Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore in tight fight in NSW elections following voting reforms that affect only her council

FOR the first time in years, one of Australia’s most controversial political leaders is seriously under threat. Can she survive?

After more than as Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore still divides opinion. Holding onto power at the next election could be a challenge.

IN TERMS of holding onto high office she could give every Australian Prime Minister in the last decade a few lessons.

This year, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore ticked past 12 years presiding over the heart of the country’s largest city — that’s longer than John Howard spent in the Lodge.

But despite a loyal following other politicians would die for, the independent’s time could finally be up. The NSW local elections are on September 10 and a controversial new voting system, imposed by the state government solely on Ms Moore’s council, could potentially deliver the win to a rival.

She divides opinion and some would be happy to see her go with Ms Moore’s critics calling her “autocratic” and the relationship between the City of Sydney and NSW Government “toxic”. The Lord Mayor may have cultivated a cult-like following, they say, but she is well “past her sell-by date”.

“It’s just sour grapes,” Ms Moore snaps back and claims if she loses, the city will be at the mercy of decisions made “behind closed doors” of the major parties.

While the Lord Mayors of Australia’s capitals often attain celebrity status — think Brisbane’s Campbell Newman who later became Premier and Melbourne’s Robert Doyle — you have to go back to the ‘60s to find anyone who beats Ms Moore’s tenure.

Yet the plan was that an independent would never lead the City of Sydney, an LGA covering 160,000 people in the city’s CBD and inner suburbs.

A series of boundary and law changes, imposed by NSW governments of all shades, have seemingly been custom designed to install their person in the city’s council chamber to push out Ms Moore, but failed.

She’s still there and it’s this ability for the politician to defeat the best efforts of Labor and the Coalition that have given her, in some quarters, an almost heroic status.

“There’s always has been a cult around Clover,” Dr Stewart Jackson, a progressive politics expert at the University of Sydney tells news.com.au. It helps that she cuts a distinctive figure, he adds: “The hair, that black dog-collar.”

Ms Moore initially shrugs the epithet off. “I don’t know what they mean by the cult of Clover,” she says, before recalling that in 1995 an entire float at Sydney’s Mardi Gras was indeed made up entirely of lookalikes of her featuring identical wigs, statement jewellery and power suits.

The troupe was a thankyou for her support of people with HIV and, to this day, she pops up at the parade waving to the crowds from an open top car.

Christine Forster, the Liberal candidate for Lord Mayor, gives her kudos for staying power. But, said this is partly due to the city’s publicity machine being increasingly concentrated around Ms Moore’s image.

When she was the MP for Sydney, Clover Moore and a troupe of lookalikes marched in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

‘PAST HER SELL-BY DATE’

“She is a relentless self-publicist and it’s all about Clover. Clover planting a tree, Clover digging a hole, opening a childcare centre which she built with her own hands. Her signature is on every project and that inevitably creates a cult,” Ms Forster said.

“She’s an autocrat, her rule is absolute and she’s past her sell-by-date.”

Ms Forster has criticised the deteriorating state of Oxford St, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, and a clean, green — but expensive — energy project as black marks on Ms Moore’s record.

If she was Lord Mayor, Ms Forster would give councillors a higher profile by dividing up areas of responsibility, such as arts and economic development, between them, “which would be a complete turnaround from the way council currently operates”.

Angela Vithoulkas hopes to nab the top job on her independent Sydney Matters ticket which includes a disgruntled former Liberal councillor who defected to her team.

She too thinks Ms Moore’s time is up. “Every great political career ends in failure, it’s really just a matter of time and this is a great time,” she told news.com.au.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore has rubbed shoulders with some famous faces including singer Lady Gaga and Prince Harry.

‘SOUR GRAPES’

Ms Vithoulkas is pinning her hopes on Sydney voters wanting to keep an independent in office but also someone to bridge the gap between residents and the big end of town. Owning a business and living in the LGA, she thinks she fits that bill.

“Town Hall needs a change. A lot of good work has been done but we’re coasting right now.”

Ms Moore shrugged off claims she was all powerful and creating the city in her own image.

“It’s sour grapes because they couldn’t get elected to mayor. Whether it’s (former London mayor) Boris Johnson or (former New York mayor) Michael Bloomberg, you’re the spokesperson,” she told news.com.au.

“I haven’t personally dug every hole but I certainly get held responsible for it.”

Ms Moore said if either of the major parties prevailed it would risk the future of the city and the council would become beholden to “deals behind closed doors” from “lobbyist’s mates”.

She lists climate change initiatives, new swimming pools and parks, attracting start-ups to the city and the council’s strong financial position as successes.

City of Sydney mayoral candidates (from left) Angela Vithoulkas of the independent Sydney Matters group, the Liberal’s Christine Forster, independent Clover Moore and Labor’s Linda Scott. Picture: Jonathan Ng

RELATIONSHIP WITH PREMIER ‘TOXIC’

But her penchant for spending money on cycle lanes, public art works including a giant milk crate and accusations she focuses more on city fringe neighbourhoods than the CBD — claims she denies — has brought Ms Moore into conflict with the Government.

“The relationship between town hall and Macquarie Street is toxic and that’s something a fresh new independent wouldn’t have issues with,” Ms Vithoulkas said.

“There have been six Premiers and six Prime Ministers since I’ve been here and every one of them I’ve been happy to work with in the best interests of the city,” countered Ms Moore. “But not in the interests of Labor or the Liberals.”

She opposes Government-championed projects such as the WestConnex motorway and James Packer’s new Sydney casino and, with NSW Premier Mike Baird’s backing, was forced to choose between being Lord Mayor and an MP when controversial legislation — dubbed the “Get Clover law” — was introduced. Things got so frosty it reportedly took Mr Baird 18 months to deign to meet with Ms Moore.

Relations between Clover Moore (second from left) and NSW Premier Mike Baird (right) are said to be ‘toxic’.

‘ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY’

Are her dealings with the Premier “toxic”? “We’re very pleasant to each other,” Ms Moore said, “but I’m concerned by things he’s done and it’s my role to express that.”

The Greens’ Lindsay Johnston and Labor’s Linda Scott are also standing. The latter fancies her chances given the federal seat of Sydney, held by Tanya Plibersek, saw Labor’s vote go up at the last election.

She said Labor had a “positive and progressive plan for the future of the city,” with greater investment in affordable housing and childcare.

But Ms Scott had a dig saying the current Lord Mayor’s lack of perspective could be seen in her reaction to new voting rules, pushed through by the Government, which means city businesses are now compelled to vote and they get two votes compared to one for residents.

“She argued that the voting reforms were an attack on her personally. They’re not, they’re an attack on democracy, they’re an attack on anyone other than the Liberal party.”

With Ms Moore’s powerbase in the residential vote, the changes could not only see her lose the mayoralty, her team of councillors could shrink forcing the Lord Mayor to negotiate with other parties.

Clover Moore has copped criticism for some proposed public art projects in the city, such as The Pavilion, a giant milk crate sculpture planned for a park near Central Station.

‘OH, IT’S CLOVER’

A number of Ms Moore’s rivals support the voting changes, with Sydney Matters’ Ms Vithoulkas pointing out each individual will still only have one vote.

The Liberal’s Ms Forster said firms were allowed to vote throughout NSW and she had no qualms about it being made compulsory given the CBD is Australia’s business hub. However, she said, “I didn’t support the two to one vote, people find it counter intuitive but those are the rules.”

Ms Moore said her Liberal rival couldn’t “pick and choose” which policies she liked. “Her party (supported the voting changes) and Christine has to stand by them. She’s their representative in the city.”

However, Dr Jackson said Ms Moore’s biggest challenge could simply be boredom from the electorate.

“For some time, there’s been a weariness factor of ‘oh, it’s Clover’, and there will come a point when people go, can we have something new?”

Yet despite her longevity and the new voting rules, Mr Jackson said he believed Ms Moore would cling on to the top job with smaller businesses, those that may have benefited from the city’s bustling neighbourhoods, the most likely to vote.

Besides, he wondered, what would Ms Moore do if she wasn’t Lord Mayor?

“That’s quite a bit of an aphrodisiac with that power. This is what she does, so why would she quit?”

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