Mackay is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about 970 kilometres north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's sugar.
There is disagreement about how to describe the location of Mackay with debate ongoing as to whether the city is located in North Queensland or Central Queensland.
Indeed, much confusion lies within the Queensland Government, which has stated that there is no uniform agreement among either state or federal government agencies to define where North Queensland is, with government services being provided through both Townsville and Rockhampton.
In its news coverage, the national Australian Broadcasting Corporation consistently describes Mackay as being in North Queensland and its local radio station is called ABC Tropical North.
More generally, the area is known as the Mackay–Whitsunday Region.