Clover Moore’s rivals question her age as Sydney Lord Mayor race heats up

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore can expect a Biden-esque assault on her age and two-decade-long control of Australia’s global city as her opponents criticised her ‘monarch-like’ rule.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore is running for a sixth term. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore can expect a Biden-esque assault on her age and two-decade-long control of Australia’s global city as her political opponents criticised her “monarch-like” rule amid calls for term limits.

As Ms Moore gears up for a likely and unprecedented sixth term victory in September’s local government elections, Sydney insiders and political figures are seriously questioning whether the lord mayor’s longevity and age are hindering the city’s progress.

The 78-year-old Ms Moore is three years older than the King, 17 years older than Anthony Albanese, 34 years older than NSW Premier Chris Minns, and eight years over the age limit for judges on the High Court.

Ms Moore is the same age as former US president Donald Trump, the Republicans’ nominee for the November election, and just three years younger than current US President Joe Biden, who dropped out of this years’ race for the White House due to concerns about his longevity.

Her opponents have been ­reluctant to make Ms Moore’s age a campaign issue until now, ­although it is inherently linked with her 44-year political career.

Ms Moore told The Australian she was defiant and unbothered by the criticism, saying she ­remained “energised”, and that her “experience and capability” should be seen as strengths among an inexperienced candidate field.

Continuity was “critical”, she added. “Every election the major parties unite to get rid of me,” she said. “Candidates say they’d do better, with no indication of how. That it’s time for new ideas while offering none.”

Mr Minns on Sunday would not mention the lord mayor’s age or her longevity, but ruled out his own two-decade rule.

When asked if he would consider being Premier for 20 years, he said: “No, no I wouldn’t.”

Mayoral candidate and independent Sydney councillor ­Yvonne Weldon said Ms Moore’s age was a conversation Australia’s biggest city needed to have.

Independent candidate Yvonne Weldon. Picture: Getty Images

“I think (you need) to look at her age and that of other politicians to determine whether it is healthy or not … she’s almost hitting 80,” said Ms Weldon, the city’s first Indigenous councillor.

“There are parts of democracy that do well with change and a refresh … (that is) healthy.

“It’s bad for democracy and (the) community if we don’t look at that.”

Ms Weldon said a 20-year reign was not “healthy” in any role, elected or not. She added: “It becomes a continuation of personal views, not those of the people you represent”.

One volunteer working on Labor’s campaign, speaking on the condition of anonymity, recalled one doorstop conversation where Mr Biden’s “passing of the torch” was brought up in relation to Ms Moore’s bid for another term.

“It puts her (tenure) in an interesting frame,” the volunteer said.

“Not to be ageist, it’s (just) about longevity in office, ­sharpness.”

Of all capital city mayors, Ms Moore is the oldest while her 20-year tenure is the longest in history – and longer than any mayorship in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Vancouver, Toronto, St Petersburg or Moscow.

“We shouldn’t have a situation where any mayor is serving for 20 years,” said independent mayoral candidate Sam Danieli.

“You lose that spark about getting things done.”

Liberal candidate Lyndon Gannon. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Mr Danieli would introduce a two-term limit on the position, a first for an Australian capital city in modern politics and a move supported by Ms Weldon. Liberal candidate Lyndon Gannon has called for a three-term limit.

He said he believed two terms represented “plenty of time”. The proposed restriction would be only on the mayoral position itself.

“If you can’t get things done in that time you’re probably not up for the job,” he said.

Council insiders from across Ms Moore’s career said her long reign was not conducive to progress. “It’s not a governance model that any organisation would think healthy to have,” a council insider said, on condition of anonymity.

“(Someone) holding absolute unchallenged power for more than 20 years, that’s not a healthy model … It strays into the realm of monarchs.”

Another said Ms Moore was “definitely not as on the ball”, adding that “she entered politics before most of the (residents of the council area) were born”.

In 2023, Labor councillor Linda Scott alleged that, upon first meeting the mayor in 2012, Ms Moore told her she would “die in office”. “They’ll have to take me out of Town Hall in a funerary box,” Ms Moore allegedly said.

Ms Scott declined to comment, beyond reaffirming that the ­interaction and the pledge happened, although it has always been denied by Ms Moore.

The abolishment of rules that gave the city’s businesses two compulsory votes, seen as an ­attempt by the former Liberal state government to oust the mayor, will only cement her re-election.

Labor candidate Zann Maxwell. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

The choice between Ms Moore and the major two parties’ mayoral candidates is stark, something they are trying to frame.

Sydney Liberal councillor Mr Gannon is 33. Labor’s Zann Maxwell, a former adviser to Anthony Albanese and originally from Melbourne, is 35.

Mr Gannon is running on ­issues affecting younger residents, such as revitalising night-life and housing, and pointed to Sydney having the youngest demographic in NSW. “Nothing lasts forever and voters need to be aware of that,” Mr Gannon said.

“(There’s) a choice between the next generation of leaders or a question mark about what’s next, given there is no (post-Moore) succession plan.

“The juxtaposition between us and (the lord mayor) has been getting support.”

Ms Moore said criticism was water off a duck’s back. “Some may criticise me for wanting to continue, but I am proud of what (we have) accomplished, and I’m excited about what we could do over the next four years,” she said.

Ms Moore said no candidate, particularly those from the major parties, had offered blueprints for their plans, pointing to her council’s transformation of George St to a pedestrian-friendly, traffic-free zone, budget surpluses, free rates for pensioners, and environmental action. “Our policies and projects would be at risk if Town Hall falls into the hands of the major parties, or people who don’t share our values, experience or commitment,” she said. “That’s how I started in politics … frustrated by major party councillors who weren’t responsive or working for the interests of the community, (but) for the party.

“The issues exacerbated by Covid, and global trends and cost-of-living pressures, make it more important than ever to maintain stable, progressive and independent leadership.”

RedBridge political strategist Kos Samaras said Ms Moore’s ­independency was “ahead of its time” as he highlighted voters ­increasingly moving toward ­independents.

He said the major party “brands” against Ms Moore would fail, saying only another high-­profile independent could dislodge her. No such candidate for next month’s election exists.

While calling Ms Moore’s tenure “extraordinary”, he said it was not healthy for democracy in general or service delivery.

“We know that a turnover of incumbents does, over time, improve (delivery of) services … new ideas enter the fray,” he said. “Someone in power for that long is never a good thing … (they) do run out of ideas and become habitual in their governance, even if they tell you they don’t.”