Councillors & Wards
Lake Macquarie City Council is divided into three wards: North, East, and West.
All Lake Macquarie residents are eligible to enrol and vote in the local government elections. Residents who are enrolled to vote, elect a Mayor, and four councillors to represent their respective ward.
Residents 18 years of age or over can enrol to vote through the State Electoral Office.
Ordinary elections are held every four years, usually on the fourth Saturday of September. The city’s last election was on 13 September 2008 so the next election will be in September 2012.
All elected members must lodge a declaration listing all political donations received and electoral expenditure incurred. A register of these declarations are available on the Election Funding Authority website.
A councillor’s role is to:
- facilitate communication between the community and Council
- represent the Lake Macquarie community and make decisions in the best interest of the public and the environment
- participate in the review of where Council’s resources are allocated
- provide leadership and guidance to the community
The Mayor’s role is to:
- act in the capacity of Councillor as well as Mayor of Lake Macquarie
- preside at meetings of the Council
- carry out the civic and ceremonial functions of the mayoral office; such as citizenship ceremonies
- exercise other functions of the council as the council determines