The Hills Shire New South Wales |
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Location in Metropolitan Sydney
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Coordinates | 33°46′S 151°00′E / 33.767°S 151.000°ECoordinates: 33°46′S 151°00′E / 33.767°S 151.000°E | ||||||||||||
Population | 160,339 (2015) | ||||||||||||
• Density | 415/km2 (1,070/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Area | 386 km2 (149.0 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | AEDT (UTC+11) | ||||||||||||
Mayor | Clr Yvonne Keane (Liberal) | ||||||||||||
Council seat | Castle Hill | ||||||||||||
Region | Metropolitan Sydney | ||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | |||||||||||||
Website | The Hills Shire | ||||||||||||
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The Hills Shire (previously Baulkham Hills Shire) is a local government area of in the north western region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area encompasses 401 square kilometres (155 sq mi) stretching from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to Wiseman's Ferry on the Hawkesbury River in the north.
The current Mayor of The Hills Shire is Cr. Michelle Byrne, a member of the Liberal Party. The Mayoral position is soon to be elected by popular vote, ending a system of short term, usually one year, appointment of the Mayor by the elected councillors.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) recommended that The Hills Shire merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of parts of The Hills with the Hawkesbury City Council to form a new council with an area of 3,161 square kilometres (1,220 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 224,000. The second proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta, Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council with an area of 82 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 215,725. Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced that the merger of parts of The Hills Shire suburbs south of the M2 Motorway (North Rocks, Northmead and part of Baulkham Hills) with the City of Parramatta to form a revised City of Parramatta Council, with immediate effect. Other proposals impacting The Hills Shire were rejected by the Government.