Richmond Valley Council (RVC) is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

on the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly Regions of New South Wales, region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence Ri ...

region of north-eastern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. RVC services an area of and draws its name from the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may ...

, which flows through most of the council area. The area under management is located adjacent to the Bruxner Highway, Pacific Highway, and the North Coast railway line. It is a rural area for the most part, with most industries involving

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

and crop growing, such as

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, and

pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...

plantation. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the Richmond Valley Council is Cr. Robert Mustow, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politician.

History

Following a petition of 76 ratepayers, elections were held 22 March 1880 for the Casino Council. Tomki Shire Council merged with in 1976 to become the Richmond River Shire Council, which amalgamated with the Municipality of Casino into the Richmond Valley Council in February 2000.

Heritage listings

The Richmond Valley Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: *

High Conservation Value Old Growth forest The High Conservation Value Old Growth forest is a heritage-listed forest located across twelve local government areas in the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, and New England regions of New South Wales, Australia. The conservation area is also ...

Towns and localities

Demographics

At the 2016 census, there were people in the Richmond Valley local government area, of these 49.5 per cent were male and 50.5 per cent were female.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, w ...

made up 6.6 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The

median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

age of people in the Richmond Valley area was 42 years, which was marginally higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.6 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.6 per cent were married and 13.7 per cent were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the Richmond Valley area between the and the was 4.9 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, the population growth was 3.4 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Richmond Valley local government area was significantly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Richmond Valley area was marginally lower than the national average. At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Richmond Valley local government area who stated their

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 86 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 16 per cent of all residents in the Richmond Valley at the 2011 census nominated no

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

affiliation, compared to the national average of 22.3 per cent. Meanwhile, affiliation with

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

exceeded 66 per cent, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. As at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Richmond Valley local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.3 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93.8 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).

Council

Current composition and election method

Richmond Valley Council is composed of seven

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s, including the

, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the six other councillors are elected proportionally as one entire

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, is:

Election results

2024

2021

References

{{Authority control Local government areas of New South Wales Northern Rivers 2000 establishments in Australia