Melbourne’s cheerleader leaves her post with a cup half full of major projects

Sally Capp says she gave herself various deadlines to make a call on whether she should step down as lord mayor of Melbourne or contest the next council election in October.

The first was over the summer break and the second was when she was on holiday in Antarctica with her sister last month – but each time the deadline passed without a decision.

Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp’s outbox sits empty on Thursday as she drinks what she says is her 20th cup of tea for the day. Credit: Eddie Jim

Capp finally called time this week after six years as lord mayor, and as she poses for photographs by her desk she quips that her outbox is empty.

But that’s not quite the case, with perhaps Capp’s three most significant projects still works in progress.

Capp cites the redevelopment of the Queen Victoria Market, the building of council facility Make Room to provide accommodation and support services for the homeless, and the Greenline park along the Yarra as the three things most Melburnians will associate her with.

“Greenline has gone from an idea to an award-winning project,” was her line at the press conference announcing her resignation outside Town Hall on Thursday.

The reality, however, is that Greenline, modelled on New York’s High Line park, is still mainly an idea, with the only physical progress the creation of some small floating wetland areas in the Yarra River.

While Capp says the Queen Victoria Market was “a quagmire” when she took over, completion of the redevelopment is still a long way off, and Make Room, which was slated to open in 2023 is still under construction a year later.

Capp says she’d love to be cutting the ribbon on the projects but accepts that is not going to happen.

“It’s difficult and it was a factor because I’m a doer, and I like to deliver as well,” she says. “Then I realised those projects are generational projects. They’re the sorts of projects I think the community should expect of politicians and public service organisations. They’re not just going to get done in a term; they may go beyond that because they’re big and complex.”

Lord Mayor Sally Capp pictured in June 2022 at the site of the area she wants to transform through her Greenline project. Credit: Jason South

When asked about Capp’s legacy, some are critical about the cleanliness of the city and feel homelessness is not being tackled, but almost everyone agrees Capp has been an indefatigable cheerleader for Melbourne.

It’s a term Capp is happy to use herself.

“I’m a glass full person,” she says. “I’m very optimistic and want to find the positive in things because I think it creates its own momentum.”

She led Melbourne through COVID lockdowns when it became a ghost town, emptied of workers and international students, and enthusiastically championed its resurgence and reinvention.

While office workers may never return to the city five days a week, Melburnians are flocking to the city centre for entertainment and events. The CBD’s new peak periods are the prime party times of Fridays and Saturdays and even a sneaky Sunday.

The city reported its highest level of foot traffic since 2015 in the first two months of the year.

Capp says Melbourne is in a good spot as she leaves her role and there’s no scandal that has prompted her decision. Her reign as lord mayor has been largely controversy free.

While her predecessor Robert Doyle resigned following allegations of sexual harassment, the biggest governance issues Capp has had to deal with have been former City of Melbourne chief executive Justin Hanney soliciting donations for a yacht race and internal conflict over councillor Jamal Hakim’s Gaza motion earlier this year.

Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece, who will take over from Capp in June, once described her as an independent, “the original teal”.

Like the teals, Capp has had a strong focus on climate, with her battery project and bike lanes, governance and integrity and gender equality.

“That’s an interesting perspective,” Capp says. “I am an independent in that way. But my influence at Town Hall has been more about taking a professional approach to local government.”

It’s unclear what Capp’s next move will be.

“I have a lot of energy still, a lot of ambition to make a difference and a contribution,” she says, but she has ruled out a run at federal or state politics “in any way, shape or form”.

She’s hoping to find a role which combines the financial targets and strategic objectives of the private sector with the ability to make a difference she found in the public sector.

With Capp’s three major projects still unfinished, her legacy as lord mayor of Melbourne really depends on who comes after her.

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