Quiet achiever streaks ahead

BY ALEX MCDONALD
Another unknown candidate is likely to join Di Tornai on council. If Robert Kok does win a seat on council it will give the Clover Moore Independents an unassailable six-seat majority.
Robert Kok has chaired the City of Sydney’s Chinese New Year organising committee for the past two and half years. Though he doesn’t live in the inner city, he does run his own city legal practice.
‘What attracted me was the vision Clover has for the city,’ he says. I’m very interested in the [Sustainable Sydney] 2030 strategy. We’re also looking at upgrades for Chinatown.’
Robert Kok prefers talking about next year’s Chinese New Year celebrations than discussing council politics. He is proud of the fact that the City of Sydney’s Chinese New Year Festival is the biggest celebration of its kind outside of Asia.
‘Next year will be huge,” he says. “We are using Belmore Park again, with more food and cultural stalls.’
Focusing on China’s Hainan Province, the event will feature demonstrations by a group a Shaolin monks.
‘We had over 50 events this year. We’ve been planning since March, with input from people from Hainan. Our parade will be held at night for the first time.’
As for political experience, Mr Kok has chaired the Chinese Government Association.
He says local healthcare and services such as Meals on Wheels are his main areas of interest.