Clover romps home
The state election was unofficially over even before candidates for the new seat of Sydney could take to the rostrum at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association dinner-debate last week.
Clear favourite Clover Moore (pictured) was among the few untarnished by voter dissatisfaction with both sides of politics.
By the time the official poll came around, the independent MP romped home to secure her title as NSW’s longest-ever serving female parliamentarian with a comfortable 35-point lead over her Labor rival after preferences.
Retiring MPs Sandra Nori and Pam Allan shared Moore’s first day in the lower house following her 1988 win in the seat of Bligh.
Her sixth electoral win over the weekend extends her current 19-year service in the lower house, still shy of Frank Spicer’s 47-year appointment from 1925 in the then-unelected upper house. Moore said the need for greater political participation by women also meant doing it differently.
There is a tendency for women who achieve membership in men’s domains to not challenge the rules, she said. The adversarial political system, which stomps on participation, contribution and creativity, is a putdown for many women who are serious about getting things done rather than playing the game.
Moore called for new ethical standards of leadership and change to the culture of Parliament.
