Lord Mayor joins Neil Mitchell in the 3AW studio

Melbourne’s Lord Mayor is proud of Melbourne’s nightlife and the progress we’ve made in reducing alcohol-fuelled violence.

And he couldn’t resist having a crack at Sydney in the process.

In a wide-ranging interview, Robert Doyle outlined his position on a number of key issues.

On Lockouts

Lockout laws are being blamed for a serious decline in Sydney’s nightlife.

‘We tried that in 2008. It didn’t work,’ Cr Doyle said.

He said Melbourne had gone down the harder path of trying to address the cause of the problem, not the symptom.

‘We’ve tried to create a culture that doesn’t promote violence. It’s not just about the sale and consumption of alcohol,’ he said.

‘And we’ve been remarkably successful. Melbourne’s night time economy is booming.’

On the Sky-Rail

Cr Doyle said the rail overpass between Flinders St and Southern Cross stations is ‘ugly as’.

He said artists’ impressions of a new sky-rail showed the overpass being surrounded by ‘frolicking children and green spaces’. 

‘When you see the reality, it’s like some urban ghetto,’ he said.

‘I think they’re eyesores. We should be thinking about undergrounding.’

On Royal Melb Hospital Funding Cuts

‘I just cannot believe this,’ Cr Doyle said.

‘We’re probably the busiest hospital in Australia. If that money is taken away, we start to reduce services.

‘If two-thirds of the way through the year, you suddenly change the game and remove funding, you affect people’s lives.’

Click play to hear the full interview