Melbourne should be the capital of Australia

The essence of this debate seems to lie in the opinion of which city- Canberra or Melbourne- is better equipped to be the capital of Australia. Points raised by the affirmative in favour of Melbourne include: - Melbourne is the 'cultural capital' of Australia - It has a safety index of 71.59% - Many tourists already consider Melbourne as the capital - Melbourne is a city that will 'look good' to the rest of the world Whilst these are majorly valid points, as the negative I firmly believe that these qualities are overshadowed by the benefits of the status quo of leaving Canberra as Australia's capital. Here are my main points for this. - Canberra is more practical as a capital city than Melbourne as it has room due expand due to its location (1) - Canberra is ideal for political facilities as it is not packed with tourism - It acts as a link between the two major cities of Melbourne and Sydney - The location of Canberra builds economic benefits via travelling tourists - Canberra is still developing and has the potential to become an iconic world city - All of the attributes of a great city mentioned in Citation 2 match the attributes of Canberra - Canberra is a sustainable city (3) Whilst most of the preliminary points mentioned above are self-explanatory, I will engage in further detail regarding the final two. Citation two discusses a recent study of Australian's to see which city in our country was most 'liveable'. The criteria followed included aspects of city life such as urban design, lack of pollution, dining and entertainment, public transport, roads, safety, natural environment, education, healthcare, affordable housing, employment, standard of living, climate and a harmonious population. In the study of 5200 Australian citizens, Adelaide came in first with Canberra in second. Canberra performed well in all sectors of the criteria. Canberra is a growing city. Whilst the designs of Melbourne are based on ideas formulated during the 19th century, designs for Canberra are being designed now. Problems such as urban design would not have influenced decisions of Melbourne city planners originally but they are constantly in the minds of Canberra designers today. Our world is changing and having a city in the process of expansion is exciting as it offers opportunities to turn Canberra into an international city. Melbourne can attempt to expand and increase its innovativeness however problems are due to arise due to its older layout compared to Canberra. Whilst Melbourne has tried to build more roads, it has proved difficult due to its current design. More detail regarding this issue can be found in Citation 4. A capital city needs to be liveable and able to adapt to a changing world. In short, Canberra can do this easily whereas Melbourne can only do it with difficulty. Canberra is a sustainable city. An Estonian Expo surveyed tourists and their opinions on what makes a good city. The top five most voted answers were: 1. Low carbon urban transportation; Canberra has highly efficient public transport and numerous bike paths which are regularly used. TripAdvisor (5) goes as far as to call Canberra the site of the best public transport in Australia. Canberra is a healthy place to live and plays a role in reducing our global footprint. 2. Energy-efficient buildings; Canberra is an expanding and innovative city and passive design plays a large role in the construction of modern houses within new suburbs (1). 3. Durable buildings; Canberra has durable buildings that are safe and secure for residents. Canberra used to have a Safe House program implemented and this has definitely added to the safety of the city (6). 4. Access to healthy food; the affirmative has told us that Canberra is a multicultural city. Healthy food from around the world can be found in Canberra. 5. Renewable energy for cities; renewable energy is key for building our future. Canberra is developing renewable energy city-wide. Citation 7 shows the opening of a new wind farm in Canberra. Whilst there are calls for renewable energy in Melbourne, limited action has been taken. Overall, Canberra makes an ideal city and furthermore capital. Is the title of 'cultural capital' enough motive to shift the capital of Australia away from such an iconic location to one further south in Melbourne? The affirmative believes that a capital city must show off the nature of a country to the rest of the world. Australian's are innovators and we show off our innovation with a glorious city such as Canberra. Canberra is a fantastic city and should remain the location of Australia's capital. Thank you. (1) Article by the Canberra Times providing an example of modern development in Canberra http://www.canberratimes.com.au... (2) What makes Australia's Most Liveable City? http://www.lifehacker.com.au... (3) The Global View: What makes a city sustainable? http://www.p4sc.org... (4) Problem with Melbourne and Public Transport http://www.ptua.org.au... (5) TripAdvisor on Public Transport in Canberra https://www.tripadvisor.com.au... (6) Safe Houses in Canberra http://www.canberratimes.com.au... (7) New Wind Farm in Canberra http://www.environment.act.gov.au...