Celebrating our voice of Southbank

It’s a great privilege to contribute to the final edition of the Southbank News.

For more than 15 years, with the incredible Sean Car at the helm, Southbank News has punched well above its weight – delivering quality journalism and real local news stories that keep our community informed and uplifted.

When I first met Sean, I was blown away by his passion for telling local stories. He was proud of our community, and we wanted to share that pride with his readership. To still be telling those stories with the same passion as he did 15 years ago should be a great source of pride for Sean and the whole team at Southbank News.

With each edition, this masthead has chronicled the transformation of Southbank from what was once an industrial zone into a burgeoning residential, commercial, cultural and entertainment precinct.

Southbank is the blueprint for how we meet the housing supply and affordability challenges of our time, while preserving the cultural and community qualities that make it such a desirable place to live.

Having represented Southbank in the Federal Parliament since 2019, I’m proud of the investment we have made to preserve the character of this beautiful part of Melbourne, while building the physical and community infrastructure it needs to grow.

We’re delivering a community battery at the Boyd Community Hub – providing a source of cheaper, renewable energy for the residents and businesses of Southbank.

We’ve delivered a new Headspace facility in South Melbourne to provide early intervention mental health services for younger Australians in need.

We’re restoring the historic See Yup Temple – a heritage-listed cultural and religious centre which has been maintained by the See Yup Society of Melbourne since 1866.

Together with the City of Melbourne, we’re bringing the northern Kings Way undercroft on City Rd to life by transforming this underutilised concrete jungle into a public activity space complete with basketball courts, climbing walls and art installations.

We’re refurbishing and repairing the South Melbourne Town Hall, which has been home to the incredible Australian National Academy of Music for more than three decades.

And we’re helping to build the new The Fox: NGV Contemporary – a hub for contemporary art, design and architecture in the heart of Southbank.

Southbank News hasn’t just reported on these investments. It’s driven them. Through an informed and active readership, the Southbank News has cultivated a sense of shared community without which Southbank would not be what it is today.

This is not the end of local news for Southbank. It’s the start of something new – The Melburnian will bring us local stories from across the city while showcasing the best of Southbank for all of Melbourne to see.

But it is an opportune moment to reflect on the importance of local journalism, and the incredible legacy which the Southbank News leaves behind. To Sean and the team at Southbank News, thank you for service to our community.

It’s been a privilege to read and contribute to this masthead, and I look forward to continuing that partnership over the coming years.

I wish you every success.

Josh •