City of Newcastle Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal found that Newcastle City Council was not "fit for the future", it was recommended that the City of Newcastle merge with Lake Macquarie City Council. However, the Minister for Local Government subsequently proposed that Newcastle City Council instead merge with Port Stephens Council to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately 230,000. The outcome of an independent review was completed by mid–2016. On 14 February 2017, the NSW Government announced it would not be proceeding with further regional council mergers, including the Newcastle City Council and Port
City of Newcastle the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Newcastle was marginally lower than the national average. At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the City of Newcastle local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 76 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 56% of all residents in the City of Newcastle nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to