A central focus of the upcoming Melbourne mayoral race is to restore the city to its former status as the world’s most “liveable city.”
With postal votes for the next mayor closing on Oct. 26—there are no physical polling booths—the four major candidates: incumbent Nick Reece, the Greens’ Roxane Ingleton, and Independents Anthony Koutoufides and Arron Wood have all made this their priority.
The Victorian capital was once crowned the world’s most liveable city for seven years in a row—due to its living standards, cleanliness, and entertainment—but it has recently slumped in the Global Liveability Index.
After being dethroned by Vienna in 2018, post-pandemic Melbourne dropped to 10th place on the list, before steadily moving back into the top five in 2024.
A combination of rising crime, graffiti, and businesses closing due to cost-of-living pressures has caused the drop in the Index.
This steady decline has led to former AFL star and Carlton legend Anthony Koutoufides declaring that he has “had enough.”
“One hundred per cent, I’ve seen the deterioration of the city over the past decade or so,” he told The Epoch Times.
“I’m fed up and so are a lot of other people, and hence the reason why I decided to run for it [mayor].”
Candidates Commit to Reducing Crime
Crimes rates across Greater Melbourne and Victoria have been on a steady rise in recent years, with recent statistics revealing an overall 9 percent rise in alleged offences.Victorian youth crime has also reached its highest level in more than a decade, driven by an increase in car thefts and burglaries.
Data released by the Crime Statistics Agency shows the number of alleged offender incidents involving young people aged between 10 to 17 has increased by roughly 20 percent to more than 23,000 cases. Law and order is traditionally a function of the state government, and not local councils.
In August, Victoria’s state Liberal Deputy Opposition Leader David Southwick told The Epoch Times there needed to be stronger deterrents for youth crime, especially earlier proposals to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12, and then 14.
“I think it should be an approach of if you commit an adult crime, you do adult time,” Southwick said at the time.
Koutoufides believes many residents in Melbourne do not feel safe, and he wants to introduce safety booths around particular “hot spots” in the city, as well as have protective services officers rostered around the clock.
“We’ve spoken about the safety stuff and we spoke to the police association. Safety to me is the number-one priority. We’ve said there’d be safety booths around hotspots in the city, so it’ll be like a refuge if people feel a bit intimidated or scared,” he said.
Pledges to Limit Protests
Koutoufides also believes in enacting stricter protocols for rallies and protests which disrupt traffic flow and business operation.There were ugly scenes outside Melbourne’s Land Forces 2024 exposition last month and it made international news, after police were pelted with rocks, horse manure, and bottles filled with liquid as they tried to protect attendees of the defence expo.
The former Blues star said a tough but fair approach to rallies and protests would prevent ugly scenes like this.
He also said there were too many rallies currently taking place in Melbourne.
For example, the FreePalestineVic.org website states that the group organises a rally at the State Library of Victory from 12 p.m. every Sunday.
“We say it’s human rights to rally–no problem. But at the moment there have been over 500 so far this year, and they’ve got to respect the fact there are still businesses operating and we still need access on the roads in case of emergencies,” Koutoufides said.
Incumbent Mayor and Past Deputy Also Pledge Tough on Crime
Incumbent Mayor Reece has also committed to tackling crime throughout the Melbourne CBD, with uniformed City Safety Officers working around the clock and regularly patrolling the city’s central areas, including Elizabeth Street, Southbank, and Docklands, ensuring a constant presence.In addition to this, he wants to start a dedicated new hotline and online portal which will be established for residents and traders to report safety concerns directly to City Safety Officers and the Safe City Control room.
And he wants better and more regular collaboration with Victoria Police to handle more serious criminal activities.
“A Melbourne that is as safe and secure as possible is the foundation of a thriving city,” Reece said.
“Traders, especially in hot-spot areas like Elizabeth Street, want to know that the City of Melbourne is doing everything it can to reduce criminal and other anti-social behaviour.
“City Safety Officers will be a highly visible and responsive presence on the streets, especially on weekends, at nighttime, and during major events and festivals–they will work hand-in-glove with Victoria Police to help ensure that Melbourne remains a safe and welcoming place for all.”
Meanwhile, candidate Wood is pledging to create closer links between Victoria Police and the City of Melbourne, a Community Safety Hub at the southern end of Elizabeth St, establish a new City Safety Portfolio, invest in youth crime prevention programs, expand the CCTV network, and facilitate best-practice security measures for apartment towers.
These measures, along with establishing a new Women’s Safety Advisory Forum and taking a hotspot approach across the city to stamp out anti-social behaviour with police and community organisations, are aimed at securing at least a 10 percent drop in violent crimes within the City of Melbourne.
“Over the past four years our city has become less safe, less clean and less welcoming – and that’s hurting businesses in the city,” Wood said.
Revitalising Melbourne’s Business Scene
The Victorian capital has been branded an “economic wasteland” after data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded Victoria experiencing a net reduction of 7,606 businesses during the 2022-23 financial year.The increasing costs of doing business in Victoria drove many companies to move interstate or internationally, with increased state taxes being one of the primary factors.
Koutoufides will introduce a financial incentive for businesses to remain in Melbourne.
“I don’t care if it’s international businesses–we need businesses back in this city,” he said.
“So we’ve stated there’ll be a $5,000 incentive for any new start-up business. Bringing people back into the city is our goal as well–that’s going to help.
“We’ve got a council rate freeze for the next two years to also let them breathe. We want to invest more into businesses as well,” but he notes, his team will need to dig further into the budget.
Meanwhile, Wood’s five-point plan for Melbourne’s recovery involves revitalising its economy, which will focus on getting Town Hall’s budget under control, promoting policies that attract global businesses and supporting local entrepreneurs, and attracting more people into the city safely and on time.
He will also establish an Economic Recovery Taskforce with leading Melburnians in key business sectors to ensure the city regains its economic edge.
“We need to ensure Town Hall is accountable, from the Lord Mayor to the senior executive staff, and we need to get back to a culture focused on serving ratepayers, and ensuring Melbourne is open for business,” he said.
“The Economic Recovery Taskforce will make its reports and recommendations public so everyone in the community can see exactly what needs to change at Town Hall to ensure Melbourne gets back in business.”
Mayor Reece has promised small businesses that operate from the Queen Victoria Market will have their lease and licence costs frozen, traders will get a direct line to Town Hall and parking restrictions will be reviewed.
“Queen Victoria Market is the heart and soul of Melbourne–I want to ensure it remains a thriving hub for locals and the thousands of people who come to the market every week,” he said.
“Freezing costs for traders is just one way we can offer certainty and stability at a time of significant change at the market–with this plan, we’re putting traders and customers back at the heart of our market’s future.”
Lastly, the Green’s Ingleton said council needed to be in touch with all sections of society to address the rising cost of living which has had such a devastating effect on Melbourne.
“Council, like all levels of government, needs to be in touch with the acute financial struggles of different parts of our community. I can tell that personal story and talk directly to the material needs of inner-city residents and workers,” she said.
