The Central Coast Council is a local government area in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is adjacent to the Pacific Highway, Central Coast Highway, the Northern railway line and the Pacific Ocean. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 following the merger of the City of Gosford and Wyong Shire Councils.
The council comprises an area of and is bounded to the east by the Tasman Sea, to the south by Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River, and to the west by the Yengo National Park northwards to before heading eastward along George Downes Drive, encompassing the Olney State Forest and crossing the Pacific Motorway, meeting the southern edge of Lake Macquarie at and eventually reaching the coast north of . The Central Coast Council has over 40 beaches and over of coastline. As at the the council area had an estimated population of . The Central Coast Council has two administrative chambers that is located in Gosford and Wyong.
The mayor of the Central Coast Council is Lawrie McKinna who is part of the Independent Team Central Coast political party since 8 October 2024, and the Deputy Mayor of the council is Douglas Eaton, an Independent, since 8 October 2024.
Towns, suburbs and localities
The local government area includes a moderately densely populated coastal strip that extends from the Hawkesbury River in the south and is bounded by the Watagan Mountains to the west and north to Lake Macquarie and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is an extensive sparsely populated region to the west of the Pacific Highway that is largely native bush.
The towns and villages located within Central Coast Council include:
Demographics At the 2021 census the population of the Central Coast local government area was 346,596. The median income for the Central Coast Council Local Government Area (LGA) was lower than the nation compared to $1,746 nationally, and the state at $1,829 and $1,507 in this LGA.
Selected historical census data for Central Coast local government areaCensus year 2016 2021Population Estimated residents on census night LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 3% of New South Wales population % of Australian population Cultural and language diversity Ancestry,top responses English31.3% 42.6%Australian30.2% 39.9%Irish9.3% 12.0%Scottish7.5% 10.5%German2.5% -Australian Aboriginal 4.7% 4.7%Language,top responses(other than English) Spanish0.5% 0.5%Mandarin0.5% 0.6%Italian0.4% 0.3%German0.3%-Cantonese0.3% 0.3%Tagalog- 0.3%Religious affiliation Religious affiliation,top responses No religion27.6% 39.4%Catholic24.7% 21.7%Anglican22.5% 16.8%Not Stated8.2% 6.1%Uniting Church3.2% 2.4%Median weekly incomes Personal income Median weekly personal income$600 $727Family income Median weekly family income$1,560 $1,954Household income Median weekly household income$1,258 $1,507
Council
The Council comprises fifteen Councillors elected proportionally, with three Councillors elected in five wards. Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office, with the first term to last for three years. The Mayor is elected by Councillors for a period of two years, the Deputy Mayor is elected for one year. On 30 October 2020, the Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock announced the suspension of the elected Council and the appointment of Dick Persson as the new interim Administrator of Central Coast Council for an initial period of three months. On 21 January 2021, Hancock announced the extension of Persson's term for an additional three months to 29 April 2021, which was later extended to May 2021. The Council meets fortnightly, with meetings held at the Wyong Civic Centre.
Mayors and Deputy Mayors
Mayors No.PortraitMayorPartyTerm startTerm endNotes Deputy Mayor 1 Ian Reynolds (Administrator) 12 May 2016 26 September 2017 2 Jane Smith Independent 26 September 2017 23 September 2019 Chris Holstein 3 Lisa Matthews Labour 23 September 2019 30 October 2020 Jane Smith 4 Dick Persson (Administrator) 30 October 2020 31 May 2021 Administrator of Warringah Council (2003–2008), Port Macquarie-Hastings Council (2008–2009) and Northern Beaches Council (2016–2017) 5 Rik Hart (Administrator) 31 May 2021 14 September 2024 Acting CEO of the Council prior to Administrator role (3 November 2020 – 12 April 2021) 6 Lawrie McKinna Independent 8 October 2024 incumbent Mayor of Gosford City Council (2012–2016) Douglas Eaton
Deputy Mayors No.PortraitDeputy MayorPartyTerm startTerm endNotes Mayor 1 Chris Holstein Independent 26 September 2017 23 September 2019 Mayor of Gosford City Council (2002–2010) Jane Smith 2 Jane Smith Independent 23 September 2019 30 October 2020 Mayor of the Council prior to Deputy Mayor role (26 September 2017 – 23 September 2019) Lisa Matthews 3 Douglas Eaton Independent Liberal 8 October 2024 incumbent Mayor of Wyong Shire Council (2012–2016) Lawrie McKinna
General Manager/CEO
No.PortraitGeneral Manager/CEOChief Executive Officer from 8 June 2016.Term startTerm endNotes 1 Rob Noble 12 May 2016 20 September 2017 Acting General Manager of Wyong Shire Council (2015–2016) 2 Brian Bell 20 September 2017 2 February 2018 General Manager of Lake Macquarie City Council (2006–2017) 3 Brian Glendenning (Acting) 2 February 2018 2 July 2018 4 Gary Murphy 2 July 2018 30 November 2020 General Manager of Lismore City Council (2011–2018) 5 Rik Hart (Acting) 30 November 2020 12 April 2021 6 David Farmer 12 April incumbent
Current composition The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024. The makeup of the council, is as follows:
PartyCouncillors Labor 5 Independent 5 Liberal 4 Independent Liberal 1 Total 15
WardCouncillorPartyNotesBudgewoi Ward Helen Crowley Labor Douglas Eaton Independent Liberal Previously Mayor of Wyong Shire Council (1995–1996, 2010–2011, 2012–2016) John Mouland Independent Gosford East Ward Lawrie McKinna Independent Previously Mayor of Gosford City Council (2012–2016) Sharon Walsh Labor Jared Wright Liberal Gosford West Ward Trent McWaide Liberal Belinda Neal Labor Previously Gosford City Council Councillor (1992–1994), Senator for NSW (1994–1998), federal member for Robertson (2007–2010) Jane Smith Independent Previously Mayor (2017–2019)The Entrance Ward Margot Castles Labor Rachel Stanton Liberal Corinne Lamont Independent Wyong Ward John McNamara Liberal Previously Wyong Shire Council Councillor (2008–2012) Kyle Macgreggor Labor Kyla Daniels Independent
Election results 2024
2017
Past councillors Budgewoi Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Doug Vincent Garry Whitaker Greg Best 2022 Council dismissed 2024 TBC
Gosford East Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Rebecca Gale-Collins Jeff Sundstrom Jane SmithNEW Independents 2020 Vacant 2022 Council dismissed 2024 TBC
Gosford West Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Richard Mehrtens Troy Marquart Chris Holstein 2020 Vacant 2022 Council dismissed 2024 TBC
The Entrance Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Lisa Matthews Jilly Pilon Bruce McLachlan 2022 Council dismissed 2024 TBC
Wyong Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2017 Kyle MacGregor Louise GreenawayNEW Independents Chris Burke 2022 Council dismissed 2024 TBC
History Early history The traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the lands now known as the Brisbane Water were the Guringai people of the Eora nation. The Darkingung people occupied large areas inland west towards Rylstone, and north to Cessnock and Wollombi.
In 1811, the Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, gave the first land grant in the region to William Nash, a former marine of the First Fleet. No further grants were made in the area until 1821.Bennett, F. C., The Story of the Aboriginal People of the Central Coast of New South Wales, Brisbane Water Historical Society, 1968, p. 9. In 1839 Governor Sir George Gipps named the town of Gosford after his friend, The Earl of Gosford. In 1840, the Brisbane Water Police District was proclaimed covering the area from the Hawkesbury River to Lake Macquarie and which administered local government under the control of magistrates. In 1843, the Brisbane Water District Council was proclaimed on the same boundaries as the Police District, and replaced the appointed magistrates with an elected council as part of an early attempt to establish local government administration throughout the colony.GDHRA, p. 12. This experiment in local government was not very successful, with much public opposition focused on the issue of increased taxation, and a lack of oversight and faulty administration led to the collapse of many of these District Councils. The Brisbane Water District Council had ceased to exist by 1855, and the NSW Parliament passed the Municipalities Act in 1858, which allowed for the creation of Municipalities and Boroughs if a petition of as few as 50 signatures was presented to the government. However, no petition was ever sent from the residents of Brisbane Water to the government under this act, and local matters reverted to the police magistrates for determination.GDHRA, p. 14.
Gosford Borough Under the succeeding Municipalities Act, 1867, which allowed for residents to petition the Colonial Government for incorporation, a petition signed by 59 Gosford residents, amongst a population of approximately 1,000 at the time, was sent to the Governor on 10 June 1886 requesting the establishment of the "Borough of Gosford" with two wards, East Gosford and West Gosford. The petition was subsequently accepted and on 11 November 1886, the "Borough of Gosford" was proclaimed by the Governor Lord Carrington, with an area of 1,840 acres in and around the Town of Gosford. The first election for the six aldermen and two auditors was held at Gosford Courthouse on 1 February 1887, and the first mayor, John Bennett Whiteway, was elected at the first Council meeting on 20 February 1887. From 1888, the Borough Council meetings were held in the Gosford School of Arts building at 38 Mann Street.GDHRA, p. 16.
Erina Shire The remaining area of the Brisbane Water Police District outside of Gosford continued to be administered by the police magistrates until 1906. From 7 March 1906, this area became the Erina Shire, when it was proclaimed by the NSW Government Gazette along with 132 other new Shires as a result of the passing of the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905. On 16 May 1906, the Shire was divided in to three Ridings (A, B, C) and five temporary Councillors were appointed (John Bourke of Kincumber, John Martin Moroney of Woy Woy, Harold Stanley Robinson of Penang, Manasseh Ward of Gosford, and Alexander Wilkinson of Wyong). The Temporary Council first met at Gosford Courthouse on 13 June 1906 and Manasseh Ward was elected as the chairman. The first election was held on 24 November 1906 and the first meeting of the elected nine-member Council was held at the Gosford Courthouse on 5 December 1906, with Councillor Ward elected to continue serving as the first Shire President.