Jeff Kennett: Forget the critics, Melbourne is a fantastic city

I DON’T need The Economist to tell me Melbourne is the most liveable city in the world. For those who don’t enjoy it, I simply say, leave, writes Jeff Kennett.

Jeff Kennett believes it’s hard to top Melbourne as a liveable city.

PROFESSOR Michael Buxton in this paper on Monday seems almost to be appealing for Melbourne to lose its status as the world’s most liveable city.

It’s as though he has inside information. I wonder if he has made a submission to The Economist to achieve such an outcome?

Prof Buxton is a planning professor at RMIT. He is a man of strong opinions, but not an individual that has a reputation for flexibility. That is fine; he, like any of us, is entitled to his view, but I want to put a different slant to Melbourne, regardless of the result of The Economist’sassessment.

Melbourne has long had a wonderful reputation as a cosmopolitan city. In order to have earnt that reputation the city needs a cultural heart. That heart was commenced in the 1880s with investments by Sir Redmond Barry in our Library, Museum, University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. All built to a vision of a city much bigger than existed at the time.

That heart has been nurtured and built upon by successive governments. The arts precinct in and around St Kilda Rd, the education precinct around Melbourne University and RMIT, a medical research precinct that is the envy of the world, and the sporting precinct around and beyond the MCG.

Not to mention the laneways of Melbourne, which have been restored to their former glory.

The city was laid out by Robert Hoddle, who left as a legacy a road grid that is the envy of not only every other Australian city but many in other parts of the world.

RMIT professor Michael Buxton. Picture: Josie Hayden

Jeff Kennett loves Melbourne. Picture: Tom Huntley

Melbourne, because of its strong support of its multicultural community, has an unchallengeable variety of restaurants throughout the city and its surrounds. We have colour, we have sound, we have dance.

Although governments have been drawn from several political influences, if you were to draw a line through them all over the past 150 years, there has been a commonality of decency.

Yes, we may reject the policy of a government in office; yes, we might reject it at the polls, but the reality is the momentum of Barry’s vision has never been totally lost.

Governments have kept investing in the things that really matter in making a city desirable.

Prof Buxton blames lagging transport, dogbox apartments and struggling healthcare services for jeopardising Melbourne’s international rating.

Let’s look at each of those issues. Transport. Because of the Hoddle Grid and a wonderful tram network, plus the underground rail City Loop, not to forget the ease of walking, moving around the city is remarkably easy. Yes, at certain times road traffic has its peaks, but not nearly as bad as many other cities in the world. Secondly, successive governments keep investing in public infrastructure to meet our growing needs.

Just because the state does not have unlimited money to build every bit of infrastructure at once, it is not a justification for claiming our transport systems are lagging. Quite the reverse; I think we have a very good total transport system that we continue to invest in as we can afford to do so.

Jeff Kennett says new apartments in Melbourne will improve on the ‘dogbox’.

Dog-box apartments. There is no doubt some recent developments have included apartments of a size most of us believe are too small. But they are the minority of apartments constructed in our city, and the government is currently reviewing the size of new apartments to be built. The reality is Melbourne offers a range of unit accommodation to meet the wallets of people, and smaller apartments were built in the main to offer affordable housing for international students, with education being Victoria’s most important export earner.

Struggling healthcare. Where has the professor been living? Australia’s health system is one of the best in the world. Just try accessing a hospital in the US.

Governments keep investing in new facilities; for instance, the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre at a cost of more than $1 billion. We have wonderful health research facilities where innovation and invention have produced many world-first drugs or products such as the Cochlear ear implant.

There are always knockers in every aspect of life. It is easy to knock. And, yes, everything can always be improved. But life is a multifaceted experience and each facet is given a weighting, a priority to address as funds become available.

For me, Melbourne is the “most liveable city in the world” and I don’t need The Economist to tell me that. It’s nice to have their recognition, but like any other market leader it is hard to stay at the top year in year out.

Just ask my club, Hawthorn!

I love my city, I love my state.

For those who don’t enjoy it, I simply say: leave. Go live in a better city if you can find one that is as complete, exciting and welcoming as the City of Melbourne.

Have a good day.

Jeff Kennett is a former Victorian premier