Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth on the rise, as Melbourne and Sydney's liveability dips

Adelaide has risen to third most liveable city in the world on the latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s survey. Perth sits sits in sixth place, while Brisbane rounded out the top 10. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s survey rated Auckland as the most liveable city in the world - given its near elimination of the coronavirus - with the Japanese city of Osaka taking the runner-up’s spot. “The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on global liveability,” the EIU said. “Cities across the world are now much less liveable than they were before the pandemic began, and we’ve seen that regions such as Europe have been hit particularly hard.” Australia again fared very well but Melbourne which held the title for seven years dipped. Melbourne, which had been in second place when the list was last compiled in 2019, dropped to eighth place. Sydney fell from third place to 11th. Adelaide was in 10th place in the 2019 list. The 2021 Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index ranks 140 global cities based on the five categories of stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment, and infrastructure. Adelaide got a perfect score for healthcare and education, as well as 96.4 for infrastructure, a 95 for stability and an 83.8 for culture and environment. “Auckland, in New Zealand, is at the top of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability rankings, owing to the city’s ability to contain the coronavirus pandemic faster and thus lift restrictions earlier, unlike others around the world,” the Global Liveability Index 2021 report said. “Six of the top 10 cities in the March 2021 survey are in New Zealand or Australia, where tight border controls have allowed residents to live relatively normal lives.” The list is often used as a selling point by property developers. City officials and urban policymakers use the rankings to benchmark target cities against the top-ranked cities, helping them to frame policies and target investors. The South Australian premier Steve Marshall was quick to boast about SA's ranking after the list's release, while Victoria's acting premier James Melino said Victoria would soon "climb the ladder" again.