Kickstart Victoria: Why rebooting major events is key to Melbourne’s post-coronavirus recovery
Supporting major events, bringing workers back into the city and investing in smaller projects that will deliver bang for buck could be crucial to the state’s economic recovery.
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Targeted infrastructure spending, a renewed focus on supporting major events and bringing workers back into Melbourne’s CBD can serve as key planks in the state’s economic recovery, veteran business figures say.
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia chair Sir Rod Eddington said bringing forward a new round of infrastructure spending, such as the Melbourne airport rail link, could play a key role in dragging the economy out of recession.
But the former British Airways chief cautioned that picking the right projects would be critical.
“You’ve got to be careful you don’t build bridges over puddles and roads to nowhere,” he said.
“You can risk throwing money at projects that make no contribution to local movability or productivity and efficiency. It’s about being smart with which projects you choose.”
While Melbourne’s mega developments get a lot of focus, Sir Rod said there was a raft of smaller projects that would deliver real bang for buck.
This included upgrades to ageing hospital buildings as well as other critical infrastructure items across the state such as water treatment plants.
“They don’t get the publicity of the mega projects but they are just as important,” he said.
Sir Rod, a former chair the state’s major events and tourism company, said the government also needed to develop a revamped plan for the hard hit events, tourism and hospitality sector.
“Victoria doesn’t have mining to fall back on,” he said.
“Rebooting our events industry is going to be an important piece of the jigsaw for Victoria.”
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK WILL KICKSTART VICTORIA
Bank of Melbourne advisory board chairman Elizabeth Proust said Victoria could not recover unless the Melbourne CBD did.
Getting workers back into the city centre in a COVID safe way was essential, Ms Proust said, and the state government could led the way by encouraging departmental staff to return to offices while ensuring the community felt safe to use public transport.
“The longer the working population takes to get back, the harder the recovery is going to be,” Ms Proust said.
“There is a group of people who really want to return to work but they want to know it is safe on public transport.”
Ms Proust, who also chairs Nestle Australia and sits on Lendlease board, added her voice to calls for a new round of infrastructure spending.
Rail projects linking regional centres such as Geelong and Ballarat with Melbourne and the city’s outer suburbs to the CBD were clear candidates, she said.
While governments will often look for big bang solutions, Ms Proust said small initiatives can ultimately drive great change.
She pointed to the City of Melbourne’s Postcode 3000 project launched during recession of the 1990s which allowed for the conversion of office space into residential apartments.
Its success in bringing the CBD to life has been far greater than anyone imagined.
“While there needs to be some big things a lot of small projects really add up,” Ms Proust said.
Retail billionaire Solomon Lew said this recession was greatly different from the nation’s last and Victoria’s exit out of it would not be easy.
“This is a totally different type of recession – this is a recession coupled with isolation and lockdown,” the Premier Investments chair said.
“It’s a different breed.”
Mr Lew praised the efforts of the federal government and Reserve Bank, saying they had been highly effective at preserving jobs.
While business would be looking for more support in the upcoming federal budget, the Melbourne business veteran said the state government needed to step up its stimulus measures.
“The Prime Minister, the treasurer and the Reserve Bank governor have all supplied a lot of stimulus,” he said.
“It is now really for the Victorian government to stand up and do its bit for all Victorians. It’s a complicated affair but there has been a litany of errors and incompetence and the Victorian government is just going to have to do better than what it is doing currently.”
EDDINGTON’S BIG IDEAS
Sir Rod Eddington
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia chair
“Infrastructure will be a key part of the reboot. There are projects in the pipeline that make sense (but) you’ve got to be careful you don’t build bridges over puddles and roads to nowhere.”
PROUST’s BIG IDEAS
Elizabeth Proust
Bank of Melbourne advisory board chair
“Government, the three levels, must work with business, both small and large, to ensure people feel confident about getting back into office and getting back into work. The longer the working population takes to get back, the harder the recovery is going to be.”
LEW’S BIG IDEAS
Solomon Lew
Premier Investments chair
“The Prime Minister, the treasurer and the Reserve Bank governor have all supplied a lot of stimulus. It is now really for the Victorian government to stand up and do its bit.”
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