Rockhampton - Governance

Governance

Rockhampton is governed by the Rockhampton Regional Council. The Council consists of a mayor and ten councillors. The Mayor is elected by the public, and the Councillors are elected from ten single-member divisions (or wards) using an optional preferential voting system. Elections are held every four years. Margaret Strelow is the current mayor, having won the mayoral election in 2012.

The Rockhampton Regional Council local government area consists of four former local government areas. The first was the original City of Rockhampton, consisting of the Rockhampton City region as listed above. The second was the Shire of Livingstone (comprising the Capricorn Coast and Byfield). The third area was the Shire of Fitzroy, (comprising Gracemere and smaller surrounding towns), and the fourth area was the Shire of Mount Morgan, (comprising the town of Mount Morgan.)

Before the time of the 2008 amalgamation, Rockhampton City had a population of approximately 74,530, Livingstone Shire approximately 28,266, Fitzroy Shire approximately 11,357, and Mount Morgan Shire approximately 2,925 people.