Melbourne electorate
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (15:40): (236) Today I have a question for the Minister for Creative Industries. Here in Melbourne we do not have an opera house or a harbour bridge. People do not come here to see the Eiffel Tower or Buckingham Palace. Instead we have something different: we have small studios and galleries down mysterious laneways and little gems hidden behind hidden doors. Over the weekend many of these doors were flung open for Open House Melbourne. I led a tour of the Art Deco Nicholas Building on Flinders Lane. We took dozens of people through the building, visiting milliners, tattoo artists, galleries, jewellers and more. People were shocked to discover that we are actually still at risk of losing this place, with rents being hiked up and the building up for sale. It is at risk of being turned into a luxury hotel or commercial space, pushing out the creatives that make Melbourne Melbourne. Minister, you say you will not buy the building, but my question is: will the state government do anything to stop us losing this Nicholas Building community from Melbourne altogether?