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Opinion

It’s time to admit it: Parramatta has finally become Sydney’s second CBD

Anthony Segaert Parramatta bureau chief October 8, 2025 — 7.30pm

For almost as long as Sydneysiders have complained about house prices or asked each other which school they went to, Sydney’s government planners have attempted to brand Parramatta as our city’s “second CBD”.

And for most of that time, Sydneysiders responded with something like the line in Mean Girls about making “fetch” happen: “Stop trying to make Parramatta happen – it’s not going to happen”.

And rightly so: walking down Church Street in decades past often felt akin to stepping into a large country town with a pub and a town hall, plus an oversized shopping centre.

But now, incredibly, Parramatta’s done

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