Craig and Ross in...............ISO

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She is the grand dame of Australia.

She is the cultural heart of the country, with the NGV, the International Comedy Festival, Jazz, film and queer festivals, and so many local multicultural festivals too.

She gave us the likes of Howard Florey, Macfarlane Burnett, Helen Garner, Dame Nellie , Dame Edna, Tina Arena, Nick Cave, Kate Cebrano, Graham Kennedy, Kate Blanchett, Steve Irwin, Micheal Leunig, Crowded House (the group per se) and, of course, Kylie.

She is renowned for her coffee culture, modern-day liberalism and intellectualism

She is also the sporting capital of the nation – think the tennis, cricket, footy, that horse race and that car race.

She is curiously European, with her fickle weather, trams, wide tree-lined boulevards, and Victorian era architecture.

She has excellent pubs and restaurants and a legendary music scene – well, normally.

She is groovy Fitzroy, she is trendy Prahran, breezy St Kilda, and she is urbane South Yarra.

She is hip, sometimes gritty, but gentle and friendly.

She is proudly multi-cultural, and she voted 84% YES to marriage equality.

She is – in my view - the biomedical research epicentre of the nation.

She is the gateway to magnificent Wilson’s Promontory in one direction and the Great Ocean Road in the other.

She has provided me with wonderful fulfilling employment for over 25 years.

She gave to me my life partner of some 22 years and counting.

She is far more similar to my home town of Sydney than she is different.

She welcomed me with open arms when I moved here in 1995.

She has given me a lot of joy – dinners, house parties, festivals, dance parties, pub nights, lazy beach days, great national parks and camping trips.

She is Australian and I love her dearly.

She is Melbourne.

And, yep, she will win.

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