Melbourne Summit 2024

What an incredible opportunity it presented to share ideas and expertise on supporting Melbourne’s future.

On Tuesday 26 March, over 150 city leaders from 90 organisations spanning Melbourne’s business, academic, local government and not-for-profit sectors, met at the elegant and timeless State Library Victoria to discuss forward-thinking ideas for Melbourne’s future. Paul Duldig, CEO of State Library Victoria (Paul D.) provided a wonderful welcome to the iconic Melbourne space that is supporting generations of Melburnians.

Our members were privileged to hear from Deputy Premier of Victoria, the Hon Ben Carroll MP, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sally Capp AO and Mark Melvin, CEO Committee for Melbourne about their vision for Melbourne’s and Victoria’s future. They all acknowledged Melbourne as a great place to live, work, play and invest and the benefit that comes from supporting the city’s vibrant arts and cultural offerings. There are many opportunities to invest further in our innovation and start-up economy, developing the skills base to drive Melbourne’s knowledge economy and supporting business investment and growth.

PEXA CEO Glenn King and Melbourne Theatre Company Executive Director and Co-CEO, Sally Noonan provided their unique insights into Melbourne businesses and the opportunities for growth, employment and contribution to the community.

An exciting line-up of speakers followed with Infrastructure Victoria CEO, Jonathan Spear presenting on Infrastructure Victoria’s research into 5 urban development scenarios. SEC Newgate Partner and Office Head, Feyi Akindoyeni, provided a thought provoking insight into how Melburnians are feeling about living in Melbourne and the issues that are top of mind for them.

The Business of Cities Co-founder and Managing Director, Dr Tim Moonen, and Leanne Edwards, Director Policy & Advocacy Committee for Melbourne unpacked the findings of the Benchmarking Melbourne 2024 report, launched at the event. The report had people talking across the city. See the report and media coverage here.

Each presenter provided their own unique insights into the opportunities for Melbourne, and their own expertise.

Several speakers addressed the city’s pain-points associated with the urban growth model and how we might address areas like transport connectivity, affordable housing and housing supply. A common theme was the need for a vision for Melbourne and Victoria that will ensure sustainable long-term development for a rapidly growing population.

We look forward to continuing the discussion and diving into the issues raised at the Summit.

Thank you to our sponsors City of Melbourne and State Library Victoria for an incredible event and discussion.