By Cara Waters
Nick Reece has been sworn in as Melbourne’s 105th lord mayor, bringing with him an ambitious and expensive list of campaign promises to live up to.
Reece’s promised spending spree includes doubling the number of CCTV cameras, lighting up Melbourne’s laneways and spending $40 million on 28 new parks.
Nick Reece is sworn in as the 105th lord mayor of Melbourne on Tuesday.Credit: Justin McManus
However, only 11 of his 24 major election pledges have been costed, adding up to $133 million, leaving the remaining 13 – including major commitments such as free fitness sessions, a new Docklands seafood precinct and support for Queen Victoria Market traders – without a price tag.
The promised spending comes as the City of Melbourne’s $781 million budget is under increasing pressure. Falling property values risk leading to a drop in rateable income.
“One of the first briefings I will receive as a newly sworn-in lord mayor is regarding the city’s finances,” Reece said.
“I have not received the updated forecasts for the city budget, which we get quarterly. I look forward to that briefing soon.”
Reece said that although he had been lord mayor since Sally Capp stepped aside in July, he had been “in caretaker mode” and so could not provide more detail.
This year’s budget squeaked into a surplus – of $101,000 – for the first time in five years. A restructure that could result in nine redundancies has been announced.
Reece’s plan to sell the Regent Theatre is unlikely to be passed by the council or approved by the state government, but he would not be drawn on whether he would make good on his pledge to direct $20 million to $25 million to local arts organisations, which was predicated on the sale of the theatre.
He said the plan was a “Robin Hood policy”, taking from a “successful commercial theatre” and redirecting money to parts of the struggling arts sector.
“I do not see the sale of the Regent Theatre as the most pressing priority for me or the highest priority,” he said. “What I do intend to do, though, is identify ways that we can continue to assist the community arts sector in Melbourne.”
Reece said safety and cleanliness would be “absolute priorities”, but he did not want to commit to any timing for when the promised 30 community safety officers and 200 extra CCTV cameras would be installed.
“The exact timeline … will need to be determined in discussion with councillors, but I’m identifying it as my most pressing priority,” he said.
Reece confirmed he had also pledged at an Italian community dinner during his campaign to build “a new Italian-style fountain” in Carlton’s Argyle Square.
“I personally like the idea of an Italian-style fountain,” he said. “You know, the sort of place you might meet somebody on a date, or be a beautiful meeting spot … it’s the sort of fountain you might throw a coin into.”
The fountain was also not costed, but Reece said he expected it would be built through a combination of City of Melbourne funds and philanthropy.
He was sworn in as lord mayor on Tuesday afternoon alongside Deputy Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell and the nine councillors, including incumbents Kevin Louey, Olivia Ball, Davydd Griffiths and Philip Le Liu.
The five new councillors are option trader and risk consultant Owen Guest; MP-turned-personal trainer Gladys Liu; Mark Scott, a Queen Victoria Market trader and co-owner of Ripe Cheese; Residents 3000 president Rafael Camillo; and University of Melbourne employee Andrew Rowse.
From left to right: Andrew Rowse, Rafael Camillo, Owen Guest, Roshena Campbell, Davyyd Griffiths, Nick Reece, Mark Scott, Gladys Liu, Kevin Louey and Olivia Ball.Credit: Justin McManus
The new council leans more heavily to the right than the one under Capp’s leadership. It has the second-worst gender balance of all councils in metropolitan Melbourne: only three women were elected.
Liberal Party members include Campbell, Liu and Guest, who ran as an endorsed candidate for the party. Le Liu is a former Liberal.
Previously the council included two Greens – Olivia Ball and Rohan Leppert – and four women.
In his speech at Town Hall, Reece said he would attempt to reach consensus across the council’s changed ideological make-up.
“We are so much stronger and better when we work together,” he said.
“Regardless of what brought us here as councillors on various tickets and groupings, it is now our job and our responsibility to work together as an elected council to focus on the betterment of the City of Melbourne and the people we serve.”
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