Glen Innes Severn is a local government area in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The council serves an area of and is located adjacent to the New England Highway. The council was formed by the amalgamation of Severn Shire and Glen Innes City Council.

Main towns and villages The council area includes the town of Glen Innes and villages including Emmaville, Deepwater, Wellingrove, Glencoe, Stonehenge and Red Range and several hamlets including Diehard, Gibraltar Range, Kingsgate and Wellington Vale.

Heritage listings The Glenn Innes Servern has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: High Conservation Value Old Growth forest

Demographics At the , there were people in the Glen Innes Severn local government area, of these 49.5 per cent were male and 50.5 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.6 per cent of the population which is approximately double both the national and state averages. The median age of people in the Glen Innes Severn Council area was 46 years; nearly ten years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.1 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 22.0 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 48.7 per cent were married and 14.1 per cent were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the Glen Innes Severn Council area between the , the , and the 2011 census was marginal. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent for each fiveyear period respectively, population growth in the Glen Innes Severn local government area was significantly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Glen Innes Severn Council area was below the national average.

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Glen Innes Severn local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 92 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 69 per cent of all residents in the Glen Innes Severn Council area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at 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 Glen Innes Severn local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (2.7 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).

Selected historical census data for Glen Innes Severn local government areaCensus year 200120062011Population Estimated residents on Census night LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 103rd 96th% of New South Wales population 0.13%% of Australian population 0.05%  0.04%  0.04%Cultural and language diversity Ancestry,top responses Australian 34.1%English 31.1%Irish 9.8%Scottish 9.4%German 3.9%Language,top responses(other than English) Dutchn/c 0.1%  0.2%Germann/c 0.1%  0.1%Finnishn/c n/c  0.1%Mandarinn/c n/c  0.1%Japanesen/c n/c  0.1%Religious affiliation Religious affiliation,top responses Anglicann/c 37.3%  35.5%Catholicn/c 22.3%  21.8%No religionn/c 10.4%  14.0%Uniting Churchn/c 7.6%  7.1%Presbyterian and Reformedn/c 4.9%  4.9%Median weekly incomes Personal income Median weekly personal income A$337 A$395% of Australian median income 72.3% 68.5%Family income Median weekly family income A$765 A$915% of Australian median income 65.3% 61.8%Household income Median weekly household income A$613 A$734% of Australian median income 59.7% 59.5%

Council

Current composition and election method Glen Innes Severn Council is composed of seven councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The councillors elect the mayor at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held in September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:

PartyCouncillors  Independents and unaligned 6  The Greens 1 Total 7

The Council elected in 2024, in order of election, is:

CouncillorPartyNotes  Rob Banham Independent  Troy Arandale Independent   Tim Alt Independent   Carol Sparks The Greens Deputy Mayor  Margot Davis Independent National Mayor  Max Elphick Independent  Andrew Parsons Independent Councillor Rob Banham announced his resignation after the first council meeting from the Glen Innes Severn Council, effective immediately, citing concerns about leadership and a breach of the Council's core values (respect, integrity, courage, honesty, and transparency).

Mr. Banham criticised the current councillors for failing to prioritise the community's needs. "Despite the clear support from the community for our leadership, many of the current councillors have not prioritised the best interests of the community in their decision-making. This lack of alignment between community sentiment and Councillors' actions is troubling," he said.

Previous composition and election method This election took place in December 2021, and the council makeup was as follows:

PartyCouncillors  Independents and unaligned 6  The Greens 1 Total 7

The Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:

CouncillorPartyNotes  Rob Banham Independent Mayor  Troy Arandale Independent Deputy Mayor  Tim Alt Independent  Lara Gresham Independent  Carol Sparks The Greens  Jack Parry Independent  Andrew Parsons Independent

Election results

2024 Glen Innes Severn Shire - Preferences Results The following are the results based on the preferences from the Preference Data File Preference VoteCandidate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10BANHAM Rob15557205424621329171686471ARANDALE Troy822127270656713180675977107ALT Timothy760777746602222135106765329SPARKS Carol559321303288809093108174315DAVIS Margot4444825196451671501771027393ELPHICK Max4004416116422181821201135523PARSONS Andrew352618710718205141135899461SCOTT David239334522751206195188938841WEATHERALL Elena16231959146315513114618214680VOSPER Anne251256287397107124127167204146

2021

Past councillors 2016−present YearCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillor 2016  Steve Toms (Ind.)  Andrew Parsons (Ind.)  Colin Price (Ind.)  Dianne Newman (Ind.)  Carol Sparks (Greens)  Jeff Smith (Ind.)  Glenn Frendon (Ind.) 2021  Rob Banham (Ind.)  Troy Arandale (Ind.)  Timothy Alt (Ind.)  Jack Parry (Ind.)  Lara Gresham (Ind.)

References