Victorian Prime Minister Jacinta Allan has come under fire after attempting to make a humorous comment about Sydney and Adelaide.
Allan took to Facebook and Instagram to boast that Melbourne was ranked above the capitals of New South Wales and South Australia in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) global liveability rankings.
Melbourne came in fourth place, behind Vienna in Austria, Copenhagen in Denmark and Zurich in Switzerland, while Sydney came in seventh and Adelaide in 11th.
The EIU ranks 173 cities in several categories including stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education and infrastructure.
‘If you’re reading this from Sydney, enjoy the fake trams. If you’re in Adelaide, flights east are cheap right now,’ Ms Allan’s post read.
“And if you’re in Melbourne, enjoy a great Friday night in Australia’s capital of sport, live music and major events.”
Several Melbourne residents criticised the prime minister’s jokes, saying problems in their city such as infrastructure and crime were still not under control.
Those problems caused the city to fall from third place in last year’s rankings after holding the top spot for three consecutive years between 2015 and 2017.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan (pictured) has come under fire for a botched comment about other major Australian cities after Melbourne was ranked the fourth most liveable city in the world.
One social media user called Allan’s post “shameful” and added that “all three cities are good in their own way.”
“At least Sydney has a train to the airport and Adelaide is not ruled by constant protesters and juvenile delinquents like Melbourne,” they wrote.
Melburnians found problems with the city’s ranking given the current high cost of living coupled with deteriorating public services.
“The problem is that education and health are terrible and housing is in a tragic situation,” one wrote.
‘This morning, the homeless people in the city were very wet. What are they supposed to do?’
“You might want to try working with the federal government on housing and food affordability before you gloat too much,” wrote a second.
“I can’t believe how much money I’m spending now as a tenant.”
The EIU cut Melbourne’s perfect score of 100 for infrastructure to 96.4 this year due to an “acute housing crisis” caused by a shortfall in housing availability.
Melbourne ranked above Sydney and Adelaide, despite the Victorian capital dropping one place in last year’s rankings due to a housing supply shortage that sparked a rental crisis (file image of Melburnians out and about )
Opposition manufacturing minister Bridget Vallance also took aim at the prime minister for her government driving companies out of the state.
“Sure we love football, but come Monday morning we will all know about the disgraceful tax increases under the Labor government under your “leadership”, which drove manufacturing companies out of the state to Queensland and South Australia, causing losses of jobs,” he wrote.
“Their financial incompetence and outrageously high taxes make life harder for everyone else in Victoria.”
Some users even admitted that the problems had forced them to flee the state in search of better life opportunities.
“I couldn’t find a house in my hometown… I’m across the border sunbathing,” wrote one.
“Melbourne is so big we’re gone. Labor has destroyed this once great city and they haven’t finished it yet,” said a second.
Another wrote that “no one in their right mind would move to this shithole state after what their government has done to it.”