In the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, the winner is ... Brisbane

  • By Peter Gordon
  • •
  • 20 Apr, 2023

Sydneysiders and Melburnians, put aside your equally outstanding flat whites for a moment. Stop bickering about whether great beaches beat cool laneways (they do) and desist from debating whether all baristas require waxed moustaches (ideally).

Because Brisbane is closing in on the title of Australia’s best city, and we must join forces to keep this subtropical upstart in its place.

Time magazine recently named Brisvegas on its “World’s Greatest Places” list, and omitted our cities. It’s a huge shock (and who knew they still published Time magazine?). But they might be onto something.

Time points to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be hosted in the maroon metropolis. Brisbane will do a fine job, even though it’ll baffle the world when rugby league is added to the schedule and Queensland is allowed to field its own team.

Time’s most radical claim is that Brisbane is worth visiting now, but tourism is surging. Not only did Lin-Manuel Miranda recently drop in to catch Hamilton, but hundreds of Hamilfans flew up to watch his interview with Leigh Sales (presumably unaware that it would subsequently arrive on iView for free).


Brisbane has always been exciting, though. I’ll never forget my first late-night walk through the Fortitude Valley pedestrian mall. My adrenaline spiked as fights and copious vomiting broke out around me. Somehow escaping unstabbed, I had to keep walking back to my CBD hotel, as no taxis dared to stop in “the valley”.

Visitors like me once marvelled at how freeways could ruin a riverbank and mourned at sites where Joh had demolished heritage buildings, but recently, I’ve been to several top-notch venues in the CBD, by the river, and even in “the valley” which, thankfully, now has a secure cab rank.

Nowadays, Brisbane has whiskey bars, boutique hotels, and buzzing riverside arts venues like the Powerhouse, QPAC and QAGOMA, the latter hosting the renowned Asia-Pacific Triennial. Brisbane’s South Bank – unlike the Yarra’s – boasts outdoor swimming spots, as well as a climate where that’s viable. And only the Brisbane Festival has fighter jets lighting up the night sky in a moment of pure pyromania.

Brisbane’s culture and nightlife mightn’t quite top Sydney’s or Melbourne’s, yet. But the southern capitals can’t match Bluey. US viewers streamed those loveable can-shaped hounds for a mind-boggling 20 billion minutes last year. They’ve featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade and played Madison Square Garden. At this rate, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Bluey at King Charles’ coronation.


Bluey is a great ad for Brisbane, featuring identifiable locations like Queen Street Mall, South Bank, and even a CityCat. What’s more, archaeologist Bandit and airport security worker Chilli can apparently afford a large house there.

One TikTokker thinks this proves that the Heeler parents are international smugglers, a theory that creator Joe Brumm has explicitly denied. But even if the Heelers are mules, the show’s a strong argument for taking up smuggling, and/or becoming a Queenslander.

Bluey’s Brizzy is an idyll of backyard games, barbecues (and pizza ovens), and perfect weather. I’d love to raise my own two daughters in a house like theirs, and if that’s really possible in Brisbane without criminal activity, I’d consider a move, especially if, like Bluey, they could also attend a school the size of a small suburb.

Brisbane’s Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, boasts his city is “the fastest-growing capital city in the country, with people from southern states recognising that our city’s incredible climate, lifestyle and liveability is second to none.” Annoyingly, he’s probably right. The benefits were crystal clear in lockdown, and they still look good today.

Sydney and Melbourne need to lift our game – perhaps we should put in a joint bid for the 2036 Olympics? Melbourne can have the indoor events and we Sydneysiders will do beach volleyball. And instead of fighting over footy finals and grands prix, why don’t we try to poach Bluey? She can do high school harbourside in Sydney and become a Melbourne sophisticate for uni. I can see Bluey as a barista – with waxed fur.

In the meantime, we should brace ourselves for more articles screaming “Viva Brisvegas”. And if we can’t beat those pesky Queenslanders, we southerners might have to move to cane toad country ourselves.

Article courtesy Dom Knight Brisbane Time 27th March 2023

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Introducing The Palms Estate, Cairns - The Northern Beach's Premier Address

By Peter Gordon • 26 Apr, 2023

Quiet simply, the Palms is the place to buy!

The northern beaches of Cairns is the Nation's best location for property investors right now, and The Palms is the premier development in this boom region.

It has the best location being elevated and backing onto the rainforest. It will have amazing facilities with a shopping village, a primary school, parks and green open space, a water park and an expanse of wildlife corridors.

It has taken the developers three years to get planning approval for this unique development to be able to hit the market. There are only 300 lots spread across 85 acres of the best land in The Northern Beaches.  Residents will have an abundance of open space right at their doorstep.  The Palms is also the only Certified Enviro Development project in Far North Queensland.

> Cairns Snapshot

Incredible Lifestyle At An Affordable Price  Equity of approx $390K on completion

By Peter Gordon • 06 Apr, 2023
This small duplex development just a short drive from Hervey Bay on Queensland’s beautiful Fraser Coast, offers an incredible lifestyle at an affordable price. With unprecedented demand and very limited supply, prices look set to skyrocket.

A leading local agent has appraised each side of these duplex's to be worth $665k on completion and rent for $495 per week. So that is massive potentail instant equity of up to $390K on completion, which is incredibly hard to find.

Brisbane Is One of the World's Greatest Places of 2023 According to 'TIME'

By Peter Gordon • 04 Apr, 2023
Brisbane has been on our radar lately as a great city for property investors due to lifestyle, affordability and rental demand. We also have many clients who have purchased here over the years.  It's now Brisbane's time to shine and the below article explains why the river city is now well and truely in the spotlight!

If you ever needed an excuse to enjoy the Sunshine State's capital — whether you're a local or a visitor — this is it.

Sydney might be world-renowned for its harbour, bridge and Opera House, and Melbourne's food and live music scenes might've won it plenty of fame and acclaim, but neither Australian city is one of the world's greatest places of 2023. Each year, TIME  magazine singles out 50 locations around the globe that it considers extraordinary — and that travellers should make it a priority to visit — with just two Aussie destinations making the latest cut.

Kangaroo Island keeps earning praise in 2023; already, The New York Times  has named it one of the best places to head to this year in its version of the same type of list, and the South Australian spot's Stokes Bay topped Tourism Australia's best ten beaches for 2023, too. So, its place among TIME 's picks is hardly surprising. But the publication also chose one Australian state capital: Brisbane.

Move over Sydney and Melbourne — the rivalry that the New South Wales and Victorian capitals have is pointless, with the Sunshine State just sweeping in and nabbing the glory. In three words, TIME shouted out Brissie's "sports and sun", but it had more to say. And, while the hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games obviously got a mention, that's also just the beginning.

"The capital of Queensland is already gearing up with ambitious infrastructural advancements, which visitors can enjoy before the crowds pour in," TIME  notes. It then shouts out United Airlines' new direct flights between San Francisco and Brisbane; the soon-to-open Queen's Wharf with its bars, restaurants, four luxury hotels and sky-high observation deck; and co-hosting the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

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