Sally Capp’s 13 biggest hits and misses: See photo gallery of her time as Melbourne Lord Mayor
As Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp prepares to stand down, we look back at some of her most controversial moments, from calls to change Australia Day and CBD bike lanes to chauffeur-driven limo bills.
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As Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp prepares to step down after announcing she will not recontest the upcoming council election, we look back at some of the long-serving city leader’s hits and misses — the latter of which there’s been a few.
Among her most controversial moments have been CBD bike lanes, campaigns to change the date of Australia Day celebrations and her hefty chauffeur-driven limo bills.
As for her hits? Cr Capp, 56, has been nothing if not colourful, immaculately groomed, a constant and passionate champion for her city — and willing and ready to participate in even the zaniest of photo opportunities to promote Melbourne as a premier destination.
She’s donned unflattering helmets to be snapped riding scooters and digging on work sites. She’s been pictured planting trees, chowing down on the city’s food delights to celebrate its hospitality scene, ice-skating and dressed in bright green to promote the musical Wicked.
Cr Capp’s splash of colour in a city famous for its grey days and all-black wardrobes may well be missed when she’s gone.
MISSES
Bike lanes
The City of Melbourne has been blasted for its rollout of controversial city bike lanes, with the design labelled an “epic fail” which needed fixing just three years after being installed.
The botched CBD bike lane rollout was done so poorly that the cycle safety infrastructure started crumbling just three years after being installed.
The council rolled out 20 kilometres of bike lanes through Melbourne between December 2020 and December 2023, as part of a push to fast-track cycling infrastructure to reduce emissions and encourage riding.
Cr Capp paused the roll out in mid 2022, after widespread criticism from motorists and businesses that complained the design of the infrastructure was not up to standard, increased congestion in the city and the lanes were bad for trade.
Move to change Australia Day date
In 2022 Melbourne City Council voted to campaign for Australia Day celebrations to be moved to another date.
Cr Capp revealed she wanted the city council’s celebration of Australia Day reviewed amid concerns the date was widely seen as “divisive” and the anniversary of an “invasion”.
She said there was growing national sentiment that the date be changed to one that could unify all Australians “for celebration and what it means to be Australian”.
A public affairs think tank slammed the “fringe view of an elite minority”, saying most Australians supported the national day on January 26.
There was also considerable community backlash.
Second city drug injecting room
Cr Capp’s position on a second drug injecting room in Melbourne has careered from support (for the concept) to opposition (to mooted or speculated locations), leaving Melburnians confused.
In 2021 Melbourne City Council and Cr Capp backed a second safe injecting room, despite police concerns it could lead to a surge in crime.
“I acknowledge that the location of a medically supervised injecting service in the City of Melbourne will be controversial, but the evidence shows that services such as these save lives and they do reduce the number of people who are shooting up in our city streets,” she said at the time, when the former Yooralla building in Flinders St was thought to be favoured as a site for the facility.
A year later, the mayor told 3AW that she didn’t think Flinders St was an ideal place for a safe injecting room.
“I think a place that really maximises the health outcome but minimises the impact on residents, traders, workers and visitors is the best place,” she said.
Cr Capp had earlier opposed a mooted location for the facility near Queen Victoria Market, while also expressing support for the concept.
Greenline project
The mayor’s “pet project” since her election in 2018, Greenline — that aims to create 4km of connected walkways and parks along the north bank of the Yarra River — has already cost ratepayers more than $15m even though construction has not yet begun.
And there are fears the project may end up costing close to $500m and way over budget – if it ever gets beyond the first stage of construction.
The City of Melbourne has repeatedly stated Greenline will cost $316m.
Hoardings have been erected on a small site near Federation Square at Birrarung Marr – the only sign of any progress for the $316m controversial riverside project.
Council has said the money has been spent on planning, early investigative works, design, development of the project’s Master Plan, as well as precinct and concept plans.
The budget was also spent on “engagement with the community, industry and government’’, it said.
Cr Capp has said she is proud of what had been delivered so far.
“The Greenline Project will transform Melbourne’s riverfront from Birrarung Marr to the Bolte Bridge – while creating thousands of jobs, attracting waves of new visitors, and injecting millions of dollars into the economy,” she said earlier this month.
Limousine use and illegal parking
Cr Capp racked up more than $30,000 in chauffeur-driven limousine trips in a year, as well as taking a ratepayer-funded ride in a luxury BMW to last year’s AFL Grand Final, it was revealed in December.
Cr Capp scrapped Town Hall’s mayoral limousine when elected in 2018, saying she would cycle, walk or use public transport as much as possible while on official business.
But documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws revealed Cr Capp regularly caught a private limo, often booked for hours at a time, and almost daily.
The revelations came at a time when the council was actively encouraging cycling and walking around the city, converting CBD road space into bike lanes, prompting calls for Cr Capp to repay the money — which she refused.
It was also revealed her chauffer-driven hire car was allowed to park illegally outside Town Hall, a practice which was later put to a stop by city bosses.
Parking of cars on the footpath is not allowed in the city but council officers seemed to have earlier make an exception for Cr Capp’s ride.
The practice prompted a complaint to IBAC, the state’s corruption watchdog, in January with the report claiming that the parking rort ignored the road rules and that council was granting commercial favours to car hire companies.
Covid ‘good for Melbourne’
In perhaps one of her biggest missteps, Cr Capp in 2022 was savaged after declaring Covid “was good” for Melbourne.
She argued the Melbourne CBD had emerged a “bolder, braver, better place” after Covid and some of the world’s longest lockdowns.
“There aren’t many who will stand in front of a crowd like this and say Covid has been good for anything or anyone,” Ms Capp wrote in a speech for a TedxMelbourne event.
“But I’m here to do just that.”
In an early copy of the speech released to media, Ms Capp argued economic activity within the city had bounded back to pre-pandemic levels and was expected to hit $150bn by 2031.
“Now that’s what I call lockdown to boomtown,” the speech noted.
“It’s not just despite the hardship and devastation of the pandemic, but because of the hardship and devastation of the pandemic, that our community imagined and accelerates Melbourne as a bolder, braver, better place.”
In announcing her plans to stand down on Thursday, Cr Capp’s tune appeared to have changed, as she acknowledged Covid had presented “profound challenges … and long lockdowns”.
“I know hardship is still a reality for many business owners and residents, but the upward trajectory is undeniable,” she said.
The pandemic had provided the biggest challenge of her six years at Town Hall, Cr Capp said, and a deserted city had been hard to witness.
15 minute parking
In December last year the City of Melbourne faced backlash on social media after posting an Instagram Reel about the rollout of its free 15-minute parking initiative in the CBD.
A @cityofmelbourne Instagram post introducing the initiative was flooded with disapproving comments from Melburnians.
The video showed how to start a session on Easy-Park — the app required to claim the freebie — and emphasised that a parking fee would be waived as long as drivers returned to their vehicle before the allocated 15 minutes were up.
The reel also showed everything that could be done in the city in 15 minutes.
The suggestions included running an errand, supporting a local business and taking in the vibe of the city.
One commenter said: “As if you can take in the vibes in 15 mins … you’d barely make it to the shop or restaurant and back.”
Another commenter hit back at the speed at which parking fines were issued within the CBD and said: “At 16 minutes on the dot, you’ll get booked.”
A lack of parking and parking fines in Melbourne are also a constant cause of frustration for Melburnians.
Overseas council jaunts
Cr Capp jetted off to Dubai for a climate conference late last year to promote the City of Melbourne’s work in reducing emissions and adapting to climate change, in a move that was slammed as hypocritical.
Council Watch president Dean Hurlston said it was hypocritical to fly the Lord Mayor on a long-haul international flight to participate in a conference about climate change.
“This garbage needs to stop,” he said. “Climate action strategies say less overseas travel due to emissions here is Sally jetsetting again. This madness must end.”
The trip was jointly funded by the council and Bloomberg Philanthropies — but cost ratepayers an estimated $3450.
It’s understood the City of Melbourne allows the Lord Mayor and councillors to fly business on long-haul international flights.
Even before the Dubai trip Ms Capp had already spent at least $11,734.52 of ratepayers’ money on travel between November 2020 and March 2023 — including a trip to Singapore.
The jaunt to a Singapore summit in July 2022 — a trip that included investigating the city state’s approach to graffiti management — cost a total $30,550 in airfares, hotels and other expenses for the three-person delegation.
HITS
Disneyland for Fishermans Bend
In August last year Cr Capp added her voice to a push for a Melbourne Disney theme park, as the entertainment juggernaut continued to boom across the globe — attracting millions of visitors and tourism dollars — and its cult following grew.
“As Australia’s capital city of fun, of course we should have a Disney theme park in Melbourne. We’ve even got the perfect spot for it – Fishermans Bend,” Ms Capp said.
“We saw with the Firefly Zipline just how much Melburnians love a thrilling ride. At Fishermans Bend, exhilarating roller-coasters could soar over the Yarra as part of a Disneyland, Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom.
“Melbourne also offers visitors the best tourism experience available in Victoria, from world class hotels, unbeatable retail offerings and some of the best food and drink in Australia.
“I know a Disney theme park in our municipality would be a huge hit with residents — myself included — visitors, students and traders.”
Champion of city’s retail and hospo scene
Few could dispute Cr Capp’s genuine love for Melbourne and her championing of the city’s vibrant hospitality, retail and theatre scene.
Cr Capp has posed up for photos to promote each over the years, and loudly and consistently sung the praises of her city.
Council initiatives to boost Melbourne’s vibrant night scene have also largely been a hit, with figures showing it is bouncing back.
In October last year it was revealed that over the past financial year, 6.7 million day-trippers visited the City of Melbourne, a 65 per cent increase on the previous year.
Overnight visitors reached 6.3 million in the year ending in June, more than double the previous year but still down on the 6.9 million of 2019.
Queen Victoria Market
Talk about timing. Approval for the $1.7bn Gurrowa Place redevelopment for the southern end of the market has been announced
It’s taken more time, it’s taken more money but some progress is being made, albeit in the face of traditionalists and some market traders who want the market to retain its earthy roots.
City cleaning
Ask anyone who lives, works or visits the city centre and they will say how horrible graffiti and how dirty the streets are.
Ugly graffiti tags are a constant scourge on sites such as Evan Walker, Princes and Queens bridges as along the Yarra.
Cr Capp has tried to put in policies to clean up Melbourne’s heart but it’s a bit of a wac-a-mole problem.
Good news is that the city’s 24/7 rapid response emergency graffiti clean-up team is coming soon.
Help for homeless
Again overdue and over-budget but the Make Room homeless shelter, partly funded by ratepayers and taxpayers, is nearing completion in a six-storey former council archives building at 602 Lt Bourke St.
The budget has blown out from $20m to $25m. The shelter will provide services and up to 50 studio apartments to accommodate people sleeping rough.
Originally published as Sally Capp’s 13 biggest hits and misses: See photo gallery of her time as Melbourne Lord Mayor
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