Steve Price: Why Eddie McGuire is the man to fix Melbourne’s CBD
Not since Ron Walker has Melbourne City Council had an individual with a big vision and the contacts and influence to make things happen. Eddie McGuire, it’s time to step up.
Victoria
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Next Tuesday a decision will be taken at Melbourne Town Hall that will change our city forever.
A Green-Left dominated City Council led by a pair of anti-car zealots Sally Capp and Nicolas Reece will vote to make bikes and scooters the preferred mode of transport through city streets.
If the vote succeeds – as it most certainly will – Melbourne as we know it will change forever. This plan even has a name – The Future Streets Framework.
Nine councillors, the Lord Mayor and her Deputy will decide for the more than five million people in greater Melbourne what the CBD will look like.
Despite there being only about 160,000 people living in the city, this bicycle-obsessed, car-hating mix of career political staffers, union officials and lobbyists will vote vehicle traffic out.
The language attached to the reasoning behind this desperate lunge at turning Melbourne into some emissions-free nirvana is breathtaking.
Elizabeth St, currently a homeless and druggie haven will become, according to the city council’s own plan, an “ecological spine”.
No one can explain what that really means, but rest assured it will mean no cars.
That eliminates yet another north-south traffic option – as bad as it is – further jamming King St. Getting across the Yarra River, going south or north is something that this gilded cage sitting as a council clearly has no interest in.
Up near Parliament Station, council will strive to create a “village atmosphere” and “embrace water in creative and sustainable ways”.
What the hell does that mean – fountains? Worse, they put their hatred of cars into words in their Future Streets plan.
The plan says: “The framework paves for Melbourne (the city) to be more pedestrian friendly, noting pedestrians of all abilities offers the highest economic and environmental return of any transport mode.”
Then the kicker: “Vehicles that have a destination also provide an economic contribution, but vehicles that simply travel through the city do not provide a benefit. We are prioritising pedestrians, people on bikes and public transport.”
There it is! If you want to go to the Melbourne CBD to work, shop, eat, drink, party or go to sport, leave the car at home.
Let’s be clear what’s happening here … the City Council has committed to unachievable emission reduction levels to make the councillors feel better about themselves and banning cars is the only way they can get there.
In doing so they are ignoring the increasingly desperate pleas from the people who pay council rates and do business and employ people in the city.
Pandering to climate alarmists in the UN to reach a feel-good target on emissions doesn’t employ one person or generate one bit of economic benefit.
Ripping out parking spaces and clogging city streets with little-used bike lanes and super tram stops has made it almost impossible to run a business.
A prominent owner of several city-based venues put it to me this week that the “future of our city is all but gone”.
That owner claimed investment was down, traffic was down, and visitations were down. He said a new level of leadership was needed to “challenge this wave of incompetence”.
The only problem in cleaning out this city-destroying, car-hating, business-smashing council is that their emissions obsession suits the Green/Left state government. Otherwise surely a sensible state government would appoint administrators, like has happened in other councils in the past.
Council elections are not due until October next year with the positions of Lord and Deputy Mayor run as a popular vote, plus nine other council seats.
One of those nine is currently Cr Elizabeth Doidge, who was elected in 2020 with the help of her union – the CFMEU – and generous election donations.
Upon her election Cr Doidge said the union “desired a place on council to influence policy”, while praising union boss John Setka, who told her it was reported that the city needed more trees because it’s getting ugly.
Seems an odd call coming from a union whose members earn a living building high rise buildings not planting trees. It also raises questions on why the CFMEU has a spot-on council.
Clearly Melbourne needs a new leader, a new Lord Mayor and a new Deputy, plus a clean out.
Not since Ron Walker, the late businessman and major events guru, has Melbourne City Council had an individual with a big vision and the contacts and influence to make things happen.
It’s time a proud Victorian with energy, vision, ego and ideas volunteered to make a difference.
Eddie McGuire we are looking at you. Ed we desperately need you to step up.
A proud Victorian from working class Broadmeadows with energy, ideas and the best contacts in Australia, Eddie is the obvious answer to fill the mayoral role.
Ed dragged Collingwood out of Victoria Park to build what was then known as the Holden Centre over the road from Rod Laver arena.
His energy and contacts saw the Magpies drag in sponsors like Emirates and his passion took the Magpie army with him.
His media profile means he is an insider with Melbourne’s business leaders, and he loves this city and its major events. It could even be a stepping stone to the job of Premier one day.
Eddie for Lord Mayor has a ring about it. I’d even sign up to run the campaign.
Dislikes
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling No campaigners on the Voice referendum ‘chicken littles’
• Alarming spike in Victoria’s road- toll especially on country roads
• Woke MCG announcements about slipping in the rain on steps and umbrellas being furled… treating people like children
• AFL report on Hawthorn racism claims leaves more questions than answers
Likes
• Amazing 21 year run at the top of David Koch the retiring
• Sunrise host from Channel 7
• Qantas implementing boarding changes to flights to avoid check in chaos
• Nine network drama based on Shane Warne’s life coming up
• Sensible idea to help road safety by suggesting motorists leave running lights on
Anxious wait for candidates vying for city’s top job
The long campaign is finally over but Melbourne’s next lord mayor is not expected to be declared for another two weeks, with the race for the city’s top job set to go down to the wire.
Mum begged for son to be removed. Then it was too late
A Melbourne mother was “at her wits end” after repeatedly pleading with authorities to remove her son, an aggressive 17-year-old with an extensive history of sexual violence. He was bailed days before he strangled her.