Parts of Melbourne neglected while Paris End shines

A Melbourne radio host has told the city’s Lord Mayor that parts of the city have become “an absolute nightmare” that needs cleaning up.

A Melbourne radio host has told the city’s Lord Mayor that parts of the city have become “an absolute nightmare” that needs cleaning up.

The conversation between ABC Mornings host Virginia Trioli and Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp was sparked by a caller to the program on Thursday morning who said the CBD was “grotty”.

“I get put off from going into the city because I find that it’s always like the pathways, the walkways, are so grotty and dirty and it just makes me cringe to think, ‘Why isn’t it cleaner?’,” the caller said.

Before Cr Capp could respond, Trioli jumped in calling one area in particular an “absolute nightmare”.

Foot traffic on Elizabeth Street in the CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

She said Collins Street, part of which is known as the Paris End of the city, looks completely different to Elizabeth Street — a main CBD road that connects to Flinders Street Station.

“It seems like the city is an uneven place for that,” Trioli said.

“At the top in the Collins Street or indeed that whole lovely run of Collins Street with all the top end boutiques, the place looks schmick, looks gorgeous.

“You go other places like Elizabeth Street and it’s just an absolute nightmare.”

Trioli mentioned the “high number of homeless people” in the area.

Cr Capp said making sure the city of clean is “absolutely a focus and a priority”.

“It’s one of the things that disappoints me the most about feedback from people when they say that their experience in the city was one where they felt that it was dirty because we have a record budget for cleaning this year,” she said.

“It’s a core responsibility of ours so making sure that the city is clean is absolutely a focus and a priority.”

Elizabeth Street in the CBD at times can be a haven for the homeless. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

On homeless people in the city, Cr Capp said a “lot of those people aren’t actually homeless, they’re congregating” in the CBD.

Trioli later told a caller that “some parts of the city are clearly treated better than others”.

“Some are spotless, others are grotty,” she remarked.

Last year, Cr Capp lamented scenes in the CBD she described as “absolutely revolting”.

“I walked down King Street on Sunday morning to have a look at what was happening and what I saw was absolutely revolting and it’s unacceptable and we know we have to put more resources into streets where frankly inappropriate behaviour happens.”

Ms Capp was responding to 3AW listeners who had reported being “accosted” while walking through the streets and having to step over “human waste”.

“We know, and it’s our responsibility … it’s an absolute focus and we’re putting millions of dollars into it.”

But speaking on Thursday, Cr Capp said Melbourne was rebounding despite a large number of CBD workers not returning to offices after lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

A man begs for money on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

“Well, we’re lucky in Melbourne that our CBD has been for really 30 years or so now a mixture of things,” she said.

“We’ve been a central entertainment district with the most incredible institutions and galleries and theatres and museums.

“We have been a central business district, and that goes without saying is the major driver of the state’s economy and a major contributor to the national economy.

“And then of course, more recently, we’ve become a central residential district, with the numbers of residents growing exponentially since the 1990s.

“And that mixture of all three is really I think part of the potency of what makes Melbourne unique and special.”