Lord mayor says ‘patchy’ return to the CBD is no surprise

Melbourne’s lord mayor admits the return of workers to the CBD is “patchy”, but says she’s not surprised.

“We’ve had two years of people being in new routines and, really, shocks and trauma,” Sally Capp told Neil Mitchell.

Foot traffic at Southern Cross Station on Monday was up by five per cent, compared to the previous four Mondays, while it was up by 30 per cent at Flinders Street Station.

“This morning at Flinders Street it’s already up 77 per cent … on Tuesdays over the last four weeks,” Councillor Capp said.

The lord mayor says people have new work patterns, and employers are taking different approaches to office returns, so the working week may look different going forward.

She says if the state government ordered workers back “that sort of leadership would be fantastic”.

“I believe it’s coming.

“All major employers have a leadership role to play.”

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview