The City of Penrith is a local government area in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the city is located in Penrith, located within Sydney about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Sydney central business district. It occupies part of the traditional lands of the Darug people. First incorporated as a municipality on 12 May 1871, on 1 January 1949, the municipalities of Penrith, St Marys and Castlereagh and part of the Nepean Shire amalgamated to form a new Municipality of Penrith. Penrith was declared a City on 21 October 1959, and expanded westwards to include Emu Plains and Emu Heights, formerly part of the City of Blue Mountains, on 25 October 1963. As of the 2021 census the City of Penrith had an estimated population of 217,664. It is a member council of the Hawkesbury River County Council.

The mayor of the City of Penrith is Todd Carney, a member of the Labor Party (no relation to the NRL player).

Suburbs and localities in the local government area

The following suburbs and localities are located within the City of Penrith:

Council history

Penrith Community Centre, on the corner of Henry and Station streets, was the Penrith Council Chambers from November 1959 to December 1993.
Plaque commemorating the Penrith municipal centenary unveiled on the Penrith Council Chambers by Governor Sir Roden Cutler.

The Municipality of Penrith was incorporated on 12 May 1871 under the (NSW). On 3 March 1890, St Marys was separately incorporated, and on 26 July 1893 and 9 September 1895, Mulgoa and Castlereagh followed respectively. In 1913, Mulgoa became the "A" Riding of the neighbouring Nepean Shire.

On 1 January 1949, under the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, the Municipalities of Penrith, St Marys and Castlereagh and A Riding of the Nepean Shire amalgamated to form a new Municipality of Penrith. It was declared a City on 21 October 1959, and expanded westwards to include Emu Plains and Emu Heights, formerly part of the City of Blue Mountains, on 25 October 1963.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, there were 217,644 people in the Penrith local government area, of these 49.4% were male and 50.6% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5% of the population; notably above the national average of 3.4%. The median age of people in the City of Penrith was 35 years; notably below the national median of 39 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.9% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 45.5% were married and 12.3% were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the City of Penrith between the 2001 Census and the 2006 census was 0.15% and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 3.68%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Penrith local government area was significantly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Penrith was on with par with the national average.

At the 2021 census, the proportion of residents in the Penrith local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 63.5% of all residents (national average was 58.4%). In excess of 28.7% of all residents in the City of Penrith area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2021 census, which was fairly higher than the national average of 20%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Penrith local government area had a marginally lower than average proportion (23.9%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 24.8%); and a higher proportion (74.2%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72%).

Selected historical census data for Penrith local government area
Census year20012006201120162021
PopulationEstimated residents on census night171,870172,140178,467196,066217,644
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales7th8th13th9th
% of New South Wales population2.58%2.63%2.67%
% of Australian population0.92%0.87%0.83%0.84%0.85%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responsesAustralian29.1%26.3%33.3%
English25.2%24.5%30.2%
Irish6.8%7.2%8.2%
Scottish5.3%5.5%6.7%
Maltese3.0%2.8%
Language, top responses (other than English)Arabic1.3%1.5%1.6%1.6%1.8%
Tagalog1.3%0.8%1.0%1.1%1.2%
Italian1.0%0.9%0.8%0.9%
Maltese0.8%0.8%0.8%0.7%
Hindi0.6%0.7%0.8%0.9%1.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responsesCatholic34.5%34.9%35.2%32.1%28.7%
Anglican26.1%24.7%23.6%18.4%13.1%
No religion9.8%11.9%14.0%21.1%28.9%
Presbyterian and Reformed3.4%3.1%2.9%
Uniting Church3.7%3.1%2.7%
Median weekly incomes
Personal incomeMedian weekly personal incomeA$517A$623A$728A$866
% of Australian median income110.9%108.0%109.6%106.52%
Family incomeMedian weekly family incomeA$1,147A$1,582A$1,858A$2188
% of Australian median income111.7%106.8%107.1%100.14%
Household incomeMedian weekly household incomeA$1,285A$1,398A$1,658A$1903
% of Australian median income109.7%113.3%111.5%104.05%

Council

Penrith City Council is composed of fifteen councillors elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing five councillors. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council for a two-year term, while the deputy mayor is elected for a single-year term only.

Current composition

The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024. The Composition by ward is as follows:

WardCouncillorPartyNotes
East WardLibby AustinLabor
Todd CarneyLaborMayor 2023–Present; Deputy Mayor 2022–2023
Sarbjeet KaurLabor
Edwin MisfudLabor
Garion ThainLabor
North WardJohn ThainLaborMayor 2005–2006, 2016–2018; Deputy Mayor 2004–2005
Robin CookLabor
Ross Fowler OAMLiberalMayor 1995–1996, 2013–2015, 2018–2020; Deputy Mayor 2015–2016, 2024—Present
Reece NuttallLiberal
Glenn GardinerIndependent
South WardHollie McleanLabor
Kirstie BoerstLabor
Vanessa PollakLibertarian
Sue DayIndependent
Faithe SkinnerIndependent
Penrith Civic Centre, designed by Feiko Bouman on 601 High Street, has been the council seat since December 1993.

Election methods

TermAldermen/CouncillorsWardsMayor
1871–18919No wardsAnnual election by Aldermen
1891–189312
1893–19489
1949–195024Ward One (9, Penrith) Ward Two (9, St Marys) Ward Three (3, Nepean) Ward Four (3, Castlereagh)
1950–195912 (3 per ward)Ward One Ward Two Ward Three Ward Four
1959–196313 (3 per ward: 12 Aldermen, 1 Mayor)Direct triennial election
1963–196813 (4 per ward: 12 Aldermen, 1 Mayor)North Ward South Ward East Ward
1968–198712 (4 per ward)Annual election by Aldermen/Councillors
1987–date15 (5 per ward)

Election results

2024

2024 Penrith City Council election: Ward results
PartyVotes%SwingSeatsChange
Labor26,54433.9−0.694
Independents31,49026.9−2.931
Liberal15,30319.5−13.824
Libertarian11,84915.1+15.111
Greens3,5224.5+4.50
Formal votes78,28291.6
Informal votes7,2218.4
Total85,503100.015
Registered voters / turnout151,01583.7

2021

The election was conducted by the Australian Election Company.

2021 New South Wales local elections: Penrith
PartyVotes%SwingSeatsChange
Labor36,37634.5–6.25
Liberal35,08133.3+2.96
Independent10,3369.8
Sue Day Independent6,8596.51
The North Ward Independents5,8205.51
MARCUS CORNISH3,8683.7
WE DESERVE BETTER3,0732.91
Australia First2,5492.4+2.4
People Before Politics1,5341.5
Formal votes105,496

Mayors

MayorPartyTermNotes
Patros Athanas TornarosLabor1 January 1949 – 5 December 1949
Bill ChapmanIndependent5 December 1949 – 11 December 1956
Bernard Noel FowlerIndependent11 December 1956 – 11 December 1957
Leo Joseph SpiesLabor11 December 1957 – 19 April 1961
Bill ChapmanIndependent3 June 1961 – December 1968
Ron MulockLaborDecember 1968 – September 1971
Brian KingIndependentSeptember 1971 – September 1974
Eileen Cammack OBEIndependentSeptember 1974 – September 1977
Brian King AMIndependentSeptember 1977 – September 1985
Kevin Dwyer OAMIndependentSeptember 1985 – September 1987
Rodney FieldIndependentSeptember 1987 – September 1988
Kevin Dwyer OAMIndependentSeptember 1988 – September 1989
Brian King AMIndependentSeptember 1989 – September 1990
Faye Lo Po' AMLaborSeptember 1990 – September 1991
Tony AquilinaSeptember 1991 – September 1992
Bill GayedIndependentSeptember 1992 – September 1993
Diane BeamerLaborSeptember 1993 – September 1994
Pat SheehySeptember 1994 – September 1995
Ross FowlerIndependentSeptember 1995 – September 1996
Kevin Crameri OAMIndependentSeptember 1996 – September 1997
Kevin Dwyer OAMIndependentSeptember 1997 – September 1998
John Bateman OAMIndependentSeptember 1998 – September 2000
David BradburyLaborSeptember 2000 – September 2001
Pat SheehySeptember 2001 – September 2002
Greg DaviesSeptember 2002 – April 2004
David BradburyApril 2004 – September 2004
Jackie GreenowIndependentSeptember 2004 – September 2005
John ThainLaborSeptember 2005 – September 2006
Pat Sheehy AMSeptember 2006 – September 2007
Greg DaviesSeptember 2007 – September 2008
Jim Aitken OAMIndependentSeptember 2008 – September 2009
Kevin Crameri OAMIndependentSeptember 2009 – September 2011
Greg DaviesLaborSeptember 2011 – September 2012
Mark DaviesLiberalSeptember 2012 – 23 September 2013
Ross Fowler OAM23 September 2013 – September 2015
Karen McKeown OAMLaborSeptember 2015 – 26 September 2016
John Thain26 September 2016 – 24 September 2018
Ross Fowler OAMLiberal24 September 2018 – 28 September 2020
Karen McKeown OAMLabor28 September 2020 – 13 January 2022
Tricia HitchenLiberal13 January 2022 – October 2023
Todd CarneyLaborOctober 2023 – present

Media

The City of Penrith is served by a weekly newspaper, The Western Weekender, which was founded in 1991. It produces a print edition each Friday as well as a digital news service. The newspaper is independently owned.

Sister cities

Since it signed its first agreement with Fujieda, Japan in 1984, Penrith City has gradually expanded its sister cities and international links programme. Presently Penrith has links with:

Heritage listings

The City of Penrith has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

External links