Cr Nuatali Nelmes

LORD MAYOR OF NEWCASTLE

Nuatali Nelmes was returned for a second consecutive term as the Lord Mayor of Newcastle following a general election held on 9 September 2017.

Councillor Nelmes previously served as Councillor on Newcastle City Council for 6 years from 2008, before being elected Lord Mayor of Newcastle in 2014. 

Nuatali holds a Bachelor of Business degree with a double major in industrial relations/human resource management and marketing from the University of Newcastle, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She worked in small business and recruitment before being elected to The City of Newcastle Council in 2008.

Throughout her time on Council, Nuatali has championed the revitalisation of Newcastle’s coastline; and worked to improve vital Council services such as Blackbutt Reserve, pools and libraries, to provide all Novocastrians with equitable access to high-quality public facilities.

During the 2017 General Council Election, which Nuatali won with more than 42 per cent of first preference votes, she campaigned on a strong track record of delivery, including returning Council to financial sustainability, doubling Council's investment in clearing the infrastructure backlog while protecting jobs and services, as well as overseeing record levels of development approved throughout the City of Newcastle.

Nuatali has represented Labor as a Councillor on committees overseeing recreation, urban planning and design, assets, and catchment management; and is currently a member of Council's Asset Advisory Board and Chair of Council's Coastal Revitalisation Working Party; and sits on the Boards of the Hunter Westpac Rescue Helicopter and the Newcastle Airport Partnership.

The Lord Mayor is also a proud Patron of the Coast and Valley Swimming Association, the Friendship Force Club of Newcastle, the Hillcrest Tennis Club Inc., the Hunter Regional Apprenticeship and Traineeship Advisory Committee, the Hunter School of the Performing Arts Marching Band, the Newcastle District Bowling Association, the Newcastle District Vintage and Classic Car Club Inc., the Newcastle and Hunter District Historical Society, the Newcastle Rowing Club, and the Northern NSW Federation of Justices of the Peace Inc. Newcastle Branch.

Councillor Nelmes is only the second female Lord Mayor of Newcastle after popular 1970s-era mayor Joy Cummings, and she is the youngest Lord Mayor of Newcastle. Nuatali was raised and educated in Newcastle, is married with three children and has enjoyed a representative sporting career in basketball.