Shake-up for Clover’s spin doctors

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s media team is set for a shake-up, with the Office of the Lord Mayor (OLM) advertising for a new Senior Communications Officer.

In a job description posted on employment website Seek, the role was advertised as a fixed term contract to January 2017.

“This is a rare opportunity to be part of Australia’s most progressive government,” said the advert.

“We are looking for a Senior Communications Officer to support the Lord Mayor, with a focus on digital communication.

“We’re looking for someone with attention to detail, who can work fast, meet deadlines and who shares our values.”

The advertisement said the successful applicant should be “social media and tech-literate” and have “experience working with the media”.

It follows a period of adverse publicity for the Lord Mayor, with stories about cycleway disagreements, controversial DA assessments, a disenfranchised business vote, exorbitant staffing levels, and Lord Mayoral threats to stifle press freedom appearing in various mainstream publications.

This week, The Daily Telegraph ran a story concerning Ms Moore’s threats to sue the Alternative Media Group of Australia, which publishes this newspaper.

The Lord Mayor threatened to sue over a City News report concerning Surry Hills resident Luke Harper, whose DA for home renovations and improvements was rejected in 2011. Mr Harper had discovered that a Lord Mayoral briefing note about the DA identified him as “a key objector to the Bourke St cycleway”.

The Telegraph reported: “Ms Moore’s lawyers, in a letter to Alternative Media Group about the article … said the comments made by the resident were ‘defamatory of our client as they suggest that our client is: a) unprofessional, b) corrupt and c) worthy of investigation by ICAC.’

“The letter, by Makinson & d’Apice lawyers, said the Alternative Media Group was liable for the resident’s defamatory comment, as well as comments on the story online.”

A spokeswoman for Ms Moore said the changes to the media team had nothing to do with recent media coverage.

“The current incumbent is moving on for career development. The City advertises roles that become vacant,” she said.

“As the Lord Mayor tweeted on 3 Oct, ‘it’s been terrific having [the Senior Communications Officer] in the OLM’, but he’s leaving and so we are looking for someone to replace him.”

The spokesperson would not disclose the remuneration attached to the role.

In August, it was revealed that Ms Moore is served by 21 full-time equivalent positions (19 full-time and five part-time staff) with total annual employment costs of $3.1 million – approximately $148,000 per position.