Mayor & councillors
Upper Hunter Shire is an undivided council (no wards) with 9 councillors elected shire-wide. Unlike councils with a directly-elected mayor, Upper Hunter's councillors choose the Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among themselves for a two-year term. At the first meeting of the new council (October 2024) they re-elected Maurice Collison as Mayor and elected Pat Ryan as Deputy Mayor. Below is who currently holds office, with links to their official profiles and the September 2024 election results.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- How the mayor is chosen
- Either elected directly by voters, or chosen by the councillors.
- Ward
- A subdivision of a council area that elects its own councillors.
- Local Government Area (LGA)
- The official area a council governs.
- NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC)
- Runs council elections and publishes the official results.
- Mayor
- Cr Maurice CollisonElected Mayor by the councillors (not by popular vote) at the council's first meeting on 14 October 2024, for a two-year term.
- Deputy Mayor
- Cr Pat RyanElected Deputy Mayor by the councillors on 14 October 2024.
- Councillors
- 9 total, elected shire-wide
- Wards
- None — Upper Hunter is an undivided council
Your representatives
Maurice Collison
Mayor · Independent
Pat Ryan
Deputy Mayor / Councillor · Independent National
Tayah Clout
Councillor · Independent
George Fraser
Councillor · Independent
Peter McGill
Councillor · Independent
Allison McPhee
Councillor · Independent National
Earle Shields
Councillor · Independent
Troy Stolz
Councillor · Independent
Adam Williamson
Councillor · Independent
Want to raise something? Contacting your ward councillor or the mayor is one of the most direct ways to be heard between elections.
We list who's in office and link to their official profiles and the election results; we don't characterise anyone's politics. Party labels are those each councillor was elected under at the September 2024 election (NSW Electoral Commission): seven were elected as Independent and two (Pat Ryan and Allison McPhee) as Independent National. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are chosen by the councillors for a two-year term, so those roles can change mid-term; the council's official page has the most current list.
Sources — check it yourself
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.