of the basin (in Queensland and New South Wales) and very gradually flows toward the south and west. A much smaller amount enters along the western margin in arid central Australia, flowing to the south and east through the permeable sandstone, at a rate of one to five metres per year. Discharge water eventually exits through
3060-408: The same administrative functions and similar political structures, regardless of their naming, and retain a particular designation ("shire", "borough", "town", "city") for historical reasons only. They will typically have an elected council and usually a mayor or shire president responsible for chairing meetings of the council. In some councils, the mayor is a directly elected figure, but in most cases
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#17327942829493120-493: The state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish. However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control as well as community safety and accessible transport. The changes in services has been described as
3180-621: The term "town", while in Victoria they are designated as "rural city". Historically, the word "borough" was common for small towns and suburban centers in Victoria, but nowadays only the Borough of Queenscliffe remains as the one and only borough in the entire country. New South Wales and Queensland have also introduced a new term "region" for outback LGAs formed by the amalgamation of smaller shires and rural cities. In New South Wales, where
3240-638: The total output has dropped to 1,500 megalitres (1,200 acre⋅ft) per day. This included just under 2,000 freely-flowing bores and more than 9,000 that required mechanical power to bring water to the surface. Many bores are unregulated or abandoned, resulting in considerable water wastage. These problems have existed for many decades, and in January 2007 the Australian Commonwealth Government announced additional funding in an attempt to bring them under control. However, many of
3300-501: The varying designations, whilst the local governing legislature itself is generally known as a council . In general, an urban / suburban LGA is called a " city ", as in the City of Melbourne , City of Canada Bay and City of Bunbury ; while an exurban / rural LGA covering a larger agricultural / natural area is usually called a " shire ", as in Shire of Mornington Peninsula , Shire of Banana and Lachlan Shire . Sometimes designations other than "city" or "shire" are used in
3360-478: The waters", an activity particularly popular with immigrants from eastern and southern Europe and eastern Asia. Moree itself sits at the south-eastern extremity of the Great Artesian Basin , a vast underground water resource covering much of eastern and central Australia. The MAAC has recently undergone a $ 7millon redevelopment. Along with the artesian pools and FINA standard Olympic pool, it also has
3420-623: Was below sea level , the sandstone was covered by a layer of marine sedimentary rock, which formed a confining layer that trapped water in the sandstone aquifer. The eastern edge of the basin was uplifted when the Great Dividing Range formed. The other side was created from the landforms of the Central Eastern Lowlands and the Great Western Plateau to the west. Most recharge water enters
3480-539: Was defeated. A 1988 referendum sought to explicitly insert mention of local government in the federal constitution but this was comprehensively defeated. A further referendum was proposed in 2013 , but was cancelled due to the change in the election date . Federal government interaction with local councils happens regularly through the provision of federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. Local government in Australia has very limited legislative powers and no judicial powers , and executive -wise
3540-651: Was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent). Moree Plains Shire Council is composed of nine 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 most recent election was held on 4 December 2021 , and the makeup of the council is as follows: The current council, elected in 2021 , in order of election, is: A 2011 research study reported that: The Moree Artesian Aquatics Centre (MAAC), first established in 1896, attracts visitors from around Australia and overseas to "take
3600-621: Was the Perth Town Trust , established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for
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