Lord Mayor’s limo parking on Swanston St footpath referred to IBAC

The parking of the Melbourne Lord Mayor’s limo on the Swanston St footpath has been referred to the state’s corruption watchdog.

A complaint about Sally Capp’s limo parking on the footpath outside Melbourne Town Hall has been submitted to IBAC.

The practice of allowing Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s hire limousine to park illegally on the footpath outside Town Hall has been referred to the state’s corruption watchdog.

A complaint has been submitted to IBAC saying the parking rort was ignoring the road rules and that favours were being afforded to the car hire companies.

A limousine parked across the footpath outside Melbourne Town Hall on December 20, 2021

The complaint, the Herald Sun understands, claims that commercial favour was granted and that the rule 197 was conveniently and repeatedly ignored for the Lord Mayor’s benefit.

The complaint was lodged just days after the Herald Sun revealed that the private limousine used by Cr Capp was allowed to park on several occasions on the footpath, sometimes across the pavement, restricting pedestrian access.

Regular motorists would face a fine of $576 or could even be towed away.

Cr Capp’s chauffeur-driven limousine use has come under scrutiny because of her post-election pledge in 2018 to walk, cycle or take public transport to events and meetings around the city, and only occasionally use a car.

Also, council policy has discouraged cars from the city centre along with the creation of more than 20km of separated bicycle lanes.

However Cr Capp’s private hire car use has escalated in the past 18 months, including 53 trips in March this year alone.

Cr Capp was driven to the AFL Grand Final to watch her team Collingwood on September 30 and also to this year’s Melbourne Cup at Flemington – at ratepayers’ expense.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp arrives at the AFL Grand Final by ratepayer-funded limo.

Even short trips – such as a 650m walk from Town Hall to the Yarra boatsheds – were taken by limo.

The $31,000 annual cost of a limousine – usually a BMW or Mercedes – and the flagrant illegal parking on the footpath have been criticised by ratepayers and residents.

Former councillor Peter Clarke described Cr Capp’s limousine use a symbol of a “bygone era of privilege and entitlement as a Lord Mayor’’.

Council Watch president Dean Hurlston called on Cr Capp to repay the cost of her chauffeur-driven trips from her $253,920 annual allowance.

A private hire car parked outside Melbourne Town Hall on Swanston St on March 12, 2023

Cr Capp has said the cost of mayoral car travel had been reduced because her predecessor Robert Doyle’s council-owned Statesman Caprice cost the public purse $81,000 a year.

A City of Melbourne spokesperson did not respond to detailed questions about footpath parking but said the council would co-operate with any official investigation.

The council has said a section of footpath was used for brief periods by the Lord Mayor and dignitaries.

In 2020, a Victorian Ombudsman report found that the City of Melbourne unfairly upheld parking fines leading to more than 1200 motorists having their penalties waived.

Deborah Glass criticised an “over zealous” approach by senior managers after it emerged that

motorists had confused the number 0 with the letter O when putting in their registration details while parking.

At the time, Cr Capp acknowledged the faults and said the system needed more fairness and common sense.