The City of Newcastle is a local government
area in the Hunter region. The City of Newcastle
incorporates much of the area of the Newcastle
metropolitan area.
Proposed amalgamation
After a 2015 review of local government
boundaries by the NSW Government Independent
Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal found that
Newcastle City Council was not "fit for the
future", it was recommended that the City of
Newcastle merge with Lake Macquarie City
Council. However, the Minister for Local
Government subsequently proposed that Newcastle
City Council instead merge with Port Stephens
Council to form a new council with an area of
1,045 km2 and support a population of
approximately 230,000. The outcome of an
independent review was completed by mid–2016. On
14 February 2017, the NSW Government announced
it would not be proceeding with further regional
council mergers, including the Newcastle City
Council and Port Stephens Council merger.
Demographics
At the 2011 census, there were 148,535
people in the City of Newcastle local government
area, of these 49.2 per cent were male and 50.8
per cent were female.Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people made up 2.6 per cent of
the population, which was marginally higher than
the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent.
The median age of people in the City of
Newcastle was 37 years, equal to the national
median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 17.0
per cent of the population and people aged 65
years and over made up 15.4 per cent of the
population. Of people in the area aged 15 years
and over, 41.6 per cent were married and 12.6
per cent were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Newcastle
between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was
3.91 per cent; and in the subsequent five years
to the 2011 census, population growth was 4.78
per cent. 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 City of Newcastle local
government area was significantly lower than the
national average. The median weekly income for
residents within the City of Newcastle was
marginally lower than the national average.
At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents
in the City of Newcastle local government area
who stated
their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded
76 per cent of all residents (national average
was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 56% of all
residents in the City of Newcastle nominated
a religious affiliation with Christianity at the
2011 census, which was slightly higher than the
national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as
at the census date, compared to the national
average, households in the City of Newcastle
local government area had a significantly lower
than average proportion (10.1 per cent) where
two or more languages are spoken (national
average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly
higher proportion (87.3 per cent)
where English only was spoken at home (national
average was 76.8 per cent).
Sister cities
Newcastle Council has sister city relations
with the following cities:
|
City |
Prefecture/State |
Country |
Year |
 |
Ube |
Yamaguchi |
Japan |
1980 |
 |
Dubbo |
New South Wales |
Australia |
1995 |
 |
Arcadia |
California |
United States |
|