#mcgwatch

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Melbourne is growing – that’s not breaking news. Back in 2023, it was revealed that Melbourne was on track to overtake the Sydney by 2031. Last year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that Melbourne is currently the fastest growing city in the country, with Melbourne’s population growing by 142,600 people from 2023-2024.

So, where are all of these fresh new Melburnians going to live? For around 47,000 of them, we know the answer. The Victorian Government has approved construction of a whole new suburb in the city’s growing outer north – complete with thousands of new homes, eight schools and a whole lot of dedicated green spaces for residents to explore.

Melbourne’s new suburb – Beveridge North West – is due to take shape over the next ten years, with Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny approving a plan featuring 15,000 new homes, four town centres, eight schools and 79 hectares worth of parks and reserves (that's 13 times the MCG). Once complete, the suburb will provide homes for more than 47,000 Victorians and support an estimated 3,000 local jobs."

Editorial note - For MCG-measurement tragics, you'll be familiar with a continuing discussion about how many 'jobs' and MCG is. It has recently been ruled that the MCG as a measure of permanent staff is around 150, and as a measure of temporary or surge staff of 1,000. So in this case, we can say the suburb will provide 2.6 MCGs of local jobs.

This is a rare triple, as we can also employ the MCG to measure the capacity of the suburb. 47,000 residents at 10,024 people per MCG brings us to 4.669 MCGs of residential capacity.

"A massive new urban park will snake across Melbourne’s east, bringing families and communities opening up the equivalent of 18 MCGs with wide open spaces and trails connecting suburbs together.

Member for Glen Waverley John Mullahy representing the Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos today announced the construction starting of the new ngarrak nakorang wilam park running from Forest Hill, through Vermont and connecting to the Dandenong trail.

The new park will include a 3.5km shared-use walking and cycling trail, toilet block, and open recreational space for visitors to enjoy all year round.

The ‘ngarrak nakorang wilam’ name means ‘Mountain Meeting Place’ and was chosen by the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. The name celebrates Wurundjeri Traditional Owner connections to Country and vividly expresses how parks bring people together.

"We’ve removed the level crossings at McGregor Road, Main Street and Racecourse Road in Pakenham, extended the metropolitan rail line by 2km and opened new stations at Pakenham and East Pakenham.

The crossings were removed by building a 2.5km rail bridge over the roads, creating 6 MCGs worth of new community open space for locals to enjoy for generations to come.

The open space, named Barring buluk Park, includes walking and bike paths, exercise equipment, barbeque area, half-basketball court, playground, and a Changing Places facility.

"Spring growth is well and truly underway across Mitchell Shire, with recent rain and bursts of sunshine creating perfect conditions for fast-growing grass in parks, gardens and along roadsides.

While mowing is continuing across the municipality, wet ground conditions are making it difficult to access many areas and slowing down work where mowing is possible.

Council teams are using all available staff, machinery and resources to maintain open spaces and prepare for the upcoming fire season. 

Revealed, the first look of the huge garden that will sit at the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation, Australia’s biggest cultural infrastructure project.

The urban garden will be roughly the size of the MCG and will connect the creative venues and food outlets across the precinct and be a new home for events and activations to be hosted in the centre of Melbourne.

Laak Boorndap will be open to the public 24-hours a day and will stretch from Hamer Hall to Southbank Boulevard with public artworks, plants, and a water feature.

"The government is also under fire this morning for approving the destruction of habitat needed by threatened species, according to a report from the Australian Conservation Foundation.

It found three-quarters of the land cleared — about 100,000 Melbourne Cricket Grounds’ worth — was approved for mining developments, Guardian Australia reports.

The most affected animal was the koala, which is already endangered in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, followed by the swift parrot, the greater glider and the spot-tailed quoll. "

"An MCG Worth of Vacancies - The Hospitality Supply & Demand Issue The talent issue is global. Nearly every major hospitality market in the world is experiencing the same issue, so waiting for an influx of foreign workers or some other form of supply is not an option.

​An MCG worth of vacancies

There are now over 95,000 open roles (that we know about) in the national hospitality sector. That is enough people to fill the MCG! And we are still not out of the pandemic.

​The Accommodation sector is still re-opening and conferencing hasn’t hit full swing, so you can imagine the demand that is building for chefs, managers and floor staff!

​To find a way out, I believe we need to shift the paradigm. If it’s a supply and demand issue, let’s shift the focus to improving demand rather than waiting for supply.

"Sensitive bushland to be cleared to make way for road to Andrew Forrest's company's eco-resort road About six MCGs' worth of environmentally sensitive bushland, including parts of the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, will be cleared under a plan to build a road which will help mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private equity company Tattarang to develop a beachfront eco-resort."