Steve Price: Melbourne is no longer a city to be proud to call home
With its CBD-wrecking council, contract-breaking state government and punitive taxes, Victoria has lost its major events crown and is no longer the place to be.
Opinion
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Australia’s hottest sporting team right now — the Matilda’s — flew out of Melbourne on Tuesday and won’t be back this World Cup.
The self-proclaimed sporting capital of the world, Melbourne, has been snubbed for Sydney.
Stadium Australia, not a rectangular ground, will host the Matilda’s Round of 16 knockout game against Denmark. A quarter final in Brisbane then beckons, before a semi-final and final back in Sydney.
Melbourne will host two round of 16 games between foreign contenders and then draw a curtain on its World Cup involvement.
At the same time Sir Paul McCartney has chosen Adelaide to launch his October Australian tour, avoiding a start in Melbourne.
It just shows how far Melbourne has slipped as the major events capital of Australia. Melbourne will share stadium shows with Sydney and Brisbane.
The more intimate concert catering to 8000 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on October 18 is the jewel in the crown of the legendary Beatle’s first tour here in six years.
Given his age (81) it’s likely the music genius will not perform here again.
Adelaide deserves to be chosen as the launch-pad for what will likely turn out to be one of the most attended music tours of all time. The South Australian capital is clearly now the chosen city to hold major events and the scandalous cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games by Daniel Andrews would have justified the promoter’s decision to start in Adelaide.
How mighty Melbourne has fallen off the global calendar, and it gets more embarrassing by the day.
Adelaide staged the most vibrant, entertaining and successful golf tournament ever held in this country when LIV golf chose to play there.
The AFL chose Adelaide for its Gather Round and intends leaving it there for a few years. The Tour Down Under is a globally sanctioned cycle race attracting the world’s best bike riders.
And unlike Victorian Labor, the South Australian Labor Government delivers on what it promises and is seen as a safe pair of political hands to stage big events.
Clearly because of history and impossible-to-break contracts Melbourne still has the Australian Open Tennis and Formula 1 Grand Prix, but you sense if it was possible, the motor race would be dumped.
Melbourne with its CBD-wrecking city council and contract-breaking state government is definitely on the nose and it’s not just about major events.
As good as life has been in Melbourne and Victoria, increasingly longtime residents and business owners are looking for ways to get out.
Punitive State Government tax rises on assets like investment properties smashed by land tax hikes, increases in payroll tax and crippling work cover premiums and a looming tourist tax on accommodation are driving long-term Victorian residents to look Interstate.
Add escalating power prices and the latest Labor/Green lunacy — the ban on future residential gas connections — and the stampede of Victorians turning themselves into refugees in their own country is set to explode.
Not since Joan Kirner, the next worst-ever premier we have had, drove people to flee to Queensland have we seen this State as such a laughing- stock.
I’m NOT laughing because I believe this is a very sad and depressing state of affairs.
As a South Australian born long-time resident of Victoria and New South Wales I’m confident I’m not exaggerating.
Living in Sydney for two stints of eight years each I was always proud to self- identify as a proud Melburnian.
When Sydney residents bragged about their city accessible beaches, beautiful harbour and temperate climate I always shot back in defence with the Melbourne major events card, liveable CBD and friendly population.
I could always pull the traffic excuse as commuting in Sydney became an LA-style nightmare. You could brag about Melbourne’s laneways, better coffee, superior food and stylish gardens.
Sadly, as I have written many times, the decay in the city of Melbourne has become a sad billboard of what’s been a Covid-driven, council-aided fall from grace.
Sydney by comparison with its former Liberal/National coalition Government used its time in power to modernise city transport hubs and construct a network of traffic busting road tunnels.
Melbourne ripped out a couple of level crossings and added a lane to the Monash Freeway to just make the peak hour crawl to work wider not faster.
Critics will suggest if my opinion of Melbourne is so consistently negative why don’t I leave. It’s certainly an option and if I was to relocate it would be to the city that Paul McCartney chose to begin his tour in – Adelaide.
The South Australian capital has become the city of choice for those wanting to escape the sprawl of Melbourne and Sydney without retreating to regional Australia.
As proof Adelaide has the fastest growing real estate market of all the city capitals with house prices boasting a 50.4 percent rise since the start of Covid in 2020.
Even so the average house price at just over $700,000 for a three bedder compares with an average house price in Melbourne of $920,000.
Adelaide has not one toll road and a CBD with wide avenues, accessible parking, a well- planned city road grid surrounded by parklands and a stretch of white sandy city beaches.
It feels a little like the Melbourne I moved to in the late seventies and early eighties.
Add a modern domestic and international airport, vibrant food and wine scene, glorious Central Food Market and the widely acclaimed festival calendar.
Way back in 1964 the Beatles minus Ringo chose Adelaide for the first concert of their record breaking one and only Australian tour. I was nine-years old and begged to be given the day off school to line Anzac Highway like 300,000 people- half of Adelaide’s then population did to welcome them.
Instead, I was made to go to school as Adelaide made international headlines.
The black and white images of crowds outside the Adelaide Town Hall were astounding as the fab-four waved from the balcony.
In October Paul McCartney will again put Adelaide on the global- map and it deserves to be there.
Melbourne by comparison is just hanging on.
LOATHE
Woke City Council debate over leaving Captain Cook’s cottage in Treasury Gardens shows cancel culture alive and well.
Melbourne Airport’s pandering to global company Uber and snubbing Taxis causing waiting line violence amongst drivers.
Credit card giant American Express further diluting the value of points transferred to airline loyalty programs
Tragic deaths of four Australian soldiers on what appears to be sub-standard equipment.
LOVE
Matilda’s our national soccer team showing what top class women’s sport can really look like and their ratings appeal.
Lance Franklin’s classy decision to retire, maintaining his reputation as one of the greatest ever.
Reserve bank interest rate pause with hints the inflation dragon is at least staggering.
Re-watching the Disney + Beatles documentary following the McCartney tour announcement.
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