Balranald Shire is a local government area in the Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

 area of western New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 on the Sturt Highway

Sturt Highway

The Sturt Highway is an Australian highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is part of the Auslink National network and is part of the main highway route between Sydney and Adelaide.-Route:...

. It is the location of World Heritage listed Mungo National Park

Mungo National Park

Mungo National Park is an isolated national park in south-western New South Wales, Australia, 876 km west of Sydney, in the Balranald Shire. It is part of the Willandra Lakes Region, a World Heritage Site covering 2,400 square kilometres, and incorporating seventeen dry lakes...

. It includes the towns of Balranald

Balranald, New South Wales

Balranald is a town and local government area in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census the population was 1,216....

 and Euston

Euston, New South Wales

Euston is a small town on the banks of the Murray River, southern New South Wales, Australia in Balranald Shire. The twin town of Robinvale is on the other side of the river in the state of Victoria. At the 2006 census, Euston had a population of 462 people. Until the irrigation development at...

. Other localities in the Shire include Kyalite

Kyalite, New South Wales

Kyalite is a village community on the Wakool River, 37 kilometres south of Balranald, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia.  It is part of the Balranald Shire Council.  Kyalite was formerly known as Wakool Crossing...

, Hatfield, Penarie

Penarie, New South Wales

Penarie is a small settlement about 32 kilometres north of Balranald, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Balranald Shire Council. Penarie is situated at a junction on the road between Balranald and Ivanhoe, where a branch road leads to Oxley...

, Clare and Oxley

Oxley, New South Wales

Oxley is a community on the lower Lachlan River in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia.  It is located near the junction of the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers.  The township which developed in the mid 1860s was named after the noted Australian explorer, John Oxley...

.

Council

Balranald Shire Council is composed of ten councillors elected proportionally. The mayor not directly elected. The current makeup of the council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...  and Unaffiliated	10
	Total	10

The current council, elected in 2008, is:

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Steve O'Halloran	Unaffiliated
	Leigh Byron	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Ronald Mengler	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Mayor
	Philip Ervin	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Tina Powis	Unaffiliated	Deputy Mayor
	Jeff Mannix	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Alan Purtill	Unaffiliated
	Colin Armstrong	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Peter Lawler	Unaffiliated
	Ken Barnes	Unaffiliated