Fabian
August 3rd, 2004, 10:04 PM
Is there something to tell us Clover that we should know?
From The Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au)
Moore is less, say councillors of Lord Mayor's stand
By Darren Goodsir and Tim Dick
August 4, 2004
Sydney's Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, has been accused of blocking the release of sensitive documents about a big city development despite winning office on a platform of more open government - and sponsoring a bill in State Parliament to force all contracts to be made public.
Citing the legal advice of council officers, Councillor Moore said she would not release papers on the $25 million Ultimo Aquatic Centre until guidelines had been drawn up for all council projects.
Cr Moore also refused on Monday night to hold a debate on the latest moves to build the controversial pool, slated for the corner of Harris and William Henry streets.
The motion to hold private talks on the pool was passed easily, despite the opposition of Labor councillors, including Michael Lee and Verity Firth, an Ultimo resident.
Cr Moore was at pains to say she could not immediately openly discuss the issue as commercial negotiations still taking place could be imperilled.
But yesterday, one of those who backed the need to hold in-camera talks, the Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard, said it was clear the Lord Mayor's rhetoric as a NSW parliamentarian for greater transparency in public office had changed in the past few months. Cr Mallard said it was clear the rigours of public office - and the need to balance legal constraints while giving surety and protection to developers - had made her more conservative in actual decision-making.
Advertisement Advertisement
"The message to her seems to be: 'Welcome to the reality of political leadership and commercial operations' and things are not always as easy as they seem," Cr Mallard said.
Cr Lee was said it was outrageous that the Lord Mayor - who, as the member for Bligh, has sponsored a law to make all government tenders and contracts open for inspection - should apparently be blocking public scrutiny.
"I think she has already started to walk away from her undertaking to conduct council meetings in an open manner," he said.
Last night, Cr Moore said she was protecting the city's "commercial and legal interests" in not divulging contents of the Ultimo pool talks. "And all councillors have an obligation to do likewise," she said. "Relevant information will be disclosed upon the successful conclusion of the commercial process."
Introduced in 2002 by the upper house cross-bencher Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, and championed for the past two years in the Legislative Assembly by the-now Lord Mayor, the Government (Open Market Competition) Bill seeks to make available for public inspection all tenders and contracts for two weeks after commercial negotiations have ceased.
There are a number of exceptions to this rule, such as prejudicing continuing negotiations - but greater transparency in decision-making would result from its adoption.
The Ultimo pool project has been plagued by troubles since it was first proposed, with its budget and scope altered several times in the past few years.
Monday's council meeting was among the most heated since Cr Moore took office this year.
There were a number of last-minute mayoral minutes, including the creation of a joint committee to oversee the development of the Carlton and United Breweries site on Broadway and another on banning the use of James Hardie products, which received unanimous support.
From The Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au)
Moore is less, say councillors of Lord Mayor's stand
By Darren Goodsir and Tim Dick
August 4, 2004
Sydney's Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, has been accused of blocking the release of sensitive documents about a big city development despite winning office on a platform of more open government - and sponsoring a bill in State Parliament to force all contracts to be made public.
Citing the legal advice of council officers, Councillor Moore said she would not release papers on the $25 million Ultimo Aquatic Centre until guidelines had been drawn up for all council projects.
Cr Moore also refused on Monday night to hold a debate on the latest moves to build the controversial pool, slated for the corner of Harris and William Henry streets.
The motion to hold private talks on the pool was passed easily, despite the opposition of Labor councillors, including Michael Lee and Verity Firth, an Ultimo resident.
Cr Moore was at pains to say she could not immediately openly discuss the issue as commercial negotiations still taking place could be imperilled.
But yesterday, one of those who backed the need to hold in-camera talks, the Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard, said it was clear the Lord Mayor's rhetoric as a NSW parliamentarian for greater transparency in public office had changed in the past few months. Cr Mallard said it was clear the rigours of public office - and the need to balance legal constraints while giving surety and protection to developers - had made her more conservative in actual decision-making.
Advertisement Advertisement
"The message to her seems to be: 'Welcome to the reality of political leadership and commercial operations' and things are not always as easy as they seem," Cr Mallard said.
Cr Lee was said it was outrageous that the Lord Mayor - who, as the member for Bligh, has sponsored a law to make all government tenders and contracts open for inspection - should apparently be blocking public scrutiny.
"I think she has already started to walk away from her undertaking to conduct council meetings in an open manner," he said.
Last night, Cr Moore said she was protecting the city's "commercial and legal interests" in not divulging contents of the Ultimo pool talks. "And all councillors have an obligation to do likewise," she said. "Relevant information will be disclosed upon the successful conclusion of the commercial process."
Introduced in 2002 by the upper house cross-bencher Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, and championed for the past two years in the Legislative Assembly by the-now Lord Mayor, the Government (Open Market Competition) Bill seeks to make available for public inspection all tenders and contracts for two weeks after commercial negotiations have ceased.
There are a number of exceptions to this rule, such as prejudicing continuing negotiations - but greater transparency in decision-making would result from its adoption.
The Ultimo pool project has been plagued by troubles since it was first proposed, with its budget and scope altered several times in the past few years.
Monday's council meeting was among the most heated since Cr Moore took office this year.
There were a number of last-minute mayoral minutes, including the creation of a joint committee to oversee the development of the Carlton and United Breweries site on Broadway and another on banning the use of James Hardie products, which received unanimous support.