An unwinnable competition

The state government’s integrity has again been called to question over its handling of its Metro Tunnel “station naming competition."

It comes after a request for the results under Freedom of Information (FoI) by Southbank Local News, which reveals that only one of the five metro tunnel names were actually chosen by the community.

This is despite the state government putting naming rights to the public as part of its “station naming competition”, which it announced in August last year.

And as if to validate its dishonesty, the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority (MMRA) posted a video on its Twitter account on May 3 following our FoI request, congratulating its station naming competition “winners”. These five people, who voted for the government’s preferred names, went into the draw to win a Metro Tunnel site tour and emerged victorious.

The video gave the “winner” the chance to explain how they came up with the name, which presumably was designed to authenticate the government’s dubious approach. The video can be viewed at the following link: twitter.com/metrotunnelvic/status/992175160588353536

The chosen names, revealed in November – Anzac, Town Hall, State Library, and North Melbourne – replaced interim names Domain, CBD South, CBD North, and Arden respectively. The new Parkville Station name remained unchanged.

More than 50,000 Melburnians submitted their suggestions as part of the competition, which were assessed by an advisory panel established by the MMRA.

The results reveal that only one of the names (State Library) actually recorded the most public votes, while the others were the government's most preferred names.

One of those names was Southbank’s future local station at the Domain Interchange on St Kilda Rd, which the government has named Anzac Station.

The name Domain actually recorded the most votes, 2397 to be exact, while Anzac recorded a mere 362. Elsewhere, Arden recorded 2935 votes to North Melbourne’s 162, St Paul’s recorded 585 votes to Town Hall’s 345 and University 2649 to Parkville’s 2131.

And while the name Anzac is a reflection of the station’s proximity to the Shrine of Remembrance, the chosen title wasn’t even preferred by the veteran community.

In the MMRA’s briefing to the Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan, its issues statement on the station at Domain noted that it had consulted with The Shrine Trustees, who had suggested alternatives.

The statement read: “The Shrine Trustees favoured ‘Remembrance’ or ‘Domain’. Use of the word ‘Anzac’ is protected under Commonwealth legislation, however, ministerial permission is not required if the name is used ‘near a memorial to the First or Second World War.”

While The Shrine Trustees CEO Dean M Lee confirmed its naming preferences with Southbank Local News, he didn’t provide any further comment on the MMRA’s consultation process.

When asked what the point of having a competition was, Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said all the names selected were “common sense”.

“We received more than 50,000 suggestions for what these stations could be called – some were funny and quirky, and all reflect on what’s great about our state,” she said.

“The common-sense names we chose make clear the locations of the stations and will allow everyone using the Metro Tunnel to know where they are on the rail network.”

“The final names reflect the places and history of Melbourne – and will be part of the huge transformation the Metro Tunnel will provide to our city and state.”

Marilyn Wane from the Save St Kilda Road group said Ms Allan’s response made no sense.

“Where do people imagine they are at Anzac Station? Anzac is not a place in Melbourne – it is a powerful legend that began in a far off land,” she said. “The only place that should have the Anzac name attached is indeed Anzac Cove where the legend began.”

Federal Minister for Veterans Affairs Darren Chester wouldn’t comment on the consultation process, with a spokesperson from his office stating that it was a matter for the state government.

Veteran and director of the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (ANVAM) Mark Johnston told Southbank Local News that he personally preferred naming the future landmark after Anzac, likening it to Anzac Bridge in Sydney.

MMRA corporate communications and media manager Reid Sexton said: "From day one and throughout the process we clearly stated that an advisory panel would assess all suggestions before submitting a shortlist of names to the State Government for consideration."

"This was promoted as a competition because that's what it was - people had to have their suggestion chosen by government to be eligible to go into a random draw to win." 

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