Clover Moore calls for MPs to sacrifice salary

SYDNEY Lord Mayor Clover Moore has called on "independently wealthy" politicians to donate their parliamentary salaries to charity.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore

SYDNEY Lord Mayor Clover Moore has called on "independently wealthy" politicians to donate their parliamentary salaries to charity.

Ms Moore, who has given away more than $1 million of her mayoral salary over the past eight years, has not ruled out continuing to donate if she is re-elected in a fortnight.

"I raised a million dollars for charity and I think it has been a great model for what people should do," she said. "All of our MPs who have high personal incomes should be doing this."

Ms Moore, 65, is expected to be returned to the job of Sydney Lord Mayor when voters head to the polls to vote in the Local Government Elections on Saturday, September 8.

She has recruited planner John Mant, a former private secretary to Gough Whitlam, and Potts Point cheesemonger Claudia McIntosh on her ticket.

Seven candidates are challenging her for the job of mayor, including Liberal Edward Mandla, who has Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's sister Christine Forster second on the ticket.

Other contenders include Zahra Stardust from the Sex Party, Angela Vithoulkas from Living Sydney, Irene Doutney from the Greens, Linda Scott from Labor, Independent Dixie Coulton and former teacher Denis Doherty.

Ms Moore is set to collect a parliamentary pension worth about $3 million should she be forced to quit her role as the state member for Sydney if she is re-elected as lord mayor.

Under laws introduced by the O'Farrell government, Ms Moore will be required to give up her job as MP should she be returned to Town Hall.

However, she will not leave Macquarie Street empty-handed. She qualifies for a generous lifetime parliamentary pension valued at more than $3 million should she live to 90.

Ms Moore would not rule out continuing to contribute part of her pension to charity if she remained on as mayor.

Ms Moore will disclose the identities of her donors next week and has urged her rivals to do the same. She said she believed voters had the right to know the financial backers of each candidate before polling day and not have to wait until September next year when they must be disclosed to the State Electoral Commission.

"I will put all my donations on a website next week," she said.