City of Sydney council elections: Labor council preference payback for Liberal Party over greyhound ban

EXCLUSIVE: STAKES rising in the City of Sydney elections, with Labor preferencing Clover Moore as payback to the Liberals over greyhound racing ban.

• GREYHOUND BAN: HOW NSW WENT OVERBOARD

THE stakes are rising in the City of Sydney council elections, with Labor preferencing arch-rival Clover Moore as payback to the NSW Liberal party over the recent controversial state government decisions to ban greyhound racing and sell off public housing.

It comes as Independent candidate Angela Vithoulkas told the Daily Telegraph she would tip $500,000 of her own money to fight against what she calls the “Liberal, Labor and Clover machines”.

Labor’s Lord Mayoral candidate Linda Scott said the party would preference Ms Moore, even though she was not preferencing the Labor Party in the election next Saturday.

“If Lord Mayor Clover Moore was genuinely progressive, she would have preferenced Labor. By not preferencing Labor, she risks a conservative Lord Mayor and Council for the future,” Ms Scott said.

Ms Scott said Labor was concerned the greyhound ban would see Wentworth Park sold off if Liberal candidate Christine Forster was elected. ”Labor is deeply concerned about the Liberal’s plans to sell off or develop all our public assets, from public housing in Millers Point and Waterloo to Wentworth Park’s open space. We can’t risk Liberal control of the City of Sydney Council otherwise our parks, town halls and public squares may face the same fate,” she said.

Labor's how to vote card for the City of Sydney Council election / Supplied

Ms Vithoulkas, a business owner said she has budgeted $500,000 of her own cash to bankroll her campaign.

“I have estimated I will spend $500,000 of my own money. It is a matter of when you do choose to make a commitment to run an independent campaign, you don’t have any of the big party infrastructure that Clover Moore and the mainstream parties have,” Ms Vithoulkas said.

“It is difficult when people make the assumption that Clover is going to win, or that it is a Clover versus Libs race. I need to put up a good fight, and I am prepared to back myself in … Sydney deserves decisions that have a good outcome for them, not Macquarie Street or Canberra.” Ms Forster launched her campaign last night with NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore / Getty Images

She said Ms Vithoulkas was spending “roughly five times” what she was spending on the election.

Ms Vithoulkas hit out as Ms Forster for using her brother, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott as her “selling point”.

“What I have witnessed is she says “Hi, I am Tony Abbott’s sister”, that is her opening pitch,” Ms Vithoulkas said.

“Is Tony Abbott running for council? And how do Libs feel about that?” Ms Forster said Ms Vithoulkas’ claim was “ludicrous” and the only time she mentioned Mr Abbott was if people asked her if he was her brother. “I say I am Christine Forster and I am the Liberal candidate. Often I get asked, and of course I say he is my brother if people ask,” Ms Forster said.