Donald Trump motion at City of Melbourne

April 16, 2019

Here is the text of a motion lodged by Cr Stephen Mayne to be debated next Tuesday night at the City of Melbourne.

That the Future Melbourne Committee authorises a nominated councillor to:

Write to the chairman of the 15 largest US-domiciled companies (excluding weapons manufacturers, gambling companies and large carbon emitters) by market capitalisation extolling the virtues of relocating their global headquarters to the City of Melbourne if Donald Trump is elected President of the United States.

Background

Former Australian conservative Prime Minister John Howard told 3AW listeners on April 26 that he “trembles” at the thought of someone as “unpredictable” as Donald Trump serving in the White House.

Many major US corporates are equally concerned, particularly after recent vituperative Trump attacks on the likes of Apple, where the colourful property developer advocated a consumer boycott of Apple products.

Other attacks on Mexicans and Muslims have also raised global concerns about the divisiveness of a Trump-led US.

Whilst Trump's rise clearly represents a threat to world peace and stability, it also creates opportunities for stable, peace-loving, US-aligned, English speaking countries such as Australia.

Melbourne has been voted the world's most liveable city by The Economist Intelligence Unit for the past 5 years. And as arguably the world's most successful and cohesive multi-cultural city, Melbourne is a great place for global companies to base their operations.

We are home to people from more than 200 countries, who speak 260 languages and dialects and practice 135 religious faiths – all living harmoniously together.

In this Asian century, there is a compelling case for major US corporates such as Apple, Google (now Alphabet), Facebook, Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck, Berkshire Hathaway and Disney to relocate their headquarters from US cities to Melbourne, where they will be welcomed and well governed at the city, state and Federal level.

City of Melbourne is home to one of the world's great knowledge precincts in Parkville, featuring world renowned research institutes, the University of Melbourne, major hospitals and Australia's biggest pharmaceutical company CSL. The University of Melbourne's Parkville campus has more international students than any other university campus in the world, reaffirming Melbourne's status as a safe and welcoming international city.

We also have a thriving financial and services sector, plus enormous tracts of land available at Fishermans Bend, Arden McCauley, Egate and Docklands for inner-city urban renewal encompassing potentially large purpose-built corporate campuses for relocating US companies.

A network of wonderful heritage parks, the world's best inner-city sporting infrastructure and a vibrant 24 hour night time economy round out the offer for those US corporates who don't fancy retaining their global headquarters in a country led by someone as embarrassing and offensive as Donald Trump.

Ends

And here is the Herald Sun's early coverage on the proposed motion.