The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave. However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was de-amalgamated from the Cairns Region and re-established as a separate local government authority.
| Cairns Region Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location within Queensland, 2013, prior to de-amalgamation of Shire of Douglas | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 166,943 (2021 census)[1] (38th) | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 98.841/km2 (256.00/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 1,689 km2 (652.1 sq mi)[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Amy Eden | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Cairns City | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Far North Queensland | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Barron River, Cairns, Cook, Hill, Mulgrave | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | |||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Website | Cairns Region | ||||||||||||||
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The Cairns Regional Council's 2023-24 operating budget is A$433.5 million.[3]
In the 2021 census, the Cairns Region had a population of 166,943 people.[1]
History
editFirst Nations
editYidinji (also known as Yidinj, Yidiny, and Idindji) is an Australian Aboriginal language and a traditional Indigenous country. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as Cairns City (CBD), Gordonvale, and the Mulgrave River, and the southern part of the Atherton Tableland including Atherton and Kairi.[4]
Tjapukai (also known as Djabuganydji, Djabugay, and Djabuganydji) is the traditional Aboriginal country and language north of the Barron River in the Cairns Region, with the traditional group extending west towards Mareeba and north towards Douglas Shire and Port Douglas.[5]
Post colonialisation
editPrior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Cairns Region consisted of the entire area of three previous local government areas:
- the City of Cairns;
- the Shire of Douglas;
- and the Shire of Mulgrave.
The city, which for most of its existence covered only the central business district and inner suburbs of Cairns, had its beginning in the Borough of Cairns which was proclaimed on 28 May 1885 under the Local Government Act 1878.[6] With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, it became a Town on 31 March 1903 and was proclaimed a City on 12 October 1923.[7]
The Shire of Mulgrave had its origins in the Cairns Division, one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879. The Douglas Division was created on 3 June 1880. They became the Shire of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas on 31 March 1903. On 20 December 1919, it grew to include some territory from the abolished Shire of Barron, and on 16 November 1940, the shire was renamed Mulgrave.
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 Cairns area be rationalised, and that the Shire be dissolved and amalgamated with the City of Cairns. The Local Government (Cairns, Douglas, Mareeba and Mulgrave) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 16 December 1994. On 22 March 1995, the Shire was abolished and became part of the new City of Cairns.
In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Cairns amalgamate with the Shire of Douglas, and that the new Cairns Regional Council be undivided with 10 councillors and a mayor.[8] On 15 March 2008, the City and Shire formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.
In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Douglas from the Cairns Region.[9] On 9 March 2013, the citizens of the former Douglas shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate.[10] The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.[11][12]
Towns and localities
editThe Cairns Region includes the following settlements:
|
Cairns Central area: |
Northern Mulgrave area: |
Southern Mulgrave area: |
|
1 – shared with Cassowary Coast Region
2 – shared with Cassowary Coast Region and Tablelands Region
Libraries
editThe Cairns Regional Council operate public libraries at Babinda, Cairns City, Earlville, Edmonton, Gordonvale, Manunda, Smithfield and Stratford.[13]
Demographics
editThe populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008.
The only census in which the Cairns Region included the Douglas Shire was conducted in 2011.
| Year | Total Region | Cairns (C) | Mulgrave (S) | Douglas (S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 25,197 | 11,993 | 10,303 | 2,901 |
| 1947 | 29,622 | 16,644 | 10,485 | 2,493 |
| 1954 | 37,597 | 21,020 | 13,477 | 3,100 |
| 1961 | 42,985 | 25,204 | 14,427 | 3,354 |
| 1966 | 45,927 | 26,696 | 15,312 | 3,919 |
| 1971 | 51,345 | 30,288 | 16,985 | 4,072 |
| 1976 | 62,628 | 34,857 | 23,025 | 4,746 |
| 1981 | 76,388 | 39,096 | 31,335 | 5,957 |
| 1986 | 91,688 | 42,227 | 41,711 | 7,750 |
| 1991 | 116,584 | 49,361 | 54,783 | 12,440 |
| 1996 | 129,698 | 116,718 | 12,980 | |
| 2001 | 133,903 | 119,937 | 13,966 | |
| 2006 | 150,484 | 136,460 | 14,024 | |
| 2011 | 167,355 | 156,169 | 11,186 | |
| 2016 | 156,901 | |||
| 2021 | 166,943 | |||
In the 2016 census, the Cairns Region had a population of 156,901 people.[14]
In the 2021 census, the Cairns Region had a population of 166,943 people.[1]
Council
editCairns Regional Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Amy Eden, Team Eden | |
Deputy Mayor | Brett Olds, Independent |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 10 elected representatives, including a Mayor and 9 councillors |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Last election | 16 March 2024 |
Next election | 25 March 2028 |
On 1 January 2014, Julia Leu ceased to be a Councillor upon the de-amalgamation of the Shire of Douglas.
On 31 January 2015, Rob Pyne was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and resigned as a Councillor. Cathy Zeiger was appointed on 12 March 2015 to replace Rob Pyne by a panel comprising Mayor Bob Manning and former Councillors Fran Lindsay and Jeff Pezzutti.[15]
Bob Manning announced his retirement as mayor on 17 November 2023.[16] Councillor Terry James was elected as mayor on 22 November 2023.[17]
Current composition
editThe current council, elected in 2024, is:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Amy Eden | Team Eden | |
| Division 1 | Brett Moller | Cairns Unity | |
| Division 2 | Matthew Tickner | Independent LNP | |
| Division 3 | Cathy Zeiger | Independent | |
| Division 4 | Trevor Tim | Team Eden | |
| Division 5 | Rob Pyne | Independent Greens | |
| Division 6 | Kristy Vallely | Cairns Unity | |
| Division 7 | Anna Middleton | Independent | |
| Division 8 | Rhonda Coghlan | Cairns Unity | |
| Division 9 | Brett Olds | Independent | |
Mayors
editPast councillors
edit2008−present
edit| Year | Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4 | Division 5 | Division 6 | Division 7 | Division 8 | Division 9 | Division 10 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | |||||||||||
| 2008 | Paul Gregory (Ind.) | Nancy Lanskey (Ind.) | Rob Pyne (Ind. Labor) | Kristen Lesina (Ind.) | Alan Blake (Ind.) | Linda Cooper (Ind.) | Diane Forsyth (Ind.) | Margaret Cochrane (Ind.) | Sno Bonneau (Ind.) | Julia Leu (Ind.) | ||||||||||
| 2012 | Steve Brain (Ind.) | John Schilling (Unity) | Terry James (Unity) | Richie Bates (Unity/Ind.) | Max O'Halloran (Unity) | Jessie Richardson (Unity) | Greg Fennell (Unity) | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | 9 wards (2014−present) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Cathy Zeiger (Ind.) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Brett Moller (Unity) | Brett Olds (Ind. LNP/Ind.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Rob Pyne (Ind. Socialist/ Ind. Socialist Alliance) |
Amy Eden (Unity/Team Eden) | Kristy Vallely (Unity) | Rhonda Coghlan (Unity) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024a | Jeremy Neal (Unity) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Matthew Tickner (Ind. LNP) | Trevor Tim (Team Eden) | Rob Pyne (Ind. Socialist Alliance/Ind. Greens) | Anna Middleton (Ind.) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024b | ||||||||||||||||||||
Election results
edit2024
edit| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Unity | 3 |  2
| |||||
| Independent | 3 |  1
| |||||
| Team Eden | 1 | 
| |||||
| Independent LNP | 1 | 1
| |||||
| Independent Socialist Alliance | 1 |
| |||||
| Community First | 0 |
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| Independent Labor | 0 |
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| Independent Democratic | 0 |
| |||||
References
edit- ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Cairns Region (LGA)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
- ^ Council, Cairns Regional (19 June 2023). "Budget". Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^
This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Yidinji". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "First people cultural history". Cairns Regional Council. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. XXXVI (1885), p.1733.
- ^ Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. CXXI, 12 October 1923, p.1108.
- ^ Queensland Local Government Reform Commission (July 2007). Report of the Local Government Reform Commission (PDF). Vol. 2. Local government Reform Commission. pp. 65–70. ISBN 978-1-921057-11-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "A Proposal to the Minister for Local Government Honourable David Crisafulli M.P. in support of de-amalgamation of the former Douglas Shire from Cairns Regional Council" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "Douglas Area De-amalgamation Poll – Douglas – Poll Area Summary". Electoral Commission Queensland. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "De-amalgamation". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "Local Government (De-amalgamation Implementation) Regulation 2013" (PDF). Local Government Act 2009. Queensland Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "Cairns Libraries". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Cairns Region (LGA)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Cathy the toast of kids". The Cairns Post. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Council, Cairns Regional (17 November 2023). "Mayor Bob Manning retires from office". Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ Council, Cairns Regional (22 November 2023). "Terry James appointed as new Mayor of Cairns". Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
