Hay Shire

The Hay Shire is a local government area in the Riverina area of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Shire comprises 11326 km2 and is located adjacent to the Sturt, Mid-western and Cobb Highways. The area includes the towns of Hay, Booligal and Maude.

Hay Shire was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the Municipality of Hay with the surrounding Waradgery Shire.

The mayor of Hay Shire is Cr. Carol Oataway, an unaligned politician who had previously held the position of Principal of Hay Public School.

Current composition and election method
Hay Shire Council is composed of eight 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 20 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:

The current Council was elected in December 2021. The councillors, in order of election, are:

Literary reference
Banjo Paterson (1864–1941) wrote a poem called Hay and Hell and Booligal about the district.