Mallard in Olympic lockdown

BY ALEX MCDONALD

Less than four weeks out from the council elections and Shayne Mallard is too preoccupied watching the Olympic Games to discuss the finer details of his policies.

The Liberal councillor was nonchalant when asked to elaborate on one of his election “pillars”, a pledge to restore Sydney’s pride and confidence.

Cr Mallard told The City News: “I’m a little bit distracted by the Olympic Games”, promising more in-depth announcements in the coming weeks.

The Liberal councillor has been critical of the current council’s attention to infrastructure, referring to projects such as the Prince Alfred Park and Harris Street upgrades as failures.

Cr Mallard has consistently slammed Clover Moore’s economic performance, despite a recent independent study finding the City of Sydney to be among the more financially responsible councils in the state.

“I wouldn’t dispute [Clover Moore’s record] compared to other councils,” Cr Mallard said. “But it’s not proper to adopt a four-year budget… In four years time our reserves will be down by three quarters.”

If elected Lord Mayor next month, Cr Mallard has promised to “take a razor to the Town Hall upgrade… and I’d put a freeze on new staff recruitment. I would halve the department of spin, which costs $ 7.5 million”.

Despite a pledge to bring the “the politics of complaint and negativism” to an end, Cr Mallard branded Clover Moore, Meredith Bergmann and Chris Harris “the three stooges of the hard left” at a fundraiser in Chinatown last week. He said a Liberal-dominated council would adopt a more mainstream approach.

“We’re just laying out the groundwork,” he said. “It’s still four weeks out from the election.”