Our Chair for the day was Robyn Hollands. Thank you Robyn for introducing Lord Mayor Sally Capp and providing your summary of a marvellous inspirational Lord Mayor of Melbourne.
Summary - State of the City with Guest Speaker - Lord Mayor Sally Capp
Pre Covid19, Melbourne's economy was bigger than ACT, NT and TAS combined.
The impact of Covid19 has seen a massive financial loss to the City and a report by PWC predicts the city (worst case scenario) will lose $110 billion over the next 5 years.
There has been a 90% drop of daily pedestrian foot traffic in the city
and of the 16,500 business' within the city, 85% are small to medium business.
Tourists gone, jobs lost ( 22,000 within the food and hospitality gone within the calendar year), business closed, people working from home and remote learning are some of the changes we have seen due to the impact of the pandemic.
Melbourne has been disproportionately affected by Covid19 due to the length of the lock down and this has impacted all industries - some harder than others.
Commercial rents have been down 10-14%.
The silver linings during the pandemic has seen the rough sleepers of our city offered safe accommodation and daily support services - and this is to continue until April 2021. City of Melbourne will keep Rotary Melbourne informed as this is a key priority for Rotary.
Looking forward - long term revival:
- The city predicts: 65-70% daily foot traffic to be back in the city by 30 June 20201
- Deed Stimulus Investments that comes from capital works programs and investment in infrastructure - the City of Melbourne will spend $175M this year on completing capital works and infrastructure.
- To rebuild the city more committed partnerships and a team effort is required - Rotary Club Melbourne is vital for this.
- More public leadership.
Initiatives currently underway:
- 40km of bike works - 27 routes across the city;
- Improvements to our little streets;
- More than 500 permits for outdoor dining;
- Joint venture with State Govt for street art program across 40 city laneways;
- $100M city recovery fund with the Premier, has been secured;
- Of this, $30M is dedicated to cleaning the city;
- $30M dedicated to events like florist blooms, Melbourne Fashion Festival, Busker program, Myer Xmas Windows. Important to keep traditions.
In conclusion:
The power of working together and sharing the work load is crucial during this revitalization period of our city and the work Rotary Melbourne does, its projects and values are at the core and is of great importance in rebuilding the city of Melbourne.
Robyn Hollands
Share this with your friends
