Geelong ‘fifth last’ in ratings of cities

Geelong has finished fifth last in a ranking of preferred places to live after hosting a liveable cities conference last year.
Geelong was ranked 25th out of Australia’s top 30 cities. Launceston topped the list, according to the Suncorp Bank Family Friendly Index.
The region performed well in only one category – perception of health – and was middle of the table in crime and community volunteering.
Geelong rated lowly for education, income, child care, unemployment and “connectivity” to the internet.
Suncorp Bank index compared factors such as unemployment, crime rates, health services, schools, child care, volunteering, house prices and disposable income in Australia’s 30 most populous cities to produce the index.
Geelong respondents perceived themselves to be in excellent or very good health, giving their city its highest ranking of three in the index.
But Geelong had the 27th most crowded schools, with a median of 1007 children at each school, and the 27th lowest median disposable weekly income at $610.
The region also fared poorly in child care, with the 26th most crowded centres at 155 children per facility.
Geelong had the 12th highest crime rate at 7021 incidents per 100,000 people, the 19th highest number of GP visits per person at 5.1, the 20th worst unemployment at six per cent and the 21st worst internet access, with only 65 per cent having broadband at home.
Geelong Chamber of Commerce executive officer Bernadette Uzelac said the result left open questions of the index’s data and methodology.
“I would have thought that Geelong ranked higher as a family-friendly city, with our excellent education facilities, affordable housing and access to the natural environment on our doorstep.
“The benefits of city of our size mean we have access to entertainment, sporting, cultural and leisure activities in abundance.
“I’m sure the other cities in the survey would say similar things but we have to remember that the region is growing, with so many people relocating to Geelong and that speaks for itself.
“Our growing population also means there is some pressure on services, so in some ways that indicates we are catching up and there is a lot of planning going on to enable us to cope.”