By Rob O’Brien
Melbourne mayor Robert Doyle has been labelled a "failed opposition leader" who got "second prize" when he got the mayorship of the Victorian city.
South Australian Premier Mike Rann yesterday launched a tirade against the mayor in an escalation of a dispute between the two leaders.
In response to the Melbourne Lord Mayor’s call in The Sunday Age to "shut down Adelaide" because it had little to redeem itself compared to Melbourne, Mr Rann said: "No one is going to take much notice of him (Cr Doyle) here because no one takes much notice of him in Melbourne either.
"I just think that it’s basically a new Lord Mayor that’s trying to make a name for himself.
"He’s been basically sledging Brisbane and every other city around Australia. Why doesn’t he concentrate on doing his job, rather than just engaging in what basically appears to be Sydney envy?"
Mayor for only 100 days, Doyle has ruffled other capital feathers in his short stint in office. He described Greater Brisbane as "almost a contradiction in terms" and Sydney as a city with a wallet instead of a heart.
The South Australian Premier took the opportunity to take a general swipe at Victorians.
"They are so defensive," he said. "They want to stop the water flowing across the border. They want to treat the River Murray as if it’s a river in four parts.
"They hate the (cycling) Tour Down Under’s success. They don’t like the Clipsal 500, they don’t like that our film festival and other festivals are the best in the nation: the Fringe is the biggest in the country."
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