City of Parramatta Council

The City of Parramatta Council, formerly known as Parramatta City Council, is a local government area in the western suburbs of Sydney, situated where the Cumberland Plain meets the Hornsby Plateau, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

The City occupies an area of 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and as at the 2016 census had an estimated population of 226,149.^[1] The City houses the Parramatta central business district, the second largest employment destination for the metropolitan area after the Sydney central business district.

History

The area was formed in 1861 as the Municipality of Parramatta, became The Borough of Parramatta in 1867, Parramatta City Council in 1938, and was reconsititued on 12 May 2016 as the City of Parramatta Council. In 1948 Ermington-Rydalmere, Dundas, Granville and Parramatta councils were amalgamated; and in 2016 parts of The Hills Shire, Auburn City, Holroyd City and Hornsby Shire were amalgamated with the former Parramatta City Council to form the new City of Parramatta Council.^[2]

The Administrator of the City of Parramatta Council is Amanda Chadwick, until the elections for councillors to take place on 9 September 2017.^[2]

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs in the City of Parramatta Council are:^[2]

Facilities

The City of Parramatta Council has a large central library, heritage centre and five branch libraries at Carlingford, Constitution Hill, Dundas Valley, Epping and Ermington. It also provides two public swimming pools at Epping and Parramatta. The Parramatta Town Hall, completed in 1883, and housing the original Council chamber meeting rooms, a library and function rooms, is heritage-listed on both Australian and New South Wales government registers, and now serves as a function venue.^[3]

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 166,858 people in the former Parramatta local government area that comprised 61 square kilometres (24 sq mi), of these 50.1% were male and 49.9% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.8% of the population. The median age of people in the City of Parramatta was 33 years; notably below the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 11.8% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 52.3% were married and 9.9% were either divorced or separated.^[4]

Population growth in the City of Parramatta between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 3.62% and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 12.50%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Parramatta local government area was significantly higher than the national average.^[5] The median weekly income for residents within the City of Parramatta was on with par with the national average.

At the 2011 Census, the Parramatta local government area was linguistically diverse, with a significantly higher than average proportion (52.5%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly lower proportion (43.4%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%). The proportion of residents who stated a religious affiliation with Islam and Hinduism was in excess of four times and six times the national average respectively.^[4][6]

Selected historical census data for Parramatta local government area
Census year			2001[5]	2006[6]	2011[4]	2016[1]
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
		% of New South Wales population			2.41%
		% of Australian population	0.76%	0.75%	0.78%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian	23.9%	22.9%	18.1%
		English	21.8%	17.8%	16.8%
		Chinese	9.4%	11.2%	13.0%
		Lebanese	9.5%	9.7%	9.5%
		Indian	3.4%	5.9%	9.1%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Arabic	10.1%	10.7%	10.3%
		Mandarin	3.0%	4.7%	5.9%
		Cantonese	4.6%	5.0%	5.0%
		Korean	2.0%	2.1%	2.7%
		Hindi	1.3%	2.0%	2.6%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	27.1%	26.0%	23.4%
		No religion	10.7%	12.8%	15.0%
		Anglican	15.8%	12.9%	10.3%
		Islam	7.0%	8.2%	9.7%
		Hinduism	2.8%	5.3%	8.8%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$443	A$544
		% of Australian median income		95.1%	94.3%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,043	A$1,451
		% of Australian median income		101.6%	98.0%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,172	A$1,288
		% of Australian median income		100.0%	104.4%

Council

Parramatta's historic Town Hall.

City of Parramatta Sign, Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford

Since May 2016, the Council is managed by an Administrator, appointed by the Government of New South Wales. Once elected, the City of Parramatta Council will comprise fifteen Councillors elected proportionally, with three Councillors in each of the following five wards:^[7]

• Parramatta Ward
• Dundas Ward
• North Rocks Ward
• Epping Ward
• Rosehill Ward

All Councillors are expected to be elected for a fixed four-year term of office with effect from 9 September 2017.^[2]

Former composition and election method

The former Parramatta City Council was composed of fifteen Councillors elected proportionally as five separate wards, each electing three Councillors. All Councillors were elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor was elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent and last election of the former Parramatta City Council was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the former Council was as follows:^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

The last Council, elected in 2012 and abolished on 12 May 2016, in order of election by ward, was:

Amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Parramatta merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of parts of Auburn, Holroyd and Parramatta to form a new council with an area of 72 square kilometres (28 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 219,000.^[13] The second proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta, Auburn, The Hills Shire, Hornsby Shire, and Holroyd to form a new council with an area of 82 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 215,725.^[14] Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced that the merger of the former Parramatta City Council with the parts of The Hills Shire, Auburn City, Holroyd City and Hornsby Shire councils would proceed with immediate effect.^[2]

Sister cities

• Beersheba, Israel
• Cebu City, Philippines^[15]
• Jung District, Seoul, South Korea
• Phetchaburi, Thailand
• Putian, China
• Vũng Tàu, Vietnam^[16][17]

See also

• Local government areas of New South Wales

References

External links

• City of Parramatta Council website
• Discover Parramatta
• Parramatta Economic Development Strategy 2011–2016
• Riverside Theatre Parramatta
• City of Parramatta Community Profile