City of Blue Mountains

City of Blue Mountains
	City of Blue Mountains; New South Wales
	; The Three Sisters are a top attraction of the city
Population:	73,675
Area:	1430 km² (552.1 sq mi)
Mayor:	Adam Searle
Council Seat:	Katoomba (2 Civic Place)
Region:	Blue Mountains
State District:	Blue Mountains, Penrith
Federal Division:	Macquarie, Lindsay
	Website: http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au
	LGAs around City of Blue Mountains:

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Location in New South Wales

The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.

[edit] Demographics

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there:^[3]

Were 75,770 people as at 30 June 2006, the 28th largest Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 1.1% of the New South Wales population of 6,827,694
Was a fall of 505 people over the year to 30 June 2006. It detracted 0.9% from the 58,753 increase in the population of New South Wales
Was, in percentage terms, a decline of 0.7% in the number of people over the year to 30 June 2006. In New South Wales the population grew by 0.9%
Was an increase in population over the 10 years to 30 June 2006 of 890 people or 1.2% (0.1% in annual average terms), the 95th highest rate of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 622,966 or 10% (1.0% in annual average terms) over the same period.

[edit] Main towns/villages

The urban part of the city consists of a ribbon of close or contiguous towns which lie on the Main Western railway line (served by CityRail's Blue Mountains services) and Great Western Highway between Emu Plains (a western suburb of Sydney) and Lithgow (a coal mining town). About 70% of the city's area is within the Blue Mountains National Park which lies north and south of the ribbon of towns. The National Park is part of the much larger Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site and the city brands itself as "The City Within a World Heritage National Park".

The two main towns are Springwood (80 kilometres west of Sydney) and Katoomba (110 kilometres west). The towns of the lower mountains (Lapstone, Glenbrook, Blaxland, Mount Riverview, Warrimoo, Sun Valley, Valley Heights, Springwood, Winmalee, Yellow Rock and Faulconbridge), tend to be dormitory suburbs for Sydney. This is also the case, to a lesser extent, for the towns of the mid mountains (Linden, Woodford, Hazelbrook, Lawson and Bullaburra) and the upper mountains (Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba, Medlow Bath, Blackheath, Mount Victoria and Bell). The economy of the upper mountains is dependent almost entirely on tourism.

The road to Sydney, the Great Western Highway, is mostly dual carriageway but is relatively slow due to the urban development and hilly terrain. An electric train service integrates into CityRail, Sydney's suburban rail network.

[edit] Council

Blue Mountains City Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally. The city is divided into four wards, each electing three councillors. The mayor is not directly elected.^[4] The current makeup of the council is as follows:^[4]

Party		Councillors
	Australian Labor Party	3
	Liberal Party of Australia	3
	The Greens	3
	Independents	3
	Total	12

The current council, elected in 2008, is:^[4]

Ward		Party	Notes
First Ward	Eleanor Gibbs	Greens
	Terri Hamilton	Independent
	Janet Mays	Independent
Second Ward	David Clark	Greens
	Chris van der Kley	Liberal
	Adam Searle	Labor	Mayor
Third Ward	Brendan Luchetti	Independent
	Daniel Myles	Liberal
	Alison McLaren	Labor
Fourth Ward	Fiona Creed	Liberal
	Mark Greenhill	Labor
	Howard McCallum	Greens

[edit] Blue Mountains Youth Council

The Blue Mountains Youth Council is a government-related youth voice program in the City of Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains Youth Council was chartered in 2003 after being approved by the city council the previous year. The council was founded with the intention of encouraging youth participation in local politics, hence its affiliation with the city council. Membership requires a signed petition, and members are chosen based on a variety of conditions, including location, age, and diversity. In particular, the council encourages involvement by Aborigines, disabled youth, and other minorities.

In the past, the Youth Council has been responsible for organizing community youth events, as well as acting as a bridge between the city council and the youth of the community. The members also travel to various leadership conferences, and share information they learn with their peers.

The Youth Council is supervised by an advisory committee, which is composed of four city councillors. Although the advisory committee has no voting powers, the members serve as mentors to the group.