By Sean Car While Greens MP Adam Bandt is to be congratulated for tightening his grip on the seat of Melbourne, the result leaves many wondering why the major parties put forward such weak candidates. After Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Coalition government claimed a shock victory on May 18, Bill Shorten and Labor might be…
Council wages “war on congestion”
By David Schout The CBD will prioritise pedestrians and cyclists under a new 10-year transport strategy released by the City of Melbourne that aims to reduce the number of cars entering the city. The strategy includes plans to enforce 30kmh speed limits, parking prices that fluctuate subject to demand and the closure of “little” streets…
Salvation Army opens new facilities
A collaborative project at the Salvation Army on Bourke St has built personal mailboxes and storage facilities for Melbourne’s homeless. The initiative was led by Salvation Army, the Collingwood Football Club, Australia Post and the City of Melbourne (CoM) – resulting in 171 personal mailboxes and more than 150 storage boxes. The previous storage facilities…
“Featureless” design atop heritage building slammed
By David Schout The City of Melbourne has criticised a “plain” design directive from Heritage Victoria for a development atop the heritage-listed former Melford Motors building. An application for a nine-storey mixed-used atop the Elizabeth St building, built in 1928 as a showroom for Ford vehicles, is set to be sent to the state planning…
Aboriginal history in the Hoddle Grid
By Meg Hill A recently-released City of Melbourne heritage review is likely the most extensive study of the inner city’s Aboriginal history ever conducted. At the April 2 Future Melbourne Committee meeting, Cr Rohan Leppert described the effort as “completely new in local government”. The meeting discussed volumes three, four and five of the six…
Questions still loom over Fed Square
By Meg Hill Following Heritage Victoria’s decision to reject a demolition permit for the Yarra Building, Apple and the state government conceded that plans for a flagship store in the square had become untenable. The government has also announced a review to examine the square’s financial and governance arrangements. Planning Minister Richard Wynne called the…
Pounding the grid’s streets
By David Schout Inspired by ultrarunner Rickey Gates’ 2000km effort of running every single street of San Francisco, Craig Roberts tried his hand at the Hoddle Grid. On a sleepy Labour Day Monday morning, as Melbourne recovered from a night of festivities and overindulgence, Roberts set out to criss-cross the CBD. Training for a sixth…
Services for rough sleepers overhauled
By David Schout Grassroots homeless charities are to be linked with established housing services under a new City of Melbourne initiative to ensure well-intentioned goodwill is better harnessed in the city. As the city looks to combat an increase in people experiencing homelessness, a number of “pop-up” volunteer services have been founded in recent years.…
“Fearless Girl” arrives amid fanfare, optimism and lawsuits
By David Schout You may have noticed a bronze statue of a confident, wide-eyed young girl at Federation Square in the past month. While she may be small, she has made waves around the globe in the last two years. The statue is a replica of New York’s famous Fearless Girl, who stands assuredly facing…
City says no to super-sized pay phones
The City of Melbourne has drawn a line in the sand and is refusing permission for advertising on 81 more “super-sized” pay phones which, it says, are really “digital billboards masquerading as phone booths”. The council is also requesting the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to make a ruling on whether the phone structures…