Gary Morgan campaigns for a “bigger Melbourne” that includes Yarra, Port Phillip

Serial Lord Mayoral contender Gary Morgan has announced his team ahead of the City of Melbourne elections in October, with a familiar local face to the CBD running in his number one councillor spot.

2024 marks the pollster’s eighth consecutive tilt for Lord Mayor, and he’s returned with a campaign headlined by safety, support for residents and businesses, and a push for an expanded Melbourne municipality that swallows the Cities of Yarra and Port Phillip.

Joining him this time around is candidate for Deputy Lord Mayor, local resident and financial services expert Liz Ge, and current president of CBD residents’ group Residents 3000 Rafael Camillo.

Mr Camillo, who recently celebrated 10 years with Residents 3000 and was re-elected as president at the group’s annual general meeting on September 5 for the sixth consecutive year, will be well known to many locals in the CBD.

Mr Camillo, who has since stood down as president of Residents 3000 to run for council, said after 20 years living in the CBD and 10 years volunteering, he had decided to try to represent his community in a different way.

Joining him in Team Morgan’s number two councillor spot is another familiar face to many CBD locals in William Caldwell, who works for local real estate agency Melbourne Boutique Property and is himself a long-term Docklands resident.

Mr Morgan told CBD News that his “key policy areas” for this election were safety, ending homelessness, resident and small business support, reviving the CBD and creating a bigger Melbourne municipality.

As reported in sibling publication Inner City News, if elected, Mr Morgan wants to work the state government to get more Protective Safety Officers (PSOs) patrolling local neighbourhoods on a 24-hour basis.

The long-time East Melbourne resident said that Team Morgan was concerned with “drugs, thugs and vandalism” throughout the City of Melbourne and would work with the state government to resolve these important issues.

“City of Melbourne residents, workers and tourists are more concerned than ever about Melbourne safety, theft and the type of vandalism that recently took place in East Melbourne – car windows broken, and car tires slashed; and these same problems occurring in other inner-city areas of Melbourne,” Mr Morgan said.

Unfortunately, ‘thuggish’ behaviour is rampant in the streets surrounding Melbourne’s stations – tough action is need now to curtail ‘thugs’ once they leave inner Melbourne’s stations.

Team Morgan also wants to establish a partnership with the federal and state governments to cater for and provide long-term solutions to drive “zero homelessness” in the City of Melbourne.

It also wants to establish regular “listening post” meetings to support residents and small businesses, as well as revive the CBD with lower council charges, more events and greater collaboration with the private sector.

But undoubtedly Team Morgan’s boldest plan is for a bigger Melbourne local government area that brings the Cities of Port Phillip and Yarra within an expanded City of Melbourne, which Mr Morgan argued would “result in significant cost efficiencies”.

He added that the move would bring the City of Melbourne’s current population of 150,000 to a total of 360,000, compared with neighbouring cities in Sydney (250,000) and Brisbane (1.3 million).

“This reform will unite the north bank of the Yarra River and bring together the Melbourne CBD, Albert Park sporting precinct, the Melbourne foreshore, port facilities and the inner Melbourne suburbs of Port Melbourne and South Melbourne,” Mr Morgan said.

“Uniting these areas within one governance structure will result in significant cost efficiencies and drive effective solutions for all Inner Melbourne residents.”