15.02.2024Meet the Shadow Minister, Mr David Southwick

Overlooking the Melbourne skyline on a vibrant summer’s day, Committee for Melbourne members enjoyed an interactive roundtable lunch at Allens with our special guest, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, David Southwick MP. Mr Southwick holds the portfolios of Shadow Minister for Major Projects, Transport Infrastructure, Trade and Investment, and Cost of Living.

David Donnelly (Partner and Head of Projects & Development at Allens) kicked off the discussion, with Mr Southwick following to share his insights on a range of issues, including a vision for Victoria and its brand, budget and taxation priorities, Melbourne’s major freight and infrastructure projects and our liveability future.

Leanne Edwards (Director Policy & Advocacy at the Committee for Melbourne) moderated an energised discussion on a broad array of topics covering prioritisation of infrastructure spend, Melbourne’s growth patterns, business competitiveness, liveability, fair access and safety.

The discussion is aligned to the Committee’s agenda, recently outlined in its pre-budget submission. During the lunch, Mr Southwick also highlighted the Committee’s Benchmarking Melbourne 2023 report, which evaluates Melbourne’s performance against 19 global peer cities. Our members were interested to hear Mr Southwick’s perspectives on the data and issues raised in the report.

We’d like to thank Mr Southwick for his participation and our host Allens for facilitating a great and interesting lunch discussion.