New England Online > Geography > Administrative Divisions > County Government
Counties
New England is divided into thirteen counties for the purposes of the various administrative functions of government. The counties were created by Article V of the Constitution, and have a variety of powers devolved to them under a number of acts, most notably the Counties Act.
The counties of New England have their foundation in the pre-independence "local government areas" of New South Wales that were first established in the mid-nineteenth century. The majority of the modern counties were formally established in 2012, although there have been some boundary alterations made since. The main administration of each county is carried out in "county towns", which is usually the largest town or city in the county.
Under the recent reforms, the creation, delimitation and regulation of the counties is to be carried out by the Ministry of Home Affairs, with the process to be supervised by a newly formed Local Government Commission, which is to be appointed by the parliament.
The Counties
The following is a list of the present Counties of New England, with county town, postal code and year of establishment. Information on New England's former counties can be found fyrther down the page.
| Counties of New England | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Post Code |
Date Established |
County Town |
Population | Earl | HoA Seats |
|||
| 1 |  |
Apsleyshire | APSY | 1 October 2012 | Walcha | 74,130 | Helen Moss (SDLP) |
2 | |
| 2 |  |
Clarence | CLNC | 1 July 2016 | Grafton | 127,150 | Liz Gill (National) |
4 | |
| 3 |  |
Fitzroyshire | FITZ | 1 October 2012 | Coffs Harbour | 203,218 | Ed Jackson (National) |
6 | |
| 4 |  |
Greater Armidale | GARM | 1 July 2016 | Armidale | 495,000 | Gabby Harrison (Alliance) |
15 | |
| 5 |  |
Guyrashire | GUYA | 1 October 2012 | Guyra | 241,396 | Gemma O'Dea (National) |
7 | |
| 6 |  |
Gwydirshire | GWDR | 1 July 2016 | Bingara | 70,100 | Jack Francis (National) |
2 | |
| 7 |  |
Macintyre | MCTR | 1 October 2012 | Inverell | 133,151 | Daniel Macmillan (National) |
4 | |
| 8 |  |
Macleay | MCLY | 1 October 2012 | Kempsey | 79,518 | Geoff Jamison (National) |
2 | |
| 9 |  |
Macquarie | MCRE | 1 October 2012 | Port Macquarie | 374,990 | David Johansson (Alliance) |
11 | |
| 10 |  |
Parkes | PARK | 1 October 2012 | Tenterfield | 62,066 | Allan Newholme (National) |
2 | |
| 11 |  |
Raleighshire | RLGH | 1 July 2016 | Bellingen | 73,315 | Simon Ascot (Rally for Raleighshire) |
2 | |
| 12 |  |
Severnshire | SVRN | 1 October 2012 | Glen Innes | 95,163 | Edgar Yelland (National) |
3 | |
| 13 |  |
Urallashire | URLA | 1 October 2012 | Uralla | 239,724 | Olivia Turner (SDLP) |
7 | |
Powers and Functions
Counties are responsible for most local matters, and the powers that counties may make by-laws for are provided in Article V of the Constitution. All county by-laws are usually enforced by county rangers. The powers of the counties are as follows:
- Local roads;
- Garbage collection, recycling and storage;
- Waste water management and recycling;
- Pre-schools and day care centres;
- Building ordinances and planning authority;
- Inspection of building sites for compliance with environmental by-laws;
- Rural Fire management;
- Public space;
- Flood prevention and drainage;
- Weeds control and all noxious pest management;
- Surf lifesaving and rescue;
- Marinas and boat sheds;
- Civil defence and disaster management;
- Aerodromes and airfields.
There are a number of exceptions, which the Parliament can legislate to exclude county authority for certain projects or places. For example, state motorways, as the name suggestions, are under the control of the Department of Main Roads, and the counties do not have to maintain or construct any road designated a state highway.
The Greater Armidale City Council (GACC) is classified as a special "metropolitan county", and has been provided with extra powers by the parliament. These additional powers give Greater Armidale more control over planning and transport than those enjoyed by the counties. Proposals for additional metropolitan counties to be created have been mooted from time to time, with the proposal for a Port Macquarie County Council (PMCC), and consisting of Port Macquarie, Laurieton and Wauchope, currently scheduled to be voted on by referendum in August 2052.
Politics & Governance
Aldermen - All counties are run by an elected county council, which with the exception of Greater Armidale, each have twelve elected councillors known as "thegns" and a directly elected mayor known as the "Earl". Greater Armidale has eighteen Thegns and an Earl. Prior to reforms to the Counties Act in 2038, all counties had half the number of thegns than at present.
Like the parliament, most county governments are formed as coalitions between like parties and independents. The electoral system is similar, with optional preferential voting used. In most counties, parties are unable to hold on to power for extended periods of time. The voting habits of the people, coupled with the small majorities that most counties enjoy, mean that it is rare for a party to hold control of a county for any longer than two terms. There are notable exceptions to this rule, especially in the more urban counties.
Former Counties
To date, eight counties have been abolished owing to demographic changes and governance issues. In their place was created four new counties, all of which endure to the present
Armidale Dumaresq - Before abolition, Armdiale occupied much of the area currently run by the Greater Armidale County Council, as well as a significant part of Apsleyshire and Guyrashire. In June 2015, the government proposed the creation of the GACC as a means of coordinating local matters in the capital and removing from the new county the administration of rural areas of Hillgrove and Wollomombi. The old county of Armidale Dumaresq ceased to exist on the 30 June 2016.
Barraba and Bingara - The two western counties were amalgamated after a referendum in 2015 and when it became apparent that neither of the existing counties could afford to cover the cost of services that counties were expected to perform. The new county was named Gwydirshire and came into existence on 1 July 2016.
Bellingen and Nambucca - The creation of Raleighshire came in 2016 when the two existing counties opted to merge under the weight of a massive debt burden.
Clarence Valley and Macleanshire - The people of the lower Clarence valley had long ressisted attempts to merge their council with other shires upstream. The 2004 merger was a cause for dissulsionment for many people in the town of Maclean, and once New England became indpendent, the area aserted it's right to not be a party to a greater Clarence county. By 2015 however, the position for the new council was already untenable, with massive debts leading to it being abolished and merged into Clarence in 2016.
Future Plans
For a full description, see Local Government Act 2052.
At the 2052 general election, the SDLP promised to reform county government, with an overhaul of powers, boundaries and the number of thegns elected. If carried out in full, the plans would see two new counties created and the administration of Greater Armidale andf Port Macquarie completly changed to incorporate two-tiers of local government for the first time. The proposal to reform county government has wide support among people involved in the sector, with many accepting that significant reform needs to occur to make local government viable in many areas.
