Cabonne Council is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mitchell Highway and the Broken Hill railway line, partly surrounding the City of Orange. The administrative centre is located at Molong. As at the, the population of the Shire was estimated to be 13,860. More than half of the businesses in the region, being 858 of 1683, are classified as part of the agricultural sector. The mayor of the Cabonne Council is Cr. Kevin Beatty, an independent politician.

Towns and localities

The towns and localities in the Cabonne Council area are: • Boree • Borenore • Cadia • Canowindra (shared with Cowra) • Cargo • Cudal • Cumnock • Eugowra (shared with Forbes) • Manildra • Molong • Moorbel • Mullion Creek • Murga • Nashdale • Toogong • Windera • Yeoval

Demographics

Council

Current composition and election method

Cabonne Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. 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. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:

Election results

2024

2021

2017

History

The first Australian gold rush occurred at Ophir within the present shire boundary. Cabonne Shire was formed in 1978 following the amalgamation of Molong Shire, Boree Shire and the greater part of Canobolas Shire.

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Cabonne Shire merge with the Orange City and Blayney Shire Councils to form a new council with an area of 7833 km2 and support a population of approximately 63,000. As a result of the state government's decision to not proceed with proposed council amalgamations, this no longer applies.

Industry

The Manildra Group flour mill, one of the ten largest flour mills globally, is located within the shire at Manildra.