Nicholas Reece spends first day in the city’s top job after being sworn in as the 105th Lord Mayor of Melbourne

Nicholas Reece has opened a new homelessness service in the city ahead of planned meetings with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Thursday.

Nicholas Reece was presented with the mayoral chains on Tuesday. Picture: David Caird

Melbourne’s new Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece will meet with Anthony Albanese on Thursday after spending his first day in the top job opening up a new homelessness service in the city and volunteering with his daughters.

Mr Reece, who was sworn in and presented with the mayoral robes and gold chains on Tuesday, was already slated to fly to Canberra this week with two fellow councillors for the Australian Local Government Association national general assembly.

But the freshly minted Lord Mayor will now join the Prime Minister for a meeting in the morning, followed by a meeting with federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers in the afternoon.

Mr Reece, who previously worked as a senior adviser to former prime minister Julia Gillard and served as state secretary of the Labor Party, is also expected to meet with NDIS Minister Bill Shorten this week.

The ALGA assembly is the peak annual event for local government, which sees more than 800 mayors and councillors descend on the capital to engage with the federal government and develop national policy.

Nicholas Reece is the 105th Lord Mayor of Melbourne. Picture: David Caird

Mr Reece started his first official day as Lord Mayor on Wednesday volunteering with his three daughters at the Salvation Army’s Magpie Nest Cafe on Bourke St.

The service provides free breakfast, lunch and dinner to people from all walks of life, including those suffering from drug and alcohol addictions, mental health issues and homelessness.

Volunteering at the cafe during the school holidays is a longstanding tradition shared between Mr Reece and his daughters.

He also did the rounds on morning radio, reiterating to 3AW host Heidi Murphy that he would be a “hands-on mayor”.

“As a city leader, I will never be someone who stands here and says: ‘Mate, I don’t hold a hose’,” he said, referencing a comment made by former prime minister Scott Morrison.

“The truth is local council only has a limited number of levers.

“My commitment to you and your listeners is I was always do everything I can.”

Mr Reece started his first official day as Lord Mayor on Wednesday volunteering with his three daughters at the Salvation Army’s Magpie Nest Cafe on Bourke St.

Later in the day, Mr Reece teamed up with the Allan government to announce that a council-owned building on Bourke St will be transformed into a new pilot site for Aboriginal people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Up to 15 per cent of people experiencing homelessness identify as Aboriginal, despite only making up 0.5 per cent of the CBD’s population.

The facility will be run by the Ngwala Willumbong Aboriginal Corporation to deliver homelessness outreach services.

Ngwala currently interact with up to 100 homeless people each night, building rapport and offering hot drinks.

Mr Reece said the service, located at 227 Bourke St, is the first of its kind in the city.

Mr Reece has volunteered at Magpie Nest Cafe for years.

Former lord mayor Sally Capp resigned on Monday, paving the way for her loyal deputy to step into the top job on Tuesday for at least the next four months.

Mr Reece, who served as deputy lord mayor for almost four years, is widely expected to run for lord mayor in October, but he is yet to make any formal announcement to that effect.

He was sworn in as the 105th Lord Mayor of Melbourne and presented with the mayoral robes and gold chains – understood to be worth more than $1m – on Tuesday in the wood-panelled council chamber at Town Hall.

“They are very heavy,” he joked, as two staffers secured the chains.

The gold chains are understood to be worth $1m. Picture: David Caird

The ceremony, attended by Mr Reece’s family and friends, followed a 17-minute meeting where councillors passed a motion to appoint him to the role.

The councillors voted not to fill the role of deputy lord mayor.

“It is the honour of my life to serve the city that I love in the role of lord mayor,” Mr Reece told the chamber.

“I’ve always sought to be actively engaged in public service and to help others.”

He added: “I will be a hands-on lord mayor. I love fixing things, solving problems, making decisions and making things happen.

“I will work hard every single day to make life better for the people of Melbourne.

“To the residents, businesses, ratepayers, workers, international students and visitors to Melbourne — I promise strong leadership, I will listen and act.”

He later told reporters that city safety and cleanliness were at the top of his agenda, flagging that the council would consider implementing changes to the e-scooter scheme in August to address “safety concerns”.

“We’ve got new city cleaning contracts in place and I think they’re going to start delivering results — and they already are,” he said.

“We’ve also got new city safety arrangements in place and I’ll be having a lot more to say about that going forward.”

When asked about e-scooters, Mr Reece said while they were popular, he did not believe they were “working as they should”.

“The council will be considering an agenda item on this in August and I expect we’re going to see changes,” he said.

“I think we need to make the scooters work better, I think we need to see more orderliness to where they are located around the city and I think we need to see those safety concerns addressed.”

Former lord mayor Sally Capp resigned on Monday. Picture: David Crosling

Greens councillor Rohan Leppert described Mr Reece as “a colleague and a friend”.

“The lord mayor is gone. Long live the Lord Mayor,” he declared.

In a reshuffle of council roles, Mr Leppert takes the reins of the all-important planning portfolio while councillor Davydd Griffiths will be in charge of transport.

Mr Reece arrived at Town Hall in 2016, serving a term as a councillor before teaming up with Ms Capp in 2020 when she ran for lord mayor for the second time.

But Ms Capp, who did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, announced in late March that she would not contest the mayoral election in October.

There had long been talk that Ms Capp would resign less than six months out from the election as part of a succession deal cut with Mr Reece, who avoided a by-election.

Mr Reece has promised to be a lord mayor for every Melburnian.

On Tuesday, Mr Reece thanked Ms Capp for her “extraordinary energy and drive” and for steering “Melbourne through Covid lockdowns to emerge as a stronger and more resilient city”.

“Melbourne has gone through some difficult times as the most locked down city in the world,” he said.

“While the city is bouncing back, I know there are people and businesses who are still doing it tough.

“I won’t shy away from the challenges – I will be a lord mayor for every Melburnian.

“Melbourne’s best days are ahead, with more shovels in the ground than ever before through our city-shaping projects — like the redevelopment of the Queen Victoria Market, the Greenline project river front transformation and our life-changing Make Room initiative for the homeless.”

Mr Reece – a former lawyer and journalist – spent years working as a senior adviser to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Victorian premiers Steve Bracks and John Brumby.

After leaving Ms Gillard’s office in 2013, he joined the University of Melbourne to become a principal fellow at the Melbourne School of Government.

Growing up in Melbourne’s outer east, Mr Reece now lives in Carlton with his wife and three daughters – and is a tragic Carlton supporter.

City of Melbourne chief executive Alison Leighton said Mr Reece has been a “passionate supporter” of the city.

“I look forward to working with him as Lord Mayor and our councillors to continue to deliver what counts for Melburnians,” he said.

“I also want to thank outgoing lord mayor Sally Capp for her everything she has done to serve our community and set up our city for success.”

Originally published as Nicholas Reece spends first day in the city’s top job after being sworn in as the 105th Lord Mayor of Melbourne