Australia is becoming a less desirable place to call home, as major capital cities slip down a global livability index. Traffic woes and a lack of international flights have contributed to a view that Australian cities are becoming less liveable, according to a new survey of visiting workers, though Sidney and Melbourne have remained in the top 20 for quality of life. Safety across the nation, however, still remains among the best in the world. Despite heightened rhetoric around street safety and gang violence in recent years, and Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton declaring last year Melburnians were too afraid to go out at night, visitors ranked the Victorian capital as the 24th most safe place in the world. Canberra, Perth, and Sidney were also tied for 24th. Australian cities still so have a long way to go to beat Vienna, Austria, which has again topped the list of best places to live, for the lOth consecutive year. Zurich in Switzerland was the second-most attractive place for ex-pats, while Baghdad in Iraq was not surprisingly considered the worst. The research did note, therefore. that conditions in Baghdad, the largest Arab city in the world, had improved with results pointing to "significant" improvements in safety and health services.

    Meanwhile, friendly neighborhood rivalry between New Zealand and Australia could be laid to rest, with Auckland ranked number three in the world for best place to live, while it and the country's capital Wellington have been named the safest cities in the Oceania region. Munich in Germany and Vancouver in Canada were equal third with Auckland, Sidney, and Melbourne both fall one place in Quality of Living ranking to and 17^th respectively, while rankings for Perth (21), Adelaide (29), and Canberra (30) remained unchanged. Brisbane was the only Australian city to improve in the rankings, up to two places to 35^th.

    The survey results aimed to help organizations to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. Mercer's Global Mobility Leader for Pacific Karla Costa said while Australia's high quality of life was a clear competitive advantage in attracting international talent, the results had been lower than -expected. "While safety, climate, medical, and health services and quality housing are among Australia's many strengths, low scores in the areas of traffic congestion and availability of international flights are letting us down," said Ms. Costa. In a time when workforce demands are rapidly changing with highly mobile talent and increased flexibility to meet the career and lifestyle aspirations of today's workers, companies must now-more than ever- factor into their value proposition the quality of life they can provide to their expatriate employees.

    This year's survey results included a separate ranking on personal safety, which analyzed cities' internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement, limitations on personal freedom, relationships with other countries, and freedom of the press. Major Australian cities ranked well in personal safety with Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney sharing 24th place, and Adelaide and Brisbane in joint 48th place. Western Europe dominated the rankings, with Luxembourg named as the safety in the cornerstone of stability in any city, without which business and talent cannot thrive.

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