Almost 20 years since Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station was completed, the Spencer Street precinct is on the precipice of failure

Tony Badawi used to meet a handful of Melburnians experiencing homelessness, mental illness or drug dependence each morning outside his little cafe on Spencer Street and give them a coffee and sandwich.

He felt for people sleeping rough, especially when it was cold. A few often huddled in a parking area near the Spencer Outlet Centre, rubbing their hands together in the morning frost.