City of Botany Bay

City of Botany Bay New South Wales
Population	39,356 (2011 census)[1]
• Density	1,471/km2 (3,810/sq mi)
Established	1996
Area	26.75 km2 (10.3 sq mi)
Mayor	Ben Keneally (Labor)
Council seat	Mascot
Region	Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)	Heffron Maroubra
Federal Division(s)	Kingsford Smith
Website	City of Botany Bay
LGAs around City of Botany Bay: Marrickville Sydney Randwick Marrickville City of Botany Bay Randwick Rockdale Botany Bay Randwick

The City of Botany Bay was a local government area in the eastern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area encompassed the suburbs to the north of Botany Bay, such as Botany. The administrative centre was located at Mascot, which is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of the Sydney central business district. The City was amalgamated with the neighbouring City of Rockdale on 9 September 2016 to form Bayside Council.

The Mayor of the City of Botany Bay Council prior to amalgamation was Cr. Ben Keneally, a member of the Labor Party and the husband of Kristina Keneally, a former Premier of New South Wales.

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs in the City of Botany Bay were:

• Banksmeadow
• Botany
• Botany Bay
• Daceyville
• Eastgardens
• Eastlakes
• Hillsdale
• Mascot
• Pagewood (parts are located in City of Randwick council)
• Rosebery (parts are located in City of Sydney council)

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 39,356 people in the Botany Bay local government area, of these 49.5% were male and 50.5% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.6% of the population. The median age of people in the City of Botany Bay was 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 14.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.6% were married and 11.4% were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in the City of Botany Bay between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 5.18%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 5.19%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Botany Bay local government area was lower than the national average.^[1][2][3]

Selected historical census data for the City of Botany Bay local government area
Census year			2001[2]	2006[3]	2011[1]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	35,572	37,415	39,356
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		61
		% of New South Wales population		0.5%	0.57%
		% of Australian population	0.19%	0.18%	0.18%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			16.7%
		English			14.5%
		Chinese			8.0%
		Irish			5.8%
		Greek			5.6%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Greek	7.4%	6.5%	5.8%
		Bengali	3.4%	3.5%	3.6%
		Indonesian	n/c	n/c	3.2%
		Spanish	4.5%	3.8%	3.2%
		Mandarin Chinese	n/c	n/c	3.0%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	35.0%	34.2%	32.9%
		No religion	7.5%	10.1%	13.0%
		Anglican	13.2%	12.2%	10.8%
		Eastern Orthodox	10.9%	10.2%	9.5%
		Islam	8.3%	7.8%	8.1%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$453	A$575
		% of Australian median income		97.2%	99.7%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$995	A$1,488
		% of Australian median income		96.9%	100.5%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,166	A$1,245
		% of Australian median income		99.6%	100.9%

Council

City of Botany Bay Admin Building, Mascot

Botany Bay City Council was composed of seven Councillors, including the Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor was directly elected while the six other Councillors are elected proportionally as six separate wards, each electing one Councillor. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012. In Wards One and Five, only one candidate, being those below, nominated for election. There being no additional candidates, the election for these Wards was uncontested.^[4] The makeup of the Council at the last election, including the Mayor, was as follows:^[5]

The current council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:^[5]

History

Before 1996, the city was known as the Municipality of Botany.

In February 2016, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption commenced a public inquiry into allegations that a former chief financial officer employed by the Council and other Council employees, dishonestly exercised official functions to obtain financial benefits for themselves and others by causing fraudulent payments of more than A$4.2 million to be made by the Council through false invoicing to either themselves, or various entities. It was also alleged that the former Chief Financial Officer and the Council employees dishonestly exercised official functions to obtain financial benefits for themselves and others by using Council resources.^[6]

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the City of Botany Bay merge with the City of Rockdale to form a new council with an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 153,000.^[7] Following the review, Botany Bay was amalgamated with City of Rockdale] on 9 September 2016 to form Bayside Council.^[8]

Economy

Qantas's head office, the Qantas Centre, is at 203 Coward Street in the Mascot suburb of Botany Bay.^[9] The regional airline Eastern Australia Airlines has its head office on the grounds of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Mascot.^[10] The airline Impulse Airlines, when it existed, had its head office in the airport property.^[11]

Education

Government schools

Residents are zoned to schools in the Department of Education and Communities. The following schools are in Botany Bay:

• Banksmeadow Public School
• Botany Public School
• Daceyville Public School
• Eastlakes Public School
• Mascot Public School
• Pagewood Public School
• J J Cahill Memorial High School
• John Brotchie Nursery School

Private schools

• St Therese's Catholic School
• St Bernard's Catholic School

References

External links

• City of Botany Bay website