The Mackay Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869.
It has an estimated operating budget of A$118 million.
In the 2021 census, the Mackay Region had a population of 121,691 people.[1]
Yuwibara (also known as Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuwibara country. It is closely related to the Biri languages/dialects. The Yuwibara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mackay Region.[3]
Prior to 2008, the Mackay Region was an entire area of three previous and distinct local government areas:
The city had its beginning in the Mackay Municipality which was proclaimed on 22 September 1869 under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864.[4] Its first mayor was David Dalrymple, and the council first met on 1 December 1869. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the Local Government Act. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Mackay became a Town on 31 March 1903, and was ultimately proclaimed a City on 17 August 1918.
On 11 December 1879, the Pioneer Division came into being as one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879, chaired by John Ewen Davidson. On 31 March 1903, Pioneer became a Shire. Two areas split away from it over the next decade; the Shire of Sarina on 1 January 1912, and the Shire of Mirani on 4 September 1913.[5]
On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Mackay area be rationalised. The Local Government (Mackay and Pioneer) Regulation 1993 was gazetted on 17 December 1993, and on 30 March 1994, the two amalgamated into a larger City of Mackay, which first met on 8 April 1994.
In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released a report making recommendations for statewide reform of local government boundaries, and recommended that the three areas of Mackay, Mirani and Sarina amalgamate, due mainly to Mackay's role as a regional centre and all three shires' involvement in sugar production. The City of Mackay endorsed the suggestion, but the two shires proposed alternative options. In the end, the commission's proposal was unchanged.[6] On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.
Mackay Regional Council is unsubdivided, meaning it does not have any wards. The mayor is directly-elected.
The incumbent mayor, Greg Williamson, formed the Greg Williamson Alliance ahead of the 2016 election, with six members of the group re-elected in 2020.[8]
In 2023, four councillors left the group, and in 2024 Team Greg Williamson was formed with the stated aim of "creat[ing] a progressive, modern council".[8][9]
The current council, elected in 2024, is:
The Mackay Region includes the following settlements:
The population figures for each of the predecessor local government areas prior to the 2008 amalgamation:
The estimated population figures (official census population figures are in bold) for the amalgamated Mackay Region from 2008.
The Mackay Regional Council operates libraries in Mackay, Mount Pleasant, Walkerston, Sarina and Mirani.[16] A mobile library service visits the following districts on a fortnightly schedule: Yalboroo, Bloomsbury, Midge Point, Ball Bay, Seaforth, Koumala, Swayneville, Hay Point, St Helens Beach, Calen, Shoal Point, Oakenden, Habana, Blacks Beach, Slade Point, Hampden, Marian, Gargett, Finch Hatton, Homebush, Chelona, McEwens Beach and Bucasia.[17]
Media related to Mackay Region at Wikimedia Commons