Our Region

Reaching from the Coolah Tops National Park in the north west to Morisset in the south east, and from Wollemi National Park in the south west to Harrington in the north east, the Hunter is a large and disparate region.

We have the largest share of both regional population and regional employment and are located in the State’s fastest growing corridor – from the northern edge of Sydney to Newcastle. The Hunter boasts a diverse natural environment, and one of the fastest growing regional economies in Australia.

Our communities are also diverse; encompassing coastal hamlets, historic villages, growing suburbs, country towns, regional centres, and an emerging global city. Our region has been home to many generations of the Awabakal, Biripi, Darkinjung, Geawegal, Wonarua and Worimi people, with over ten Local Aboriginal Land Councils spanning the region.

In forming the Hunter Joint Organisation, our ten member councils have set out to protect and grow our region, operating under the following guiding principles;

• Recognise diverse local community needs;
• Consider social justice principles of equity, access, participation and rights;
• Consider long term and cumulative effects of actions on future generations;
• Consider principles of ecologically sustainable development.

It is by these principles that the Hunter Joint Organisation’s Strategic Plan was written and is being actioned across our region.

We also seek to grow our region in working towards the Hunter Regional Plan 2036, a “20 year blueprint for the future of the Hunter” developed by the NSW Government in 2016.

The Hunter Regional Plan 2036 sets out four regionally focused goals, that the Hunter region will be; the leading regional economy in Australia; a biodiversity-rich natural environment; full of thriving communities; with greater housing choice and jobs. These goals are well-aligned with the Hunter JO’s Strategic Plan, and through intergovernmental collaboration between our ten local councils, the Joint Organisation, and State and Federal Governments, the Hunter will continue to be a thriving, diverse, and smart region for future generations.