Clover Moore’s dual roles under fire

Clover Moore’s dual roles as Lord Mayor and Member for Sydney were criticised this week from two separate directions.

The group Friends of Bourke Street, who claim the proposed cycleway designed for their street is unsafe welcomed a supporting letter from Planning Minister Kristina Keneally (story page 3) and responded with claims there was a conflict between Clover Moore’s dual roles.

“In ordinary circumstances, we would have complained about this to our State MLA,” said a spokesperson for the group.

“Those of us north of Cleveland Street have found ourselves in the bizarre position of having the Lord Mayor of Sydney as our State MLA. It appears that complaints directed to the Lord Mayor in her role as our State MLA have mysteriously disappeared in much the same way as our hundreds of submissions to Council on the Cycleway itself were buried.”

Land tax on retailers
Oxford Street Lawyer Brian Hillman also criticised Ms Moore’s dual roles in a critique of the Land Tax being unexpectedly levied on Council’s retail tenants in Oxford Street. There is a history of conflict between Council and several of the small retailers.

The tax typically amounts to six months’ rent and Mr Hillman says retailers were given a maximum of 6 months to pay at an interest rate of 15.75%.

The tax is normally levied on landowners but Government instrumentalities such as the City of Sydney are exempt – in which case the tax passes on to tenants, who claim Council had failed to disclose this extra outgoing during lease negotiations.

Council has washed its hands of the affair, saying it is between the tenants and the state government. The Government refused requests by the tenants for relief from the tax. It advised that other organisations such as the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority had covered the tax for their retail tenants.

Mr Hillman said a number of tenants approached their local member of State Parliament, Clover Moore, to intervene.

“Strangely, the Independent Member for Sydney did not respond to these requests for intervention on behalf of her constituents, but the Lord Mayor – Clover Moore – did, advising lessees there was nothing their local member of Parliament could do in this matter, and that the City of Sydney would not assume any responsibility for payment of land tax,” said Mr Hillman.

“When does fusion become confusion?” he asked.

Ms Moore’s dual roles were defended by a Council spokesperson:

“As Lord Mayor and State MP, Clover gets direct action for her constituents and for the City. In 2004, 2007 and 2008, Clover was elected with voters aware of her dual role. She was re-elected in 2008 with an increased majority, with voters aware of her position on the Bourke Street cycleway.”

by Michael Gormly