Okay, let's get into it. When you think of Victoria,
Australia, your mind probably jumps straight
to, you know, the MCG, the Formula One race,
or maybe those old stories about the gold rush.
For sure. The big flashy stuff. Exactly. But
our mission today is to go way deeper than that.
We're doing a deep dive into what Victoria is
really about. A state that's, well, it's historically
rich. geographically complicated and it's defined
by this fascinating paradox and that paradox
is everything it's the key it is intense population
concentration on one hand and this massive and
i think you'd have to say sometimes painful economic
shift on the other yeah absolutely i mean you're
looking at australia's second smallest state
by land area it's a pretty compact 227 000 square
kilometers roughly tiny in australian terms right
but and this is the kicker It manages to be the
second most populous state. We're talking an
estimate of over 7 million people as of September
2024. And the simple math there means Victoria
is critically the most densely populated state
in Australia. It's about 30 .6 people per square
kilometer. And that density isn't just a number
on a page, is it? Not at all. It dictates the
whole speed of life, the complexity of the infrastructure,
and definitely the character of its politics.
Exactly. That kind of concentration is just...
It's unusual in a country that's defined by these
vast, empty spaces. It really explains why Victoria
feels so much more urbanized than a lot of its
neighbors. And just for the record, geographically,
it's sitting right there at 36 degrees south,
144 degrees east. And the crucial part, the capital,
Melbourne, is where nearly 70 % of those 7 million
people actually live. It's all concentrated.
We should probably also touch on its nicknames.
Most of us probably remember the old car license
plates that called it the Garden State. Yeah,
which points to its parks and, you know, those
lush regional areas. But its newer, more official
moniker is the Education State. And that is such
a powerful signal of its modern economic priorities.
It's all about its massive university sector,
which we'll definitely get into later. It's one
of the state's biggest export engines. Right.
But despite all that. high -stakes, fast -paced,
modern economy, its formal motto is still very
old school. Oh, yeah. It's firmly rooted in history,
peace and prosperity. Okay, so that really sets
the stage. To understand this modern urban powerhouse,
we absolutely have to start with the deep history.
I don't think you can grasp Victoria today without
appreciating the scale of its ancient past and,
of course, the disruptive force of the gold rush.
Let's jump in. And what's fascinating here is
just how deep. that history runs. We aren't talking
centuries. We are talking about a documented
human history in Victoria that goes back something
like 40 ,000 years. 40 ,000. That is an immense
scale. And this involves multiple aboriginal
nations, you know, the Wurundjeri, the Gunai,
the Gundersmara, who weren't just passing through.
They developed these incredibly complex societies.
Yes. And that complexity includes a detail that
I think often surprises people. You know, people
who assume pre -colonial indigenous life was
purely subsistence based. Right. Early indigenous.
Victorians were noted for farming eels. Farming
eels. That's incredible. It is. They were practicing
sophisticated aquaculture, managing complex waterway
systems and traps. It suggests a highly organized,
semi -nomadic existence based on hunting, gathering,
and this really specialized form of fishing.
That speaks to a sustained, intentional management
of resources, not just, you know, chance. So
what's the aha? The specific archaeological detail
that locks this deep time frame in for us. That
would have to be the Keeler Archaeological Site,
which was discovered near Melbourne. Back in
1971, excavators found a human hearth. Okay.
And it was scientifically dated using radiocarbon
to about 31 ,000 years before present. So this
makes Keeler one of the absolute earliest confirmed
sites of human habitation. anywhere on the Australian
continent. It just firmly establishes that antiquity.
And what's even more remarkable is how that deep
past is preserved in the oral traditions. It's
not just in the ground. It's an incredible synergy
between cultural memory and, you know, hard geology.
The creation stories of the local Aboriginal
nations, specifically from the Wadawurrung, Wairwurrung,
and Bunwurrung languages, they have these detailed
narratives that describe massive geographical
changes. They talk about the land being flooded.
Exactly. They speak of a time when the land they
knew was flooded by the rising sea. Which is
the end of the last ice age, right? When sea
levels rose all over the world. Precisely. Their
oral traditions describe the flooding of Port
Phillip Bay, which modern geologists confirm
happened somewhere between 8 ,000 and 6 ,000
years ago. Wow. And these stories confirm that
what is now Hobson's Bay near Melbourne was once
dry land. It was a celebrated kangaroo hunting
ground. It's just a remarkable cultural record.
So then when we transition to the British story,
the motivation for their arrival was, well...
It was less about settling the land and more
about just pure territorial anxiety. Totally
preemptive. The British were genuinely worried
that the French, who were actively mapping the
southern coast, might just swoop in and claim
the area first. So the first settlement in 1803
at Sullivan Bay was a get -in -first move. Pretty
much. And it was a temporary settlement, only
about 402 people. And here's that sobering detail
again. The majority of those first arrivals were
convicts. So it was a military outpost driven
by geopolitics, not opportunity. And the area
stayed as the Port Phillip District of New South
Wales until 1851. That's when it was separated
from NSW and formally named Victoria. In honor
of Queen Victoria, yeah. She was 14 years into
her long reign at that point. And almost immediately
after that separation, we get one of the most
fraught moments in the colony's history, the
Batman Treaty of 1835. This is a really complex
one. So John Batman, who's often called one of
Melbourne's founders, he tried to negotiate a
land use agreement directly with the Wurundjeri
elders. Right. Offering them goods and rations,
blankets, axes, knives in exchange for access
to their land. And this raises a huge question
about colonial history. I mean, what was his
intent? Some sources frame it as this significant,
if maybe deeply flawed. attempt to gain land
by agreement rather than just taking it. Which
would have been a real outlier for the time.
A huge outlier. But others, I think rightly,
argue that the power imbalance and the value
proposition, you know, offering trinkets for
vast, invaluable territory, it just makes the
whole thing a pretext for appropriation. And
regardless of what Batman himself was thinking,
the colonial administration's response was swift
and definitive. Oh, yeah. The crown later just
declared the treaty void. The legal justification
was simple. Batman was a private citizen. He
didn't have permission from the government to
make any kind of agreement or to recognize aboriginal
land title. So the land was just claimed unilaterally.
It reinforced that principle of terra nullius
land belonging to no one. Despite the clear presence
of these ancient complex societies. OK, but if
separation from NSW gave Victoria its name, one
singular event completely transformed it into
the powerhouse we know today. Gold. The discovery
of gold. The gold rush era starting almost immediately
after separation in 1851. It was an absolute
explosion. Gold was found near Elrod and Bendigo
and the effect was just immediate and dizzying.
We've talked about population density already,
but look at the speed of the growth. It's insane.
The population increased sevenfold in just 10
years. It rocketed from 76 ,000 in 1851 to 540
,000 by 1861. And that kind of migration isn't
just local, it's global. So who is flooding into
Victoria? People from everywhere, you know, driven
by this promise of getting rich quick. There
was huge migration from Ireland after the famine
and crucially from China. Right. By 1857, census
records show over 26 ,000 Chinese miners were
working in Victoria alone. So this created this
vibrant, complex, and yeah, sometimes tense social
environment that really laid the foundation for
modern multiculturalism. And the output numbers,
they justify the frenzy. To call it the richest
shallow alluvial goldfield in the world? That's
a staggering claim. The statistics are mind -boggling.
Between 1851 and 1860, Victoria produced 20 million
ounces of gold. 20 million. That volume was one
-third of the entire world's gold output during
that decade. This sudden immense wealth, it financed
the infrastructure, it built the grand architecture
of Melbourne, and it cemented the state's position
as the financial center of Australia for decades.
But, you know, that kind of rapid unregulated
wealth and mass migration, it inevitably leads
to friction. Which brings us to the famous Eureka
stockade in December 1854. This wasn't just gold
fever. This was a political awakening. It was
a conflict born of, well, systemic corruption
and unfair taxes. The government imposed these
heavy mining license days, which were collected
aggressively by police. So you had these widespread
grievances about licensing the corruption and
a total lack of political representation for
the miners. And the Eureka Stockade was the armed
rebellion that was sparked by all that. It was.
And it was swiftly and violently crushed by British
troops. There were casualties on both sides.
So if it was defeated, how could it be so transformative?
Because it fundamentally shifted the political
landscape. The crushing of the rebellion created
huge public sympathy for the miners' cause. It
forced the colonial authorities to bring in significant
reforms almost immediately. Like what? They abolished
the unpopular gold license fees and replaced
them with a much fairer, cheaper miners' rights.
And crucially, they also extended the electoral
franchise, giving the Diggers a voice in the
parliament. And what's really fascinating is
that the rebels weren't, you know, exiled or
executed. No. Some of the actual leaders of that
rebellion, men like Peter Laylor. They were acquitted
and then later they were successfully elected
as members of the Victorian parliament. That's
amazing. It is. It's this rare instance where
a defeated armed uprising directly leads to democratic
reform. It sort of enshrined this legacy of political
activism right into the state's identity. And
the ultimate legacy of that gold rush wealth
was that when the Australian colonies federated
in 1901, Melbourne was the logical choice to
be the nation's first capital. Ready made. It
held that honor for 26 years until the compromised
city of Canberra was finally ready in 1927. Okay,
let's transition to the physical framework of
the state. Its geography, climate, and some of
these complex legal definitions of its borders.
We have to start with this piece of legal trivia,
the Northern Border Paradox. This is one of those
dry legal things and actually gives you great
insight into history. The border between Victoria
and New South Wales is the Murray River, but
the rule is very specific. It follows the southern
bank of the river. I love that detail because
it has real world implications, right? Absolutely.
In 1980, the High Court of Australia ruled on
a case about a death that happened on a river
island. And the judge, Nidian Stephen. He explicitly
clarified that the border follows the southern
bank precisely. So what's the consequence of
that? The consequence is that no part of the
water course of the Murray River is actually
in Victoria. If you step off the bank and put
your toe in the water. You're in New South Wales.
You're technically in New South Wales. It matters
for everything. Water rights, law enforcement,
even fishing regulations. Wow. OK. And speaking
of borders, Victoria also shares Australia's
shortest land border. Yep, with Tasmania. And
it's not even on the mainland. It's out in the
Bay Strait. And it passes through this tiny,
rocky outcrop called Boundary Islet for just
85 meters. 85 meters? That's almost absurd. It's
a tiny sliver of sheer jurisdiction. Moving inland,
Victoria's topography is incredibly diverse for
its size. You've got the Great Dividing Range,
that huge mountain spine, and it sort of terminates
its southern end just west of Ballarat. And that
range is responsible for shaping Victoria's climate.
It gives you the Victorian Alps in the northeast,
which includes the state's highest point. Mount
Bogong at nearly 2 ,000 meters. And those areas
are snow covered in winter. They support the
ski industry. But then the state also has the
complete opposite. You've got extensive, flat,
semi -arid plains in the west and northwest,
the Maui region. So you get temperate coasts,
high alpine snow, and near desert plains all
packed into one state. And that diversity translates
directly into some pretty wild weather patterns.
Oh yeah, it's a state of climatic contrasts.
The coastal areas, especially around Melbourne,
they have the mildest climate. It's moderated
by the Southern Ocean. But as you push inland,
especially into the Mali, that's where you find
Victoria's warmest spots. Regularly over 32 degrees
Celsius in summer. And how extreme do those temperatures
get? The record high was a blistering 48 .8 degrees
recorded in Hopeton back in 2009. And on the
flip side, the record low was a freezing minus
11 .7 degrees recorded in Omeo and Falls Creek.
And I'm guessing rainfall varies just as dramatically.
Absolutely. It generally increases as you move
from south to northeast. The heaviest rainfall
is in the Otway Ranges, over 1 ,800 millimeters
a year. Contrast that with the Mali, which gets
less than 280. It makes farming out there incredibly
challenging. So if we look at human geography,
the defining characteristic has to be the overwhelming
dominance of Melbourne. Melbourne is the state
in so many ways. As we said, it's got about 70
percent of the population around 5 .2 million
people. And it just dominates the economy, the
media, the culture. It makes Victoria by far
Australia's most urbanized state. Nearly 90 percent
of all residents live in cities and towns. And
governments are always talking about decentralization.
But that gravitational pull of Melbourne just
seems. Irreversible. So what are the consequences
of that? Having 70 percent of your state in one
metro area? Well, on one hand, you have these
massive efficiency gains, you know, a centralized
workforce, infrastructure, a consumer base. You
see that in the high GSP. But on the other hand,
it creates tremendous pressure on infrastructure,
housing, transport. In a political divide. A
huge political schism where the inner city priorities
can just vastly outweigh. Those are the regional
areas. But despite that dominance, it's important
to say that Victoria is home to four of Australia's
20 largest cities. So those regional centers
are still substantial. They're critical counterweights.
You've got Geelong, a big port city, about 180
,000 people. And then the gold rush cities. Ballarat,
around 116 ,000. And Bendigo, about 103 ,000.
They have their own identities. And speaking
of Bendigo, its central position gives it that
symbolic role, right? It's the symbolic heart.
The geographic center of Victoria is just south
of Bendigo in a place called Mandurong. And Bendigo
itself is known as the heart of gold because
of that history. It's the perfect nexus point.
That brings us neatly into how those 7 million
people define themselves, our deep dive into
demographics and governance. Victoria's population
boom is driven by both international and interstate
migration. With 35 .1 % of its inhabitants being
immigrants, that's a huge number. And it means
Victoria has this really rich, diverse ancestry
profile. So what does the 2016 census tell us?
The top nominated ancestries were English and
Australian, followed by the historical waves,
Irish and Scottish. But importantly, you see
the modern era reflected with strong Chinese
ancestry at 6 .7%, and Italian at 6 .4%. And
when we drill down into birthplaces outside Australia,
we see that global appeal. The top birthplaces
are England, India, and mainland China, all clustered
around that 2 .7 % to 2 .9 % mark. followed by
New Zealand and Vietnam. And if you look at language,
while most people speak English at home, the
top non -English languages are Mandarin, Italian,
Greek, and Vietnamese. So let's construct the
average Victorian based on that census data.
What does the statistical composite look like?
It paints a very specific picture. The median
age is 37. The mode sex is female, speaks English
at home, is married, has two children. Okay.
And crucially, this average Victorian has at
least one parent who was born overseas. They
live in a three -bedroom house, which they own
with a mortgage, and they own two cars. It really
captures that stable, modern, multicultural,
suburban society. Moving on to governance. Victoria
operates under the Westminster system. Its parliament
is bicameral. Right. You have the Legislative
Assembly, the lower house, with 88 members, and
then the Legislative Council, the upper house.
with 40 members. And that distinction in how
the upper house is elected, proportional representation,
that's key, isn't it? It's absolutely key. The
effect is that it gives minor parties a much
stronger chance of getting seats. It means the
two major parties can't easily control the upper
house, so you often get a hung council. It makes
for a broader range of political voices. Like
the Greens. Exactly. The Greens have a strong
representation there, which reflects the state's
diverse demographics. And executive authority
rests with the governor. who represents the king,
but governance is carried out by the premier,
currently Jacinta Allen of the Labor Party. Now
let's talk about the state's political identity,
because it's probably its most defining modern
feature. Analysts pretty much all agree Victoria
is the nation's most progressive state. And that's
not just a feeling, it's backed by hard numbers
from national votes. The evidence is undeniable.
Victoria recorded the highest yes votes of any
state in the Republic referendum, the same -sex
marriage survey, and the recent Indigenous voice
referendum. So where are the political fault
lines? Does that density imbalance create a schism?
It absolutely defines the political map. The
Labour Party is strongest in the working and
middle -class Melbourne suburbs and in those
big regional cities, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong.
Their support base is in the affluent, generally
more conservative eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
And the Greens, reflecting that progressive,
educated inner -city identity, are strongest
in inner Melbourne. The map is literally drawn
between the dense urban core and everywhere else.
Let's shift now to the economy. This is vital
for understanding that shifting economy's theme,
because Victoria's GSP tells a story of profound,
deliberate change. It's a powerhouse economy,
no doubt. Second largest in Australia accounts
for a quarter of the nation's GDP. about a $459
billion as of 2020. But the modern story is all
about the rise of the service sector and the
managed decline of industry. So let's break that
down. Where are Victorians actually working?
Healthcare and social services is the single
biggest employer by a long way, 12 .8 % of the
workforce, followed by retail. But if you look
at economic value, that's where Melbourne's financial
strength becomes clear. Finance and insurance.
Exactly. They lead the charge, representing 12
.8 percent of GSP value, with professional and
technical services right behind. It's a highly
skilled, tertiary driven economy now. And that
financial dominance goes right back to the gold
rush, doesn't it? It does. The historical wealth
meant the infrastructure and the skilled professional
class were already in place. It was the natural
place for those high value services to concentrate
and eventually replace manufacturing. But despite
that shift, agriculture is still huge. Second
largest agricultural producer in Australia. It's
fundamental to the state's regional identity.
It employs about 67 ,000 people. And the output
isn't just large, it's highly specialized. Give
us the specifics. Victoria is totally dominant
in pears and apples. It produces nearly 90 %
of all Australian pears and a third of the nation's
apples. And their leaders in vegetables like
asparagus, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes. And it's
the national center for dairy farming. Unequivocally.
That's its agricultural core. The state is home
to 60 % of Australia's dairy cattle and produces
nearly two -thirds of the nation's milk. That's
almost 6 .4 billion liters a year. It's also
a massive wool and meat producer. There's a fascinating
policy side note here about GM canola. Yes, this
speaks to that tension between science and market
perception. Victoria. like the rest of Australia,
put a moratorium on GM canola back in 2003 because
they were worried about market rejection in Europe.
But that ban was eventually lifted. It was in
2008. And the government estimated that adopting
GM canola provided a proven financial benefit
of about AUS $45 per hectare per season. It was
a key decision in modernizing the farming industry.
We should also acknowledge the sector's vulnerability,
which we saw sharply during the pandemic. The
supply chain disruptions had immediate and severe
consequences. The sources specifically noted
the impact on live seafood sales to China, which
peak around Chinese New Year. When those exports
stopped, the financial damage was immediate.
OK, now for the biggest economic story, the profound
decline of manufacturing. Melbourne may have
been Australia's most important industrial city,
but that era is definitively over. The numbers
are stark. It's not just a relative decline,
it's absolute. Manufacturing share of GSP fell
from over 20 % in 1990 down to just 8 .6 % by
2016. And actual output shrank. Exactly. Manufacturing
output peaked in 2008 and then slowly fell. And
that corresponds directly to a massive job exodus.
We're talking nearly 100 ,000 jobs lost in that
short period, mostly in regional industrial centers.
Which towns bore the brunt of that? The impact
was devastating in places like Geelong, which
had relied so heavily on manufacturing, and the
Latrobe Valley. When you lose that many jobs,
it fundamentally alters the social fabric of
entire towns. And the ultimate symbolic shock
was the end of the entire Australian car industry,
which was largely based in Victoria. It was a
defining moment. When Ford, Toyota and Holden
all announced their closures in the 2010s, it
meant Australia would completely lose its car
manufacturing industry by the end of 2017. It
was a deliberate shift away from heavy industry.
So despite that, the state's energy and mineral
resources are still vital. They are. Mining employs
less than 1 % of the workforce but contributes
about $86 billion to GSP. And the focus is overwhelmingly
on one thing. Victoria's leading mineral by far.
The Latrobe Valley holds the world's largest
known reserves of it. They mine about 66 million
tons a year, mostly for electricity. It's historically
powered the state, but it poses a huge environmental
challenge for a progressive state. And offshore,
there's oil and gas, though that's also contracted.
Production peaked way back in 1985 at 450 ,000
barrels a day. By the mid -2000s, it had plummeted
to 83 ,000. It's still essential, but it's a
shrinking industry. And we have to mention the
fracking ban. This is a direct response to public
pressure. There was a ban on onshore gas exploration
put in place in 2014. And while that was partially
lifted in 2021, Victoria maintains a constitutional
ban on hydraulic fracturing or frapping. So they
literally wrote it into the Constitution. They
did. It's a clear example of the government balancing
energy needs against the strong environmental
concerns of the population. And a final note
on mining. Despite that incredible gold rush
history, modern gold production in Victoria is
almost negligible, just 1 % of the national total.
It's a powerful narrative shift, isn't it? The
state built on gold now relies on brains and
services. Let's transition to the institutions
that define the state's culture, starting with
education. Victoria's commitment to education
goes way back to 1872. That's when the state
school system was made free and compulsory, a
massive step for social equity. Public high schools
only began in 1905. And today students earn the
VCE. You also mentioned a vocational stream,
the VCE -VM. Yes, the vocational major. It's
crucial because it links directly to vocational
training in TAFE institutions. So students not
aiming for university have a strong accredited
pathway into the workforce. And the university
system is enormous. Nine universities, the oldest
being the University of Melbourne from 1855.
And the largest, Monash University, is staggering.
It enrolls over 83 ,000 students, the most of
any Australian university. But the real story
is the international student component. It's
critical to the economy. Wait, Monash has 83
,000 students, and international students make
up 40 % of all university enrollments across
the state. That's a massive economic ecosystem.
It's a huge export industry. Those international
students account for the highest percentage of
prepaid tuition fees in Australia. It also makes
the state highly sensitive to global travel restrictions.
But the vocational sector, TFE, has seen a less
positive trend. Indeed. Enrollment in TFE dropped
by a massive 40 % between 2014 and 2018. It's
partly due to a crackdown on low -quality private
providers, but also that societal shift towards
seeing university as the superior pathway. And
briefly on libraries, the State Library of Victoria
is globally significant. It's rated as the fourth
most visited public library in the entire world,
which just underscores Melbourne's reputation
as a knowledge hub. Let's discuss infrastructure.
The road network naturally radiates out from
Melbourne. It does. But the rail system is where
the historical complexity really emerges. Victoria's
Rail uses not one, but three different gauges.
Three. You have the broad gauge for most of the
local and regional services. Then there's the
standard gauge for all interstate and freight
lines because that matches the rest of the country.
And finally, two narrow gauge lines are preserved
just for tourist railways. But the truly unique
transport feature of Melbourne is the tram network.
Melbourne operates the world's largest tram network.
It's a critical piece of public transit, especially
in the inner city. And it's a major tourist draw.
In terms of utilities, Victoria is notable for
its high quality water and its proactive management.
The water is very high quality, needs minimal
chlorination. And to combat droughts, the state
developed the Victorian water grid system. What
does that grid do? It's a series of major new
pipelines, like the Wimmera -Malley pipeline,
that allow water to be moved to where it's most
needed across the state. It's a long -term approach
to climate change adaptation. Okay, we have to
dedicate time to the state's global calling card,
sport. Melbourne was named the world's sporting
capital in 2016. This is non -negotiable Victoria.
It's the spiritual home of Australian rules football.
It's practically a religion there. Ten of the
18 AFL clubs are based in the state. And the
AFL Grand Final is more than just a game. It's
a cultural touchstone. The Friday before the
Grand Final is a public holiday across the whole
state. The game is held at the MCG, the spiritual
home of the sport. And beyond AFL, Melbourne
hosts these huge global events. Every January,
you have the Australian Open, the first Grand
Slam of the year. Then there's the Formula One
Grand Prix. And locally, they host the world's
longest -running surfing competition, the Bells
Beach Surf Classic. Not to mention the horse
racing. The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival
is one of the biggest in the world. It centers
on the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops a nation.
It draws massive crowds, over 700 ,000 people.
It's a critical social and economic fixture.
Now we need to touch on a major recent event
that speaks to the costs of that title, the 2026
Commonwealth Games. This was a pivotal moment.
Victoria was supposed to host the 2026 Games,
mostly in regional cities, to boost their economies.
But then the state government just abruptly withdrew
the offer on July 18, 2023. Why? What does that
tell us? The official reason was a catastrophic
cost blowout. The initial estimate was around
$A2 .6 billion, and it had ballooned to an estimated
$A6 billion or more. Wow. The withdrawal highlights
a harsh economic reality. Even for a wealthy
state, the immense financial burden of a major
multi -sport event was deemed fiscally irresponsible.
It was a shift towards pragmatic governance over
cultural grandstanding. But despite that, the
commitment to professional sport is still incredibly
high. Absolutely. They've got the Melbourne Storm
in the NRL, three teams in the A -League soccer,
two teams in the NBL basketball. It's a truly
comprehensive multi -sport professional commitment.
We have completed our journey. Time for our summary
synthesis. If we pull it all together, Victoria's
identity is founded on the explosive wealth of
the gold rush. That historical foundation now
underpins a modern identity defined by its highly
urbanized nature. With that 70 percent concentration
in Melbourne, it's unequivocally progressive
politics and a complete economic transition.
That economic shift away from heavy industry
and towards high value services and education,
especially those international student fees,
is the critical modern story. They basically
sacrificed their car industry and replaced it
with finance, health care and education. And
that international focus is cemented by its diplomatic
relationships. Victoria has these deep, long
term sister state relationships in Asia. Which
one? Two with China, Jangsu from way back in
1979, and Sichuan, plus vital relationships with
Japan's Aegechi Prefecture and South Korea's
Busan. It shows their economic future is deeply
entwined with the dynamism of Asia. So to leave
you with a final thought, let's circle back to
Victoria's unique political influence. Considering
Melbourne was the seat of federal government
until 1927, and given the state's continued ability
to influence national social issues, as we saw
with those high yes votes in every major referendum,
what is the long -term impact of Victoria's highly
urbanized progressive political identity on Australia's
national trajectory? especially with the economic
challenges still facing its regional non -Melbourne
cities. Does the progressive core of Melbourne
inevitably pull the rest of the nation forward,
even if it leaves some of its own regional towns
behind in that transition away from manufacturing?
Something for you to mull over until our next
deep dive.