“Carry this vision forward”: City of Melbourne still has faith in Greenline

Despite Greenline’s funding being cut and further delivery of the ambitious project on hold, the City of Melbourne remains hopeful that the project will be delivered.

The project is the brainchild of Lord Mayor Nick Reece’s predecessor, Sally Capp, and the first phase of the project at Birrarung Marr is due to be completed at the end of this year, providing 450 metres of boardwalks and native plants along the north banks of the Yarra.

However, it was revealed through the City of Melbourne’s 2025-26 Draft Budget that the council will pull $14.6 million allocated to Greenline to pay for other projects, including a new community hub in North Melbourne and a library in Southbank.

The decision follows the state and federal government not yet committing any further funding to help deliver the remaining phases of Greenline. To date, the federal government has provided $20 million to help deliver phase one.

Despite pulling funding, Cr Reece’s commitment to the full delivery of the four-kilometre elevated pathway that stretches from Birrarung Marr to Docklands has not wavered, but it is the timeline that remains unknown.

At the Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) meeting on May 20, Cr Reece stood by the delivery the project. However, he noted that because state and federal funding was not going to be provided yet, the “right decision” was made, which was the “responsible” thing for the city to do.

For years, the project has struggled to receive enough funding to ensure the entirety of the project can be delivered, which has drawn criticism from a number of councillors and was impetus for Cr Phillip Le Liu’s attempt to put pressure on all levels of government and key stakeholders involved.

At the May 20 meeting, Cr Le Liu tabled a motion that proposed the council end its commitment to Greenline by the end of the year if the state and federal governments do not make funding commitments, and if permits required for the project are not approved.

Cr Le Liu said that the troubled delivery of the project should be a learning curve for the council not to commit to projects that are reliant on unrealised state and federal funding.

However, his bid to either expedite the funding and delivery of the project, or end the council’s commitment, was not widely supported, with Cr Owen Guest the only other councillor to vote for the motion.

Cr Rafael Camillo and Cr Gladys Liu abstained from voting, while the Lord Mayor and councillors Roshena Cambell, Mark Scott, Davyyd Griffiths, Dr Olivia Ball and Andrew Rowse all voted against.

The Lord Mayor spoke passionately in favour of Greenline and reminded the community that while further funds hadn’t yet been secured from upper levels of government, progress was still being made through the project’s funding and partnerships plan.

This includes the delivery of the Docklands end of Greenline along Collins Wharf in partnership with Lendlease, and the maritime precinct at North Wharf in partnership with Riverlee’s Seafarers development.

The Lord Mayor also hinted at an agreement with VicTrack for the renewal of the Banana Alley Vaults being finalised soon.

Although Cr Andrew Rowse voted against the motion he did sympathise with the rationale behind it. However, he does not believe it worth playing “chicken” with other levels of government.

“While the intent might be positive to try and get an outcome for the City of Melbourne, I think we’re gambling with things where we only sit in a position of loss,” he said.

“[The motion] would drop a plan that can and will be funded appropriately in the future when that funding is available, rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water,” he added.

Cr Dr Ball said only weeks after the council staged its 2050 Summit, the suggestion of Cr Liu’s motion to effectively abandon Greenline was not aligned with future visions for the city. She argued that if the north bank of the Yarra River still looked how it does today by 2050 it would represent a shameful and “terrible” outcome.

Cr Dr Ball added that all the funds, resources and time invested to date into the creation of what was an award-winning project would all feel like a waste if the council were to reverse its commitment now.

“To kill it off now would be to waste those funds that have already been expended,” Cr Dr Ball said. “To carry this vision forward, even if we’re not planning to advance it in the immediate and short-term would be to make the most of those costs already expended.” •