The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and Cumberland, where the Cumberland Plain meets the Hornsby Plateau, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. The city occupies an area of 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi) spanning across suburbs in Greater Western Sydney including the Hills District, and a small section of Northern Sydney to the far north east of its area. According to the 2021 census, City of Parramatta had an estimated population of 256,729.[2] The city houses the Parramatta central business district which is one of the key suburban employment destinations for the region of Greater Western Sydney.

City of Parramatta
New South Wales
Coordinates33°49′S 151°00′E / 33.817°S 151.000°E / -33.817; 151.000
Population256,729 (2021 census)[1] (12th)
 • Density3,056/km2 (7,920/sq mi)
Established27 November 1861 (Municipality)
27 October 1938 (City)
Postcode(s)2153, 2152, 2151, 2150, 2147, 2146, 2145, 2142, 2141, 2128, 2127, 2122, 2121, 2119, 2118, 2117, 2116, 2115, 2114
Area84 km2 (32.4 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10)
 • Summer (DST)AEDT (UTC+11)
Lord MayorMartin Zaiter
Council seatParramatta Town Hall
RegionGreater Western Sydney
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)
WebsiteCity of Parramatta
LGAs around City of Parramatta:
Blacktown The Hills Hornsby
Cumberland City of Parramatta Ryde
Cumberland Cumberland Canada Bay & Strathfield

History

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City of Parramatta boundaries, 1949–2016

First incorporated on 27 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Parramatta",[3] the first mayor was emancipated convict John Williams who arrived in the colony in 1835. The council became known as the "Borough of Parramatta" on 23 December 1867 following the enactment of the Municipalities Act, 1867, and became a Municipality again following the 1906 Local Government Act. On 27 October 1938, the Local Government (City of Parramatta) Act was passed by the Parliament of New South Wales and proclaimed by the governor, Lord Wakehurst, making the town the "City of Parramatta".[4][5]

From 1 January 1949 the "City of Parramatta" was re-formed following the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, when the councils of Ermington and Rydalmere (incorporated 1891), Dundas (incorporated 1889) and Granville (incorporated 1885) were merged into the council area. The Parramatta local government area was further expanded through the transfer of 10.7 km2 from the Municipality of Blacktown in 1972 taking in Winston Hills which has not serviced since this time.[6] In recognition of Parramatta's role Bi-centennial (coinciding with the Australian Bi-centennial), the title of 'Lord Mayor' was granted on 12 December 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of Premier Nick Greiner. This made Parramatta the third Australian city that was not a capital to receive such an honour, after Newcastle and Wollongong.

2016 amalgamation

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A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Parramatta be reformed, adding areas from several adjoining councils. The NSW Government subsequently proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta (Woodville Ward), Auburn and Holroyd and a second merger of parts of the rest of Parramatta and parts of Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council.[7][8]

On 12 May 2016, Parramatta City Council was abolished by the NSW Government. Parts of Auburn City Council (south of the M4 Western Motorway) and Parramatta City Council (Woodville Ward), and Holroyd City Council merged to form the Cumberland Council as a new local government area and the remainder of the Parramatta City Council, Auburn City Council north of the M4 Western Motorway (including Sydney Olympic Park), and small parts of Hornsby Shire, Holroyd and The Hills Shire were merged into the reformed "City of Parramatta".[9][10]

Suburbs in the local government area

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Suburbs in the City of Parramatta are:[10]

Facilities

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The City of Parramatta Council operates a central library, heritage centre and six branch libraries at Carlingford, Constitution Hill, Dundas Valley, Epping, Ermington and Wentworth Point. It also provides a public swimming pool at Epping, five childcare centres and over ten community centres.[11][12] The heritage-listed Parramatta Town Hall was completed in 1883 and houses the original council chamber meeting rooms as well as other function rooms.[13]

Demographics

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At the 2016 census, there were 226,149 people in the City of Parramatta local government area that comprised 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi), of these 50% were male and 50% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.7% of the population. The median age of people in the City of Parramatta was 34 years; notably below the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.2% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 55.4% were married and 9% were either divorced or separated.[14] At the 2016 Census, the Parramatta local government area was linguistically diverse, with a significantly higher than average proportion (54.2%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 22.2%); and a significantly lower proportion (41.47) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72.7%). The most commonly reported religious affiliation was "No Religion", at 24.5%. The proportion of residents who stated a religious affiliation with Hinduism was approximately six times the national average, with the median weekly income for residents slightly above the national average.[14]

Selected historical census data for Parramatta local government area
Census year 2001[15] 2006[16] 2011[17] 2016[14]
Population Estimated residents on census night 143,143 148,323 166,858 226,149
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 11th   11th   5th
% of New South Wales population 2.41%   3.02%
% of Australian population 0.76%   0.75%   0.78%   0.97%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses
Australian 23.9%   22.9%   18.1%   13.1%
English 21.8%   17.8%   16.8%   13.7%
Chinese 9.4%   11.2%   13.0%   16.4%
Lebanese 9.5%   9.7%   9.5%
Indian 3.4%   5.9%   9.1%   10.1%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)
Arabic 10.1%   10.7%   10.3%   3.2%
Mandarin 3.0%   4.7%   5.9%   10.5%
Cantonese 4.6%   5.0%   5.0%   6.5%
Korean 2.0%   2.1%   2.7%   5.0%
Hindi 1.3%   2.0%   2.6%   3.6%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses
Catholic 27.1%   26.0%   23.4%   20.8%
No religion 10.7%   12.8%   15.0%   24.5%
Anglican 15.8%   12.9%   10.3%   8.3%
Islam 7.0%   8.2%   9.7%
Hinduism 2.8%   5.3%   8.8%   11.3%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income Median weekly personal income A$443 A$544 A$722
% of Australian median income 95.1% 94.3% 109.1%
Family income Median weekly family income A$1,043 A$1,451 A$1,933
% of Australian median income 101.6% 98.0% 111.5%
Household income Median weekly household income A$1,172 A$1,288 A$1,759
% of Australian median income 100.0% 104.4% 122.3%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type Separate house 61.2%   56.2%   52.8%   45.7%
Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse 10.7   12.4%   13.4%   15.2%
Flat or apartment 26.8%   30.7%   33.5%   38.4%

Council

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Parramatta Town Hall, the seat of the council since 1883
 
City of Parramatta sign, Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford

Between May 2016 and September 2017, the council was managed by an administrator appointed by the Government of New South Wales, Amanda Chadwick, until the first election for councillors took place on 9 September 2017.[10] The City of Parramatta Council comprises fifteen councillors elected proportionally, with three councillors in each ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor is elected for a two-year term, with the Deputy Lord Mayor for one year, by the councillors at the first meeting of the council.

Office-holder Term Notes
Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter 14 October 2024-2026 [18]
Deputy Lord Mayor Cameron Maclean 14 October 2024-2025 [18]
CEO[19] Term Notes
Gail Connolly 28 March 2023 – present CEO, [20]
Rik Hart (Acting) 11 March 2019 – 16 September 2019 General manager Warringah and Inner West Councils[21]
Mark Stapleton 10 July 2018 – 11 March 2019 Director of Property and Significant Assets[22]
Sue Coleman (interim) 19 January 2018 – 10 July 2018 Group Manager City Services
Greg Dyer 12 May 2016 – 19 January 2018 CEO, Parramatta City Council 3 February 2014 – 12 May 2016[10][23][24][25][26]

Current composition

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A map of the five wards, showing party representation as of the 2021 local elections.

The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, in order of election by ward, is as follows:

Party Councillors
  Labor 6
  Liberal 6
  Community Champions 1
  Lorraine Wearne Independents 1
  Greens 1
Total
Ward Councillor Party Notes
Dundas Ward[27]   Anthony Ellard Labor Elected 2024[28]
  Tanya Raffoul Liberal Elected 2024[28]
  Kellie Darley Community Champions Elected 2021
Epping Ward[29]   Sreeni Pillamarri Liberal Elected 2024, previously Hornsby Shire Councillor 2021-2024
  Cameron MacLean Labor Elected 2021, Deputy Lord Mayor 2023, Deputy Lord Mayor 2024[18]
  Charles Chen Lorraine Wearne Independents Elected 2024[28]
North Rocks Ward[30]   Hayley French Labor Elected 2024[28]
  Georgina Valjak Liberal Elected 2021 as independent, re-elected 2024 as Liberal
  Manning Jeffrey Liberal Elected 2024[28]
Parramatta Ward[31]   Sameer Pandey Labor Elected 2017, Deputy Lord Mayor 2022-2023, Lord Mayor 2023
  Martin Zaiter Liberal Re-elected 2024[28], Lord Mayor 2024-2026[18]
  Judy Greenwood Greens Elected 2024[28]
Rosehill Ward[32]   Patricia Prociv Labor Elected 2017, Deputy Lord Mayor 2023–2024.
  Steven Issa Liberal First elected 2012, Lord Mayor 2021, re-elected 2024,[28]
  Michael Ng Labor Elected 2024[28]

Election results

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2024

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2024 New South Wales local elections: Parramatta[33][34][35]
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Liberal 41,777 35.7 +30.0 6   5
  Labor 36,344 31.1 −10.4 6   1
  Community Champions 12,735 10.9 −6.7 1  
  Our Local Community 11,902 10.2 −9.2 0   4
  Greens 7,499 6.4 −3.7 1  
  Lorraine Wearne Independents 3,772 3.2 −5.3 1  
  Paul Noack Independents 1,471 1.3 0  
  Libertarian 1,355 1.2 −0.8 0  
  Independents 27 0.0 0  
 Formal votes 116,882 95.3
 Informal votes 5,809 4.7
 Total 122,691 15 0

2021

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The Liberal Party did not endorse any candidates, including its six councillors elected in 2017.[36]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Parramatta[36]
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Labor 46,022 41.5 +10.3 7   2
  Our Local Community 21,476 19.4 +12.3 4   2
  Greens 11,233 10.1 +2.7 1  
  Lorraine Wearne Independents 9,423 8.5 +4.4 1  
  Independent Liberal 6,310 5.7 −30.8[a] 1   5[a]
  Kellie Darley Independents 4,637 4.2 +4.2 1   1
  Lee Malkoun Independents 3,489 3.1 −5.9[b] 0  [b]
  Small Business 3,126 2.8 +2.8 0  
  Liberal Democrats 2,161 2.0 +2.0 0  
  Independent 1,882 1.7 0
  Community Need Not Corporate Greed 1,026 0.9 +0.9 0  
 Formal votes 110,785 95.23
 Informal votes 5,547 4.77
 Total 116,332 100.0

Sister cities

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Compared with the Liberal Party result at the 2017 election.[37][38]
  2. ^ a b Compared with The Local Independent Party result at the 2017 election.[37]

References

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  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Parramatta (C)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
  2. ^ ame="Census2021">Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Parramatta (C)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
  3. ^ "MUNICIPALITY OF PARRAMATTA". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 265. New South Wales, Australia. 28 November 1861. p. 2552. Retrieved 30 April 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Arfanis, Peter (22 October 2013). "Parramatta No Longer a Town!". Research Services. City of Parramatta Council. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  5. ^ "PARRAMATTA AS A CITY". The Sun. No. 8984. New South Wales, Australia. 21 October 1938. p. 11. Retrieved 29 April 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Local Government Act 1919 – Proclamation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 35. New South Wales, Australia. 30 March 1972. p. 1104. Retrieved 14 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Merger proposal: Auburn City Council (part), Holroyd City Council (part), Parramatta City Council (part)" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Merger proposal: Parramatta City Council (part), Auburn City Council (part), The Hills Shire Council (part), Hornsby Shire Council (part), Holroyd City Council (part)" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 8. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  9. ^ Saulwick, Jacob; Kembrey, Melanie; McKenny, Leisha (14 May 2016). "NSW council amalgamations announced". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d "Local Government (City of Parramatta and Cumberland) Proclamation 2016 [NSW] - Schedule 1 - Provisions for City of Parramatta Council". NSW Government. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Book a Venue". Halls, Community Centres & Meeting Rooms. City of Parramatta Council. 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Childcare | City of Parramatta". www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Town Hall and Potential Archaeological Site". NSW Heritage Register. NSW Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  14. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Census2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Parramatta (C)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 December 2012.  
  16. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Parramatta (C)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  17. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Parramatta (C)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 December 2012.  
  18. ^ a b c d Busby, Ellie (14 October 2024). "Parramatta elects Liberal Lord Mayor". Parra News. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  19. ^ General Manager until August 2017.
  20. ^ "City of Parramatta announces appointment of new CEO | City of Parramatta". www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  21. ^ "City of Parramatta Council Appoints New Acting CEO | City of Parramatta". www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  22. ^ "City of Parramatta appoints new Chief Executive Officer | City of Parramatta". www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  23. ^ "Parramatta appoints Greg Dyer as new CEO". Western Sydney Business Access. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  24. ^ "CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR GREG DYER" (Media Release). City of Parramatta. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  25. ^ Taouk, Maryanne (15 December 2017). "Parramatta Council general manager Greg Dyer resigns". Parramatta Advertiser. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  26. ^ "GREG DYER TO DEPART AS CITY OF PARRAMATTA CEO" (Media Release). City of Parramatta Council. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  27. ^ "City of Parramatta – Dundas Ward". NSW Local Council Elections 2021. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i "City of Parramatta - Elections". vtr.elections.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  29. ^ "City of Parramatta – Epping Ward". NSW Local Council Elections 2021. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  30. ^ "City of Parramatta – North Rocks Ward". NSW Local Council Elections 2021. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  31. ^ "City of Parramatta – Parramatta Ward". NSW Local Council Elections 2021. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  32. ^ "City of Parramatta – Rosehill Ward". NSW Local Council Elections 2021. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  33. ^ "Welcome!". communitychampions.au. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  34. ^ "A beautiful day to be campaigning in Rosehill with Jaspreet Singh". Facebook. Independent Council Candidate Paul Noack. 6 September 2024. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Paul Noack and the 2024 Independent Local Government Team". Facebook. Independent Council Candidate Paul Noack. 12 September 2024. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  36. ^ a b "City of Parramatta". ABC News.
  37. ^ a b "City of Parramatta". ABC News.
  38. ^ "Parramatta council election, 2021". The Tally Room.
  39. ^ "Rama renews ties with Xiamen City". philstar.com. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  40. ^ "Vietnamese flag raised in Australian city". Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney. Retrieved 21 March 2017.[dead link]
  41. ^ Minh Thanh (3 May 2005). "Parramatta always supports Vung Tau policies of development, says Lord Mayor of Parramatta". Bao Ba Ria Vung Tau. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
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