Sydney’s quality of life called into question

BY MICK ROBERTS
The City of Sydney has been ranked in the bottom 25 of Australia’s most liveable cities.
Sydney came in at 573 in the inaugural BankWest Quality of Life Index. Melbourne was named Australia’s most liveable city, while Sydney was rated the country’s best-paid city.
The survey ranks local areas using 10 criteria including employment levels, crime rates, internet access, health, education levels, earnings, home ownership rates, house size, proportion of empty homes and community involvement.
Defending the low score, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said Sydney continues to receive high ratings in global city surveys and has its own advantages: good climate, a great harbour, an educated population living in a stable, diverse and harmonious community.
‘Sydney is one of the greatest places to live on the planet and has first-class communications, high-quality public spaces, world-class educational facilities and health care, and a vibrant social and cultural life throughout the CBD and villages,’ Lord Mayor Moore said.
Although quality of life is a problem for Sydneysiders, the city’s economic credentials have been praised in the Price Waterhouse Coopers Asia Pacific Cities of Opportunity report, in which Sydney is ranked second after Tokyo.
“Among the cities, Sydney is best able to balance commercial opportunity with quality of life,” Sydney Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Patricia Forsythe said.
Sydney was again outgunned by Tokyo on the health, safety and security fronts, but won by a wide margin in the environment and lifestyle category, followed by Hong Kong and Shanghai.