Moore slams dual roles ban
Independent Sydney MP Clover Moore has hit back at the NSW Government’s ban on MPs simultaneously serving as councillors, saying that if it was serious about preventing conflicts of interests it would have also banned sitting MPs from being involved in business.
The Local Government Amendment (Members of Parliament) Bill 2012, dubbed the “Get Clover Bill” by the Opposition, passed through the NSW Upper House with the support of the Christian Democrats on April 3 despite being opposed by Labor, the Greens and Parliament’s independents.
“The Premier says that dual roles create a conflict of duties, yet both my roles are about public service to the Sydney community,” Moore told Parliament on April 3.
“What can be a conflict is when a private interest interferes with public duty. So what is the premier doing about the 60 members of Parliament who have private interests, including investment property ownership, shares in property development companies, private business ownership, and financial membership of clubs?
“Several members of Parliament are company directors and lawyers, and there is a medical practitioner. The premier needs to explain what he is doing about this significant issue if he is generally concerned about conflicts of interest.”
Labor Keira MP Ryan Park echoed Moore’s comments.
“If any member is doing something else, they are not, in terms of the Government’s argument, full-time in this role … Why not ban secondary employment for all of us?”
Park said the bill’s real intention was obvious.
“This bill is about attacking a woman whom the Government cannot get at any other way except by legislating to try to get rid of her.”
However, a spokesman for NSW Local Government Minister Don Page said the bill was about optimal governance.
“This legislation is not about the capacity of a person to hold down two or more jobs — there are many people who, through choice or necessity, hold down two or more jobs,” the spokesman said.
“Having a second job is not the same as holding two elected positions in two different tiers of government. This legislation is about optimal governance — the separation of two distinct levels of government to ensure clearly defined segregation between the three tiers of government in our political system.”
Moore has indicated that, if forced to choose, she would continue as Sydney Lord Mayor and quit Parliament.
I second Darren, the Libs are institutionally hostile to the electorate, their local candidate’s ability to influence is nil. He’ll tow party line, and that means policies antithetical to those the elector’s want.
Yes,that’s part of the Liberal’s motivation in getting rid of Clover. Her seat in parliament is notionally Liberal in the absence of Clover or another strong independent candidate. This legislation,they believe, will knock out Clover and allow them to take an extra seat.
Clover has done more over the course of her career for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian communities than any other individual state parliamentarian. Given the lower profile of a Liberal Party member of state parliament and the restrictions of needing to tow the party line the removal of Clover will, if replaced by Liberal party faithful Andrew Bartels,lead to a dramatic reduction in the quality of the gay and lesbian community’s representation in parliament regardless of his sexual orientation. The reality is that despite Andrew Bartel’s personal views much of the NSW Liberals are under the influence of conservative christians.
The Liberals have a number of things to gain from this grubby behaviour: legislating to effectively get rid of a democratically elected member of parliament one year into her four year term.
* revenge for her part in getting Liberal Premier Nick Greiner to resign after the ICAC found him to be corrupt
* silencing a successful and unavoidable progressive voice in NSW State parliament,a progressive voice in many areas but especially regarding the environment and what happens in the City of Sydney
* putting in her place a Liberal member of Parliament.
Grubby and undemocratic sums it up.
We should be happy! Haven’t we got Andrew Bartels, openly-gay Liberal candidate and President of a Kings Cross licenced venues’ association, waiting in the wings should Clover Moore go?