Snowy Monaro Regional Council

The Snowy Monaro Regional Council is a local government area located in the Snowy Mountains and Monaro regions of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a forced merger of the Bombala, Cooma-Monaro and Snowy River shires.^[4]

Snowy Monaro Regional Council New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	36.232°S 149.130°E / -36.232; 149.130
Population	21,666 (LGA 2021)[1]
Established	12 May 2016 (2016-05-12)
Area	15,162 km2 (5,854.1 sq mi)[2]
Mayor	Chris Hanna[3]
Council seat	Cooma
Region	Snowy Mountains Monaro
State electorate(s)	Monaro
Federal division(s)	Eden-Monaro
LGAs around Snowy Monaro Regional Council: Snowy Valleys Australian Capital Territory Queanbeyan-Palerang Snowy Valleys Snowy Monaro Regional Council Eurobodalla East Gippsland (Vic) East Gippsland (Vic) Bega Valley

The council comprises an area of 15,162 square kilometres (5,854 sq mi) and occupies the higher slopes of the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range between the Australian Capital Territory to the north and the state boundary with Victoria to the south. At the time of its establishment the council had an estimated population of 20,707.^[4] Its population at the 2021 census was 21,666.^[5]

The Mayor of the Snowy Monaro Regional Council is Chris Hanna since 21 September 2023.^[6]

Towns and localities

The following towns are located within Snowy Monaro Regional Council:

• Adaminaby
• Berridale
• Bombala
• Cooma
• Delegate
• Jindabyne
• Nimmitabel

The following localities are located within Snowy Monaro Regional Council:

• Ando
• Anembo
• Anglers Reach
• Arable
• Avonside
• Badja
• Beloka
• Bibbenluke
• Billilingra
• Binjura
• Blue Cow
• Bobundara
• Bolaro
• Braemar Bay
• Bredbo
• Buckenderra
• Bumbalong
• Bungarby
• Bunyan
• Burra (part)
• Carlaminda
• Chakola
• Cathcart
• Clear Range
• Colinton
• Coolringdon
• Cootralantra
• Corrowong
• Countegany
• Crackenback
• Craigie
• Creewah
• Dairymans Plains
• Dalgety
• Dangelong
• Dry Plains
• East Jindabyne
• Eucumbene
• Frying Pan
• Glen Allen
• Glen Fergus
• Gooandra
• Greenlands
• Grosses Plain
• Guthega
• Hill Top
• Ingebirah
• Ironmungy
• Jerangle
• Jimenbuen
• Jingera
• Kalkite
• Kiandra
• Kybeyan
• Long Plain
• Lords Hill
• Maffra
• Merriangaah
• Michelago
• Middle Flat
• Middlingbank
• Mila
• Moonbah
• Murrumbucca
• Myalla
• Nimmo
• Numbla Vale
• Numeralla
• Nungar
• Old Adaminaby
• Palarang
• Paupong
• Peak View
• Perisher
• Pine Valley
• Polo Flat
• Quidong
• Rhine Falls
• Rock Flat
• Rockton
• Rocky Plain
• Rose Valley
• Rosemeath
• Shannons Flat
• Smiggin Holes
• Springfield
• Steeple Flat
• Tantangara
• The Angle
• The Brothers
• Thredbo
• Tinderry
• Tolbar
• Tombong
• Tuross
• Wambrook
• Williamsdale (part)
• Winifred
• Yaouk

^{[citation needed]}

Heritage listings

The Snowy Monaro Region has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Bombala, Goulburn-Bombala railway: Bombala railway station^[7]
• Bombala, 91 Main Road: Crankies Plain Bridge^[8]
• Bredbo, Goulburn-Bombala railway: Bredbo Rail Bridge^[9]
• Cooma, Bradley Street: Cooma railway station^[10]
• Cooma, 59–61 Lambie Street: Royal Hotel^[11]
• Cooma, Sharp Street: Rock Bolting Development Site^[12]
• Eucumbene, Old Adaminaby and Lake Eucumbene^[13]
• Kiandra: Kiandra Courthouse^[14]
• Kiandra: Matthews Cottage^[15]

Demographics

The population for the predecessor councils was estimated in 2013 as:^[16]

• 2,401 in Bombala Shire
• 10,073 in Cooma-Monaro Shire and
• 8,087 in Snowy River Shire.

At the 2021 census there were 21,666 people in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council local government area; of these 51.5% were male and 48.5% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.1% of the population; the NSW and Australian averages are 3.4 and 3.2% respectively. The median age of people in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council was 43 years; the national median is 38 years. 78.9% of the population were born in Australia and 85.8% of households only speak English at home.^[17]

Selected historical census data for Snowy Monaro Regional Council local government area
Census year		2016[18]	2021[17]
Population	Estimated residents on census night	20,218	21,666
	LGA rank in terms of population size within New South Wales	69th	68th
	% of New South Wales population	0.27%	0.27%
	% of Australian population	0.09%	0.09%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	Australian	41.3%	39.8%
	English	39.2%	39.8%
	Irish	12.3%	12.8%
	Scottish	11.0%	12.5%
	German	5.4%	5.4%
Language, used at home (other than English)	German	0.9%	0.7%
	Italian	0.4%	0.4%
	Mandarin	0.4%	0.7%
	French	0.2%	0.2%
	Dutch	0.2%	0.2%
	Thai	0.2%	0.3%
	Spanish	0.1%	0.5%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	No religion, so described	29.8%	41.6%
	Catholic	23.6%	20.3%
	Anglican	20.4%	16.0%
	Not stated	12.2%	9.2%
	Uniting Church	2.7%	2.4%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income	A$675	A$835
	% of Australian median income	102.0%	103.7%
Family income	Median weekly family income	A$1,569	A$2,092
	% of Australian median income	90.5%	98.7%
Household income	Median weekly household income	A$1,200	A$1,593
	% of Australian median income	83.4%	91.2%

Council

The Snowy Monaro Regional Council comprises eleven Councillors elected proportionally in a single ward. The Councillors elected for a fixed four-year term of office with effect from 4 December 2021 were:^[19] Hanna was re-elected mayor while Hopkins became deputy mayor in the 2024 council elections. New councillor Andrew Thaler was sworn in October 2024.^[20]

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Christopher Hanna	Independent	Current Mayor 2023–present[6]
	Tanya Higgins	Labor	Deputy Mayor 2022–24[3]
	Narelle Davis	Independent	Mayor 2022–2023[3]
	Tricia Hopkins	Independent	Deputy Mayor 2024–present
	Karlee Johnson	Independent	Elected as Karlee Pateman, switched to using her married name shortly thereafter.[21][22]
	Bob Stewart	Independent	Re-elected
	Lynda Summers	Labor
	Luke Williamson	Independent	Elected via countback in August 2022, following resignation of John Last.[23]
	John Last	Independent	Resigned July 2022.[24] Replaced by Luke Williamson following countback.[23]
	John Castellari	The Greens	Resigned August 2022.[25] Replaced by Craig Mitchell following countback.[26]
	Peter Beer	Independent	Re-elected
	Louise Frolich	Independent
	Craig Mitchell	Independent	Elected via countback in October 2022, following resignation of John Castellari.[26]
	Andrew Thaler	Independent	Elected 2024 [27]

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in South Coast and Southern Inland § Snowy Monaro results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Snowy Monaro^[28][29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	1. Chris Hanna (elected 1) 2. Tricia Hopkins (elected 6) 3. Karlee Johnson 4. Cindy Chawner 5. Anne O'Leary 6. Guy Palframan	2,130	18.5	−20.0
	Labor	1. Tanya Higgins (elected 2) 2. Lynda Summers (elected 7) 3. Bill Walker 4. Anthony Garvin 5. Penny Judge 6. Kylie Phillips	1,924	16.7	+0.4
	Independent	1. Bob Stewart (elected 3) 2. Nick Elliott (elected 9) 3. Megan Downie 4. Cathy Ingram 5. Suzanne Bate 6. Richard Murphy 7. Michael Downie	1,734	15.0	+7.1
	Team Williamson	1. Luke Williamson (elected 4) 2. Mick Newman 3. Vele Civijovski 4. Hamish Williamson 5. Michael Freeman 6. Nicholas Kopievsky 7. Katherine Corbett	1,505	13.0	+9.7
	Reuben Rose Group	1. Reuben Rose (elected 5) 2. Chris Chan 3. Sidonie Carpenter 4. Stuart McKenzie 5. Shawn Joynt 6. Jeremy Meeks	1,293	11.2
	John Rooney's Blue Team	1. John Rooney (elected 11) 2. Anna Lucas 3. Bernard Rooney 4. Adrian Ljubic 5. Fiona Foster 6. Catherine Turnbull	585	5.1	+3.3
	Independent	1. Andrew Thaler (elected 10) 2. Charles Kolano 3. Nicolaas Luntungan 4. Michal Chotar 5. Faye Simpson 6. Allen Simpson 7. Kylie Paske	545	4.7	+2.8
	Independent	Narelle Davis (elected 8)	342	3.0
	Independent	Lynley Miners	314	2.7
	Independent	Craig Mitchell	231	2.0	−0.5
	Independent	Vickie Pollard	202	1.8	−0.6
	Independent	Maree Stevenson	175	1.5
	Independent	Peter Beer	170	1.5	−2.4
	Shooters, Fishers, Farmers	Mathieu Nolte	140	1.2
	Independent	1. James Gilbert 2. Lionel Harris 3. Dave Chatterton	133	1.2
	Independent	Rachelle Edwards	51	0.4
	Independent	Bernie McDonald	35	0.3
	Independent	Barry Bridges	19	0.2
	Independent	Oliver Moran	13	0.1
	Independent	Malcolm Bruce	8	0.1	0.0
Total formal votes			11,547	92.9
Informal votes			880	7.1
Turnout			12,427	83.5

See also

• New South Wales portal

• Local government areas of New South Wales