Entertainment reporter Peter Ford announces he’s leaving ‘crime-plagued’ Melbourne, saying he’s sick of ‘walking over’ homeless people
Radio personality Peter Ford has shared he will be moving away from Melbourne after suffering multiple break-in attempts.
Ford, a host on Melbourne’s 3AW for 40 years, decided to leave the Victorian capital six months ago.
On Tuesday, he revealed he will take his first day off since starting at 3AW to officially relocate to the Gold Coast.
‘Crime is a big problem in Melbourne and I just hate some things going on. I’ve never ever missed a show, but I’m excited for a bright new sunny chapter,’ Ford said, the Herald Sun reported.
While the radio star admitted security in the CBD had improved over the last few months, Chapel St had turned into ‘wrack and ruin’ with a large homeless population.
‘I don’t leave with bad vibes, I just think there are issues going on in Melbourne that need to be fixed,’ Ford said.
‘I don’t want to walk over people to get to Coles. You would never see an empty shop on Chapel St and now there’s empty and dirty shop windows everywhere.
‘Every real estate agent I went to up north said, ‘Oh, you’re another one from Melbourne’, so certainly there are things that have prompted that.’
Peter Ford (above) said he is leaving Melbourne due to rising crime and homelessness rates
Ford said Chapel St, in the CBD, had turned into ‘wrack and ruin’
While Ford is best known for his radio work, he has been appearing on screens around Australia since 1988 – prominently on Nine and Channel 7.
His appearances on Channel 7’s The Morning Show will continue.
The network has set up a new studio for him, where he will appear for the first time on Friday.
He first mentioned his plans to leave Melbourne on Nine podcast Neil Mitchell Asks Why in October 2025.
‘I just don’t want to live here anymore. Why? I’m just disgusted by what’s happening here,’ Ford said at the time.
‘I’ve had issues, security issues at my own home. I won’t go into details but five break-ins this year. They got into the house once, but there were five attempts.
‘I have been concerned about security prior to that anyway.
‘Every day you pick up the paper, there’s stories about machetes, and I just can’t live here anymore.’
Ford’s 3AW colleague Jacqui Felgate on Tuesday called Melbourne a ‘ghetto’ following a series of crimes in the CBD.
‘It is not even close to good enough,’ Felgate said.
