City of Launceston

Launceston City Council
Tasmania
Launceston City Council; Tasmania
	Map showing the Launceston local government area
Coordinates	41°21′38″S 147°18′16″E / 41.3605°S 147.3044°E
Population	70,055 (2021)
• Density	49.544/km2 (128.32/sq mi)
Established	1 January 1853
Area	1,414 km2 (545.9 sq mi)
Mayor	Matthew Garwood
Council seat	Launceston
Region	Launceston and surrounds
State electorate(s)	Bass; Lyons;
Federal division(s)	Bass; Lyons;
Website	Launceston City Council
	LGAs around Launceston City Council:

Launceston City Council (or City of Launceston) is a local government body in Tasmania, located in the city and surrounds of Launceston in the north of the state. The Launceston local government area is classified as urban and has a population of 77,363,^[1] which also encompasses localities including Lilydale, Targa and through to Swan Bay on the eastern side of the Tamar River.

Government

The current mayor is Matthew Garwood, elected in 2023.

Name	Position^[3]
Matthew Garwood	Mayor/councillor
Hugh McKenzie	Deputy mayor/councillor
Danny Gibson	Councillor
Andrea Dawkins	Councillor
Alan Harris	Councillor
Tim Walker	Councillor
George Razay	Councillor
Joe Pentridge	Councillor
Andrew Palmer	Councillor
Lindi McMahon	Councillor
Susie Cai	Councillor
Alex Britton	Councillor

History and attributes

Launceston is classified as urban, regional and medium (URM) under the Australian Classification of Local Governments.^[4] The population at the 2016 Census was over 65,000, making Launceston the most populous of the 29 local government areas in Tasmania.

The municipality logo features the now extinct Tasmanian tiger, an indigenous marsupial that used to be prevalent in the Launceston district.

History

Launceston was first declared as a municipality in 1853 and declared a city in 1888.^[5] Its original boundaries have long since been redefined and the area now known as the City of Launceston includes parts of the former Lilydale, St Leonard's, Evandale and Westbury Municipalities.^[6] In the 1890s, the municipality grew to include Galvin Town (South Launceston) and in 1906 to include the northern suburbs of Invermay, Mowbray and Trevallyn.^[7] This has produced a local government area that overlaps its similarly named city, rather than either being contained by or encompassing it.

Women were ineligible to stand for election to the Launceston City Council until 1945,^[8] despite being granted the same rights at federal and state level in 1902 and 1921, respectively.

Localities

Suburbs of the city of Launceston

• Dilston • East Launceston • Invermay • Kings Meadows • Launceston • Mayfield • Mowbray • Newnham • Newstead • Norwood • Prospect • Punchbowl • Ravenswood • Rocherlea • South Launceston • St Leonards • Summerhill • Trevallyn • Waverley • West Launceston • Youngtown

Localities other than suburbs

• Bangor • Blessington • Burns Creek • Golconda • Karoola • Lalla • Lebrina • Lilydale • Lower Turners Marsh • Mount Direction • Myrtle Bank • North Lilydale • Nunamara • Patersonia • Pipers Brook • Pipers River • Prospect Vale • Relbia • Retreat • Springfield • Swan Bay • Targa • Tayene • Tunnel • Turners Marsh • Underwood • Upper Blessington • White Hills • Windermere • Wyena

Sister city relations

– Napa, California, USA

Homelessness

Homelessness in Launceston has been a growing problem.^[9]^[10] Launceston City Council does not hold or track statistics on homelessness but relies on Homes Tasmania to do so.^[11]

2024 Strike it Out, Inc Removal

Charity Strike it Out, Inc operating in Launceston was forced remove sleeping trailers during the middle of winter with recorded overnight minimum temperatures of -3°,^[12] which the charity acquired to alleviate the situation of rough sleepers sleeping in freezing conditions in Launceston City during the winter periods^[13] after a long running tussle between the council and the charity.^[14] The Launceston City Council rejected any blame, releasing a press release on 1 July 2024 after media scrutiny following the removal of the pods.^[15]

The charity has been attempting to get permits from the council for the infrastructure but the council had imposed ad-hoc arbitrary conditions, including compliance with a privacy act it has no enforcement jurisdiction on.^[13]^[16] The council does not have any general policy of approving homeless accommodation providers' proposals or requests.^[17]