Hay Shire

This article is about the local government area. For the regional town, see Hay, New South Wales.

Hay Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	34°30′S 144°51′E
Population	2,884 (2021 census)
• Density	0.25464/km2 (0.65951/sq mi)
Established	1 January 1965
Area	11,325.89 km2 (4,373.0 sq mi)
Mayor	Cr. Carol Oataway (Unaligned)
Council seat	Hay
Region	Riverina
State electorate(s)	Murray
Federal division(s)	Farrer
Website	Hay Shire
LGAs around Hay Shire: Balranald Carrathool Carrathool Balranald Hay Shire Murrumbidgee Murray River Edward River Edward River

The Hay Shire is a local government area in the Riverina area of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Shire comprises 11,326 square kilometres (4,373 sq mi) and is located adjacent to the Sturt, Mid-western and Cobb Highways. The area includes the towns of Hay, Booligal and Maude.

Hay Shire was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the Municipality of Hay with the surrounding Waradgery Shire.

The mayor of Hay Shire is Cr. Carol Oataway, an unaligned politician who had previously held the position of Principal of Hay Public School.

Demographics

Selected historical census data for Hay Shire local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
Population		Estimated residents on census night	3,562	3,383	2,956	2,946	2,884
		Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders (%)	3.5%	4.2%	5.6%	6.0%	8.3%
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			123rd	121st	121st
		% of New South Wales population	0.06%	0.05%	0.04%	0.04%	0.04%
		% of Australian population	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%
Cultural and linguistic diversity			2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
Country of birth (top responses)		Australia	90.4%	90.5%	88.2%	80.3%	80.0%
		India			0.7%	0.5%	1.3%
		New Zealand	0.8%	1.1%	0.8%	1.3%	1.1%
		England	1.0%	0.8%	1.0%	0.9%	0.9%
		Fiji				0.4%	0.6%
		Scotland	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%	0.5%
Language (top responses, other than English)		Italian	1.1%	0.8%	1.2%	0.8%	0.7%
		Punjabi				0.3%	0.6%
		Fijian	0.2%			0.5%	0.4%
		Afrikaans					0.4%
		Malayalam					0.3%
Religious affiliation			2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
Religious affiliation (top responses)		Catholic	36.4%	36.1%	35.8%	31.9%	27.6%
		No Religion	7.1%	10.4%	10.9%	16.3%	24.3%
		Anglican	31.8%	31.1%	31.1%	24.7%	21.7%
		Not stated	n/c	n/c	n/c	12.8%	12.3%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	9.2%	7.9%	7.9%	5.8%	4.8%
Median weekly incomes			2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$404	A$441	A$587	A$700
		% of Australian median income		86.7%	76.4%	88.7%	86.9%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$983	A$981	A$1,344	A$1,622
		% of Australian median income		83.9%	66.2%	77.5%	76.5%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$741	A$805	A$1,075	A$1,236
		% of Australian median income		72.2%	65.2%	74.8%	70.8%

Council

Hay Shire Council office and chambers, Hay

Current composition and election method

Hay Shire Council is composed of eight councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Unaligned	8
	Total	8

The current Council was elected in September 2024 . The councillors, in order of election, are:

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Carol Oataway	Unaligned	Mayor
	Will Miller	Unaligned
	Lionel Garner	Unaligned
	Martyn Quinn	Unaligned	Deputy Mayor
	Darren Tapper	Unaligned
	Geoff Chapman	Unaligned
	Paul Porter	Unaligned
	John Perry	Unaligned

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Riverina § Hay results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Hay

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Carol Oataway (elected)	366	22.79
	Independent	Will Miller (elected)	348	21.67
	Independent	Lionel Garner (elected)	200	12.45
	Independent	Martyn Quinn (elected)	197	12.27
	Independent	Darren Tapper (elected)	141	8.78
	Independent	Geoff Chapman (elected)	97	6.04
	Independent	David Townsend	82	5.11
	Independent	Paul Porter (elected)	79	4.92
	Independent	John Perry (elected)	76	4.73
	Independent	Steven Young	20	1.25
Total formal votes			1,606	100
Informal votes			55
Turnout			1,661

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Riverina § Hay.[edit]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Hay

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Jenny Dwyer (elected)	491	28.1
	Independent	Martyn Quinn (elected)	264	15.1
	Independent	Peter Handford (elected)	198	11.3
	Independent	Peter Dwyer (elected)	190	10.9
	Independent	Carol Oataway (elected)	117	6.7
	Independent	Lionel Garner (elected)	103	5.9
	Independent	Geoff Chapman (elected)	90	5.2
	Independent	John Perry	64	3.7
	Independent	Darren Clarke	62	3.5
	Independent	Paul Porter (elected)	57	3.3
	Independent	Beverley McRae	48	2.7
	Independent	David Townsend	33	1.9
	Independent	Megan Ruska	30	1.7
Total formal votes			1,747	97.4
Informal votes			47	2.6
Turnout			1,794	83.6

Literary reference

Banjo Paterson (1864–1941) wrote a poem called Hay and Hell and Booligal about the district.