Coronavirus

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Dan Andrews needs to push slightly harder to get Melbourne CBD back up on its feet.

Haven't been to work in the CBD in almost a year. CEO says things will never be the same as before, work-wise. Talk to local businesses and they are thriving.

Maybe Melbourne "no Apple store for our city" council can convert the empty buildings into injecting rooms.

 

[AngryAnt]

Great if there are less people travelling to and working in the CBD. Less commute time, more time with families, better for businesses out in the burbs. Decentralisation is good.

 

[Ridley]

Haven't been to work in the CBD in almost a year. CEO says things will never be the same as before, work-wise. Talk to local businesses and they are thriving.

Maybe Melbourne "no Apple store for our city" council can convert the empty buildings into injecting rooms.

I don't work in the CBD; haven't done so for a very long time. But I believe it is critical to the entire metropolitan area, the state of Victoria, and the whole of Australia to once again have a vibrant Melbourne CBD. Pre-Covid it was a great place to visit; fantastic atmosphere. Pre-Covid I travelled quite a lot for work and would generally stay in the CBDs of other state capitals. None of them were even close to holding a candle to the Melbourne CBD.

It is likely that it won't get back to what it was but hopefully it can get back somewhere near it. At the moment it is a desolate ghost town and that is very sad to see.

 

[Ridley]

Great if there are less people travelling to and working in the CBD. Less commute time, more time with families, better for businesses out in the burbs. Decentralisation is good.

Agree with some of that but still think we need to have a vibrant city centre. Pre-Covid the Melbourne CBD was a great place to visit; it certainly is not that at the moment.

 

[AngryAnt]

Agree with some of that but still think we need to have a vibrant city centre. Pre-Covid the Melbourne CBD was a great place to visit; it certainly is not that at the moment.

I'm living just off the CBD in Southbank, still seems fairly vibrant to me. I'm not in the CBD late at night but was in there for a few libations last night. Seemed OK. But you are right, probably won't get back to what it was in terms of volumes of people.

 

[Ridley]

I'm living just off the CBD in Southbank, still seems fairly vibrant to me. I'm not in the CBD late at night but was in there for a few libations last night. Seemed OK. But you are right, probably won't get back to what it was in terms of volumes of people.

Good to hear Ant. I had lunch with a customer in the CBD 2 weeks before Christmas. Had a few drinks afterwards as well and it was sad to see so few people around in what is usually a very hectic time. In mid January one of my sons moved into a new high rise apartment building in Lonsdale Street. On the 30th floor with amazing views. We've been in there a few times to visit and it's been very quiet each time. I would hate to see dining precincts like Degraves Street never get back to what they once were. On my infrequent trips to the city I loved walking through and dining in those streets and arcades.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

I don't work in the CBD; haven't done so for a very long time. But I believe it is critical to the entire metropolitan area, the state of Victoria, and the whole of Australia to once again have a vibrant Melbourne CBD. Pre-Covid it was a great place to visit; fantastic atmosphere. Pre-Covid I travelled quite a lot for work and would generally stay in the CBDs of other state capitals. None of them were even close to holding a candle to the Melbourne CBD.

It is likely that it won't get back to what it was but hopefully it can get back somewhere near it. At the moment it is a desolate ghost town and that is very sad to see.

It will find its own balance. Maybe an opportunity for landlords to drop the rents.

 

[AngryAnt]

Good to hear Ant. I had lunch with a customer in the CBD 2 weeks before Christmas. Had a few drinks afterwards as well and it was sad to see so few people around in what is usually a very hectic time. In mid January one of my sons moved into a new high rise apartment building in Lonsdale Street. On the 30th floor with amazing views. We've been in there a few times to visit and it's been very quiet each time. I would hate to see dining precincts like Degraves Street never get back to what they once were. On my infrequent trips to the city I loved walking through and dining in those streets and arcades.

Yeah, also factor in I've been away few years and after SE Asia I'm enjoying there not being huge crowds of people everywhere. Degraves is a great place, I'll have to walk down and check it out again.

 

[AngryAnt]

It will find its own balance. Maybe an opportunity for landlords to drop the rents.

True. I was looking at two bedder units in the CBD, definitely bargains to be had right now.

 

[Ridley]

True. I was looking at two bedder units in the CBD, definitely bargains to be had right now.

Yes should be bargains in both the rental and sales market. However I don't think a CBD apartment would be a great investment; capital growth would be have to be limited given the oversupply. But if you just wanted to live in it for 10-20 years then you could get a great apartment for a very good price. My son lives in a brand new 3 bedder with two mates; it's a magnificent apartment.

 

[AngryAnt]

Yes should be bargains in both the rental and sales market. However I don't think a CBD apartment would be a great investment; capital growth would be have to be limited given the oversupply. But if you just wanted to live in it for 10-20 years then you could get a great apartment for a very good price. My son lives in a brand new 3 bedder with two mates; it's a magnificent apartment.

yes, I was looking at rentals. But agree, given the trends there is an oversupply and the buildings are still going up!

 

[Harry]

Haven't been to work in the CBD in almost a year. CEO says things will never be the same as before, work-wise. Talk to local businesses and they are thriving.

Maybe Melbourne "no Apple store for our city" council can convert the empty buildings into injecting rooms.

Yep - spoke to the local coffee shop owner and he said business is booming.

my workplace in the cbd has downsized it's office space and cancelled a couple of leases. expecting people to go in the office 1-2 times a week long term with a hot desk booking system put in place. office working life has changed forever it seems.

big question is what will they do with the high rise buildings sitting vacant in the cbd ? sell them to the highest international bidders perhaps.

 

[Baloo]

expecting people to go in the office 1-2 times a week long term with a hot desk booking system put in place. office working life has changed forever it seems.

Yeah, many companies are looking at this new normal as a way to drastically reduce office costs. I'm not convinced it will last though. People can do their job from home, that's not too hard, but there are big downsides to only dealing with colleagues over video calls. The banter, the impromptu brain storming, the favours done and called in that happens in an office environment can't work remotely. Business will start stagnate

 

[Tigers of Old]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365164842911338497

 

[DavidSSS]

Working from home places the costs of running an office onto the employee and indirectly some of this, through tax deductions, is then pushed to the taxpayer.

This is why working from home is looking like a boon for employers.

The cost of electricity running computers, the cost of heating/cooling your workplace etc, the employer saves all of this but someone has to pay and it is all of us.

With real wage rises a memory from a long time ago I just feel like employees are exploited even more than usual.

DS

 

[caesar]

After week 1 NSW has vaccinated twice as many people as Victoria, VIC has administered only 2,902 of 13,000 doses rec'd.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365164842911338497

Haha, a mate is involved in the Pfizer logistics. I asked him if he could initial the containers he's handled so I know to request a different batch. Phone call coming up...

 

[AngryAnt]

Yep - spoke to the local coffee shop owner and he said business is booming.

my workplace in the cbd has downsized it's office space and cancelled a couple of leases. expecting people to go in the office 1-2 times a week long term with a hot desk booking system put in place. office working life has changed forever it seems.

big question is what will they do with the high rise buildings sitting vacant in the cbd ? sell them to the highest international bidders perhaps.

Selling the buildings... but who would buy them? Again we will have a massive oversupply of office space. NAB has mothballed one of the docklands buildings completely.

 

[AngryAnt]

Working from home places the costs of running an office onto the employee and indirectly some of this, through tax deductions, is then pushed to the taxpayer.

This is why working from home is looking like a boon for employers.

The cost of electricity running computers, the cost of heating/cooling your workplace etc, the employer saves all of this but someone has to pay and it is all of us.

With real wage rises a memory from a long time ago I just feel like employees are exploited even more than usual.

DS

Well yeah, but the employee also gets reduced travelling time, more time with family etc etc. But I agree - employers should fund the home office, laptop, internet costs etc.

 

[Sintiger]

Working from home places the costs of running an office onto the employee and indirectly some of this, through tax deductions, is then pushed to the taxpayer.

This is why working from home is looking like a boon for employers.

The cost of electricity running computers, the cost of heating/cooling your workplace etc, the employer saves all of this but someone has to pay and it is all of us.

With real wage rises a memory from a long time ago I just feel like employees are exploited even more than usual.

DS

The losers will also be those who manage the public transport system because you won’t be catching a train to work and the oil companies because you won’t be using petrol to drive to work and Wilson parking because you won’t be parking your car.
Working from home has saved a lot of people a lot of money and will continue to do so.
Good employers will assist employees with equipment, and if all the savings don’t offset the costs at home will make sure they aren’t out of pocket and will use their OH&S team to help them have a safe home working environment.
Working from home can be a win win if handled right.