Monday, August 25, 2008

Report to Council and Ratepayers on San Francisco Sister City Visit June 25 – July 3 2008


  • Background:
    2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the sister City relationship between the City of San Francisco and the City of Sydney. The Mayor of City and County of San Francisco Mr Gavin Newsom invited the Lord Mayor to participate in the 38th Annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration on June 28 and 29, 2008. The invitation proposed a series of events linking Sydney and San Francisco, including celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Sister City relationship and a special exhibition on the historical ties between the Sydney and San Francisco GLBT communities. The invitation reciprocated the City’s reception of a delegation from San Francisco. The Lord Mayor was not able to personally participate on this occasion and Council resolved on 12th May 2008 to send Councillors Phillip Black and myself to represent the City of Sydney.

    By way of background, Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between international communities in an effort to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, to promote cultural understanding and to stimulate economic development. Sister Cities International leads the movement for local community development and volunteer action by motivating and empowering private citizens, municipal officials and business leaders to conduct long-term programs of mutual benefit.

    To encourage sharing of cultural, trade and tourist links, Sydney City Council maintains sister city relations with the following cities:

    San Francisco, California, USA established in 1968
    Nagoya, Japan established in 1980
    Wellington, New Zealand established in 1982
    Portsmouth, United Kingdom established in 1984
    Guangzhou, China established in 1985
    Florence, Italy established in 1986

    The Sister City Program began as an initiative of the Eisenhower Government in the United States in 1952 as a way to bring cities and their people together after the devastation of World War 2.


    City Hall San Francisco with AIDS memorial quilt panels on display

    Program of Meetings

    To gain the maximum benefit from the short visit a series of formal and informal meetings were arranged with the valued assistance of the Protocol Department in the City of Sydney and the Mayor’s Office in San Francisco. The period of the visit coincided with the celebrations of the 38th GLBT Pride parade (equivalent to Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade) and included several ceremonies and welcome events at which we participated and were acknowledged warmly. I was accompanied by my partner Mr Jesper Hansen who traveled at his own expense.

    Zipcar
    Mr Dan Shifrin – Vice President of Zipcar.
    This meeting was to examine the highly successful car share programs in San Francisco.


    Car Share and Green Hybrid Taxi’s in San Francisco

    Zipcar is the private sector provider of ‘car share’ services in San Francisco and has 700 cars and 20,000 members. Zipcar operates under a private profit model and is owned by Benchmark Capital who also own eBay and other innovative businesses. Zipcar moved into the generally not for profit car share business space offering a different service to the existing not for profit providers. Zipcar offers a seamless car share service to members across the United States which gives it an advantage for business travelers and a mobile work force. They target corporations and have an aggressive program to replace existing corporate fleets that sit largely dormant with their car share vehicles located in basements of corporate buildings for business usage.

    Zipcar marketing includes targeting the largest corporations and encouraging Zipcar services as part of employment packages and working closely with corporate travel and sustainability managers. Zipcar do not charge a general membership fee (up to $500 for NFP CarShare) and charge vehicle usage on a per kilometer basis. Sourcing accessible parking spaces for their fleet is the biggest issue with the City not providing on street parking spaces. Their policy is to have a Zipcar within 5 blocks of a customer. As such Zipcars can be seen across San Francisco in leased car spaces within service stations, private car parks and even McDonalds outlets.

    Summary: The private for profit sector Zipcar competitor to the NFP CarShare demonstrates an evolution and maturing of the car share concept. COS should be prepared for the challenges of equal access to parking and resources that entry of private sector competition will inevitably bring to Sydney. Competition in this market may bring down costs to consumers, improve marketing and demand, provide more access to services across the Australian east coast and reduce private vehicle dependency and related environmental, traffic and parking challenges for the City of Sydney. The City should encourage more competition in the car share markets.


    City of San Francisco Chinese New Year Organisers
    Mr Edwin Lee – City Administrator
    Mr Arnold Chin – Parade Director Chinese Chamber of Commerce

    CNY meeting at City Hall

    This meeting was to discuss SF Chinese New Year parade and possible future exchanges of key personnel and organisers and to explore similarities and differences in the sister City approaches to CNY.

    Similar to Sydney, San Francisco has a large Chinese and Asian heritage community. Their CNY celebrations and parade are a major tourist and economic benefit to the City. The budget for CNY is US$1.6 million most of which is self funded through events and sponsorship. The City provides only approximately US$50,000 directly but does not account for the ‘in kind’ services estimated to be several hundred thousand dollars in areas such as cleansing, barricades, road closures, venue hires, policing and security etc. Unlike COS this area is not market priced and packaged as part of any sponsorship deal. The CNY brings over one million visitors to SF and the evening parade is televised on special language channels resulting in huge exposure for the City.
    Potential exchanges of personnel were discussed but the difficulty will always be that CNY is at the same time globally and all Chinese community members are either involved in the celebrations or returning to their families.

    Summary: Similar to Sydney the San Francisco CNY celebrations are organized in partnership with Chinese community leaders and a Chinese community committee with leadership from the community. San Francisco’s CNY appears more established than Sydney’s and if possible COS should seek exchanges of senior event staff to strengthen our CNY celebrations and maximize tourism and economic opportunities for Sydney.


    PRIDE Flag Raising Ceremony


    Annual Flag Raising ceremony & 30th Anniversary of PRIDE Flag. This ceremony took place on the internal City Hall steps area and was followed by a reception and ceremonial flag raising on the Mayor’s Balcony. Mayor Gavin Newsom spoke of the strong and proud history of GLBT community in San Francisco of course referring to the slain GLBT campaigner Supervisor (Councillor) Harvey Milk whose bust overlooks the ceremony. The Councillors from COS were also formally acknowledged and welcomed. The PRIDE festivities were heightened by the community celebrations surrounding the recent State Supreme Court decision that validated same sex marriages conducted in San Francisco City Hall. During our visit we witnessed a huge outpouring of genuine emotions over this decision and strong affection for Mayor Newsom fro his courageous decision to legalise gay marriages at City Hall. The ceremonial unfurling and flying of the PRIDE flag off the Mayor’s balcony over the front steps of City Hall was a much anticipated and emotional event.

    Summary: The Mayor’s Balcony ceremony prompted consideration whether the COS Town Hall Balcony over the George Street portico could be better utilised for similar ceremonial events with a Lord Mayor’s special flag pole installed and ceremonies conducted with various community leaders to mark special community occasions such as PRIDE /Mardi Gras, NAIDOC week, Chinese New Year, ANZAC Day etc.
Shayne & Mayor Gavin Newsom

Positive Resource Centre (AIDS Research)
Brett Andrews – Executive Director Positive Resource Center
Mike Smith – Executive Director AIDS Emergency Fund
Steve Tierny – Ed D Professor, California Institute of Integral Studies, Health Commissioner
Alex Randolph – Liaison to District 8 LGBTQ Community, Mayor’s Office
Lance Toma - Executive Director Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Centre


Another Charity event

At this extensive meeting over several hours we were joined by famed celebrity community leader and fundraiser Donna Sachet (self described on her business card as ‘Singer, emcee, fund-raiser, hostess extraordinaire’).

This extensive meeting was a consultation with HIV and GLBT community health leaders to discuss how San Francisco was responding to the changing nature of HIV infections, delivering health care to an aging demographic and preventing new infections.

As an overview of the HIV situation in San Francisco and the rest of USA we were told that 92% of HIV infections in USA were gay men whilst only 74% of funding is directed towards them. It is thought that more than one million people are living with HIV in the USA and that more than half a million have died after developing AIDS.

Lance Toma informed us that African Americans and South Pacific men are experiencing a spike in infection rates but this may be a result of better screening and testing procedures in their communities. In San Francisco there are 20 different language groups requiring specialised and well developed communications tools and engagement. Multicultural minorities in San Francisco GLBT community experience racial discriminations similar to those reported in Sydney and result on lower self esteem and possible higher infection rates. Interest was expressed in gaining a better understanding of HIV awareness issues and programs that may operate for Australian ATSI community.

San Francisco has not followed the national trend with increasing HIV rates. This was attributed to a well developed community self care model as evident from this meeting (similar to Sydney’s) and the opening of ‘Magnet’ which is a drop in centre one stop shop for young GLBT people to seek advice, testing etc from community providers. This centre subsequently visited is located in the heart of the Castro district (ie Oxford Street) amongst the popular night clubs, restaurants and bars.

With the advent of antiviral drugs and the shift of HIV from a terminal illness to a chronic heath condition, have come the challenges of an aging HIV positive population. Professor Tierny provided great insight to the challenges of providing quality health care services to long term HIV sufferers. HIV heath services have adapted to providing integrated geriatric health care services for this growing community.

Mike Smith of AIDS Emergency Fund focused on the legal services they provide to clients. In particular in the areas of immigration, tenancy rights, public housing, minor legal issues and employment rights where HIV discrimination is a major problem. San Francisco is viewed as a ‘sanctuary city’ in the USA and therefore a lot of people find themselves their seeking refuge from legal and other persecutions and seek out their services.

Donna Sachet talked about the fundraising challenges after 30 years with the onset of ‘giving fatigue’ - something Sydney experiences as well when so many organisations seek community funds for their work. Whilst in SF several appeals were underway at the one time including a walkathon for HIV and the sidewalk sale during PRIDE.



Shayne visited the National AIDS Memorial Grove dedicated
by Congress as a National Memorial Site.


SFMTA Municipal Transport Agency
Oliver J Gajda – Bicycle Program Manager
Nick E Carr – Bicycle Saftey Education and Outreach MTA Planning
Bridget Bjorna Smith Senior Engineer MTA Planning


This meeting commenced by joining an induction lecture for MTA interns. This gave an overview of San Francisco’s bicycle planning. Sadly the sister City’s share similar inadequate facilities and low levels of cycling. In 2006 a resident took the SF bike plan to court seeking an injunction claiming it was not fully assessed in areas of environment and economic impacts in the long term. The court upheld the complaint and granted an injunction preventing the City implementing any of its bike plan until 2009 by which time comprehensive research and assessment were needed to be in place. A disappointed Mayor Newsom released a statement that summarises the bike plan and way forward:

MAYOR NEWSOM REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO CITY’S BIKE PLAN
San Francisco, CA – Mayor Newsom today reaffirmed his support for significant improvement to bicycling conditions in San Francisco, following a Superior Court ruling that sends the City’s 2005 Bicycle Plan back to the environmental review process and slows the implementation of the city’s goal to create a citywide bicycle network.

“I am disappointed by the court’s ruling on the city’s Bicycle Plan, but I am in no way discouraged from my commitment to making San Francisco a world class city for bicycling,” said Mayor Newsom. “Better, safer bicycling is good for San Franciscans and good for our environment – I remain committed to realizing our goal of a citywide bicycle network, that unites the current patchwork of bike lanes into a unified, comprehensive system. San Francisco has set an ambitious goal to make 10% of all commute trips in the City bicycle trips within the next 3 and a half years.”

In this context the meeting was held with department experts and enthusiasts who rather than seeing the injunction as a set back have embraced it as an opportunity to ‘get it all right’. When the injunction is lifted in 2009 they plan to roll out the new bike plan across the City. One benefit of the injunction has been the ‘mainstreaming’ of the bicycle planning within MTA. Prior to the court decision the bicycle planners were fully funded through state and federal grants. Being unable to meet the grant requirements under the injunction San Francisco took bicycles ‘in house’ to the mainstream budget. Today nine planners work along side pedestrian, parking and traffic planners in the department.

Key observations:
Target 10% commuter trips by bicycle by 2010
State requires each city to have a bike plan and the State funds bike plans
Issues of state and national laws preventing some international measures eg painted lanes in higher stress zones. There is a chance SF can trial these measures and if proven successful they may be approved for elsewhere in USA. This is how pedestrian crossing counters were introduced in SF and USA.
SF has developed the ‘sharrow’ which is two arrows in shared traffic lanes where cyclists can ride knowing they are outside the ‘car door zone’ of parked cars which is still the highest area of accidents and injuries.
It is noted that wearing helmet whilst riding is not compulsory for adults in SF though highly recommended by SF authorities.
Currently 2000 bike racks are grouped and installed across the city – where space is not available on street car parking space is utilised.
Bike plan has conducted road audits and identified roads built with over capacity and allow for bike lanes to be implemented
San Francisco is favouring painted bicycle lanes on wide streets.
Parks and key links through green space are shared corridors for cyclists
‘Coexist’ education program involves building behviour change and positive relationships between motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians

The two hour visit ended with a two hour bicycle ride throughout key San Francisco routes and paths guided by the department’s dedicated staff. This was undertaken during afternoon peek and was a similar experience to commuter riding in Sydney.

Summary: San Francisco transport planners have embraced cycling as a sustainable transport mode that offers real benefits to the City and its people. Similar to Sydney San Francisco is starting from a low base with little cultural history supporting cycling and faces the same challenges Sydney faces in implementing a comprehensive bike plan, coherent bicycle networks, safer infrastructure and greater understanding from all parties (including cyclists) using the cities roads. It would seem beneficial for COS to exchange senior bicycle planning staff some time after 2010 to share knowledge and experience in implementing their respective bike plans.


Dedication of Pink Triangle




Shayne addressed the ceremony along with Councillor Phillip Black

This annual ceremony takes place on Twin Peaks high above San Francisco with views to the across the City to the famous bay, bridges and out to the Pacific Ocean. On our visit it was a cold and misty morning but this did not take away from the community enthusiasm for this ceremony which is a sombre occasion reminding us of the history of oppression for GLBT community symbolised by the pink triangle that homosexuals were forced to wear in the NAZI concentration camps. Speeches were delivered by community and political leaders including the San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Assemblyman Mark Leno, Senator Carole Migden, Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, and Treasurer José Cisneros. German Consul General Rolf Schütte made a brief speech as did Councillor Black and myself. Councillor Black referred to the permanent pink triangle memorial we have established in Green Park whilst I spoke about our sister city relationship and my support for gay marriage reforms.

The central speaker was Arsham Parsi, who has been called the "first Iranian gay activist". “Even though the hatred that existed in Germany 70 years ago that
led to the creation of the pink triangle no longer exists there, such hatred certainly exists in other places - such as Iran. According to Iranian human rights campaigners, over 4000 lesbians and gay men have been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979. "Consensual gay sex in any form is punishable by death in the Islamic Republic of Iran" (source http://www.thepinktriangle.com/ for more information and images of the day).

The ceremony was a memorable part of the visit and a sombre reminder of the leadership of the community and the continued suffering of others in the world today. It provided an appropriate contrast to the other celebrations throughout the City.

Pride Parade



The City of Sydney VIP car for parade

The highlight and focus of the Sister City exchange was to represent the City of Sydney in the annual Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender PRIDE Parade. During the visit we were often asked ‘which is better? San Francisco Pride or Sydney’s Mardi Gras?’ and with appropriate political sensitivity the answer was that they are both different and unique and in so many ways not comparable. The San Francisco parade goes through the heart of the City district in a sense traversing what would be the equivalent George Street and ending outside their City Hall in a large public square. It is a day time parade watched by hundreds of thousands and with several hundred community, government and commercial floats.

The City of Sydney Councillors were provided with a convertible and appropriate signage and we were very warmly welcomed by the crowd. It was evident that many watching the parade had a great affection for Sydney and Australia and appreciated our participation. A strong focus of the parade was celebration of the new gay marriage rights and a growing campaign to stop Proposition 8, a citizen initiated ballot to eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry. The COS float proudly carried ‘No to the Gay Marriage Ban’ signs.



Campaigning to oppose Proposition 8 ballot to ban gay marriages

The parade ended in a huge daytime festival outside City Hall with speeches by Gavin Newsom and other community and civic leaders. Finding City Hall and the large forecourt open space and parkland a great focus for the community celebrations reminded me of the potential of the planned Town Hall Square where the Woolworth’s building stands today and the opportunity for a great city square for such community festivities uniting the Town Hall with so many of the events we support.

Conclusion:
The sister city relationship with San Francisco is appropriate at so many different levels. The two cities united for 40 years share so much in common including their great waterways and iconic bridges. But most importantly they share a strong bond of tolerance, acceptance and celebration of the diversity within their communities. At so many different levels the two cities can benefit from the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas going forward for both our great cities. I recommend examination of opportunities to sponsor exchanges of community leaders and staff in areas of Community HIV responses, Chinese New Year and the Bicycle strategy work.

I want to place on the record my appreciation of the Council in approving this visit with Councillor Phillip Black and the vital professional support of our COS staff lead by Rod Kirkman. I also acknowledge the tremendous organisational support from Mayor Newsom’s office and the San Francisco PRIDE committee.

Shayne Mallard
Councillor

Pictures available on Face Book

Full set of pictures covering the Sister City visit are posted on Shayne Mallard’s face book page for the public to view:

Public Link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42694&l=cb3ed&id=722086405

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Announcing Sydney Liberal Action Team - offering Voters Real Choice


Council election about choice and accountability

City of Sydney Councillor Shayne Mallard today launched the Liberal Party’s team for the September Council elections.

Shayne, as the Lord Mayoral candidate, heads the team of nine local residents and business owners. In introducing the team on the campaign’s new website (
www.SydneyLiberals.org.au), Shayne pointed to their experience, “We have a dynamic and energetic group of people standing for Council. We have a balance of age and experience representing the diversity of the residents of the City of Sydney.”

Shayne asked the community to consider carefully the unsustainable financial direction of the current Lord Mayor and her administration.

“Clover Moore’s big spending Council has endorsed the Sydney2030 strategy, estimated to cost $20 billion, without a single business case or financial report presented to the public.”


“Clover Moore’s Council is burning through $180,000 a day more than it gets in ratepayer revenue*.”

“Think of this as the Council indulging in a new, top of the range Mercedes every day for the next four years.”

To underline the point of how excessive the cash deficit is, Shayne launched his team on William Street, famous for its expensive sports cars as a dramatic visual reminder of the extravagance of this big spending Lord Mayor and her ‘Independent Party’.

“With growing economic uncertainty, Sydney can no longer afford this big spending Lord Mayor and her unquestioning Councillors.”


“The City Council should budget to live within its means, just like the rest of us.”

“My Liberal Action Team offers a real choice for voters. We will give the Council accountability and balance on what could be the most financially undisciplined Council in the history of Sydney."

"The real choice is between our middle ground, mainstream team or a cluster of hard line, big spending, left wing politicians,” he concluded.

The Liberal Action Team will be announcing policies in three key areas over the coming weeks focused on restoring pride and business confidence, building safer neighbourhoods and fixing parking and traffic problems.

* Source: City of Sydney Corporate Plan 2009-2012

CANDIDATES’ BACKGROUND
Details and pictures are available at the website:
www.SydneyLiberals.org.au

Shayne Mallard – has been a councillor for eight years, first serving on the former South Sydney Council and then the City of Sydney from 2004. Shayne’s career in local government has focused on responsible financial management of ratepayers’ money and supporting business growth and local employment. Shayne is actively involved in supporting community organisations, including the NSW Council for Civil Liberties and the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Business Association.
Shayne’s profession is as a corporate marketing and communications consultant operating a small business in East Sydney. Previous to this Shayne has worked in media, advertising and government roles. Shayne also took a break from the white collar world and opened a successful nursery and garden design business in East Sydney in partnership with his brother. He continues to have a passion for gardening and horticulture, which has been valuable in his leadership on the future of Hyde Park, other parklands and the expansion of the city’s street trees. Shayne was born and raised in outer western Sydney. He completed a degree in political science and Australian history at Macquarie University. Shayne moved to the inner eastern suburbs in the early 1990s and today he lives with his partner in Potts Point.

Edward Mandla – held leadership roles in Australian and multinational technology organisations. Edward runs his own executive search business. He spent four years as National President and Immediate Past President of the Australian Computer Society. In 2007, Edward was the Liberal candidate for the State Seat of Sydney. Edward has three children and two city dogs that come to work each day and enjoy being out on the campaign trail.


Rebecca Lau – has lived in the City of Sydney for more than 10 years. She graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Rebecca has a background in marketing and has worked for several years in the publishing industry both in Australia and in the UK. She is now the Director of a fashion company based in Sydney and is regularly interviewed in magazines and on TV. She is passionate about living in a city that is recognised as one of the best in the world.

Georgina Anderson – after completing an economics degree at the University of Sydney and working with BHP, Georgina went to New York to study acting. Upon her return Georgina trod the boards in Sydney and established her own business in the city as an independent mortgage broker. Georgina was the candidate for the federal seat of Sydney in the 2007 election and she is a member of the Pyrmont Ultimo Chamber of Commerce.


David Evans – is a resident of Pyrmont. David studied engineering and obtained his honours degree in engineering from the University of Surrey UK in 1970. He worked as a designer and project manager. David has also operated a consultancy service that provides software development and analysis to blue chip companies. David has been married to Marilyn for 39 years and together have raised three children. David is currently chairperson of the owners’ corporation of a large city strata building; while Marilyn has been involved with the administration of the Pyrmont Ultimo Chamber of Commerce. Both believe strongly in developing local community associations.


Glenn Phillips – lives in Newtown and is a solicitor who specialises in corporate, commercial and intellectual property law. He is currently the general counsel and a senior manager with an Australian-based manufacturing company. Glenn has previously worked as a tax consultant and as a solicitor. He has also been an investment banker in Tokyo. Glenn is active in the community. For a number of years he was one of the organisers of the Mardi Gras Film Festival and he remains a trustee of the Stephen Cummins Film Trust. He is currently working with the organisers on arrangements for the Under the Blue Moon Festival, the annual goth festival in Newtown and Enmore.

Adrian Bartels – has ten years experience in the finance industry. For the last three years, Adrian has had his own finance broking business in Kings Cross. Adrian is involved with the Kings Cross Partnership, as treasurer. He is chairman of the Owner's Corporation. He has volunteered at the Wayside Chapel, St. Canices Church, and with the Jesuit Refugee Service. He has more recently become involved with Amnesty International. He has a Bachelor of Economics and Social Sciences (Political Economy and Government and International Relations). Adrian lives with his partner of nine years in Potts Point. Together they share a passion for human rights and social justice.

Giovanni Frischman – lives in Glebe, but was born in Cape Town, South Africa. His family immigrated to Australia in 1992. After spending two years in Adelaide, he moved to Townsville where his parents worked as paediatricians. Giovanni was a member of the Townsville Youth Council and graduated from Pimlico State High School in 2004. After graduating, he lived for a year in Chile, where he became fluent in Spanish and learned to appreciate the good fortune that Australians enjoy. He is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) with a major in Latin at the University of Sydney.

Jeff Koid – was born in Singapore and grew up in Sydney. He is a Financial Adviser working in the CBD who walks to work from his home in Pyrmont. He attended the University of Western Sydney where he was active on the student council. A music lover, Jeff plays both electric and acoustic guitar. He is a regular at St Bedes Church, Pyrmont where he plays guitar for the Choir. Jeff worked full time as a volunteer for World Youth Day and wants a more active voice on Council for the younger residents of Sydney.

(pictured Left to right - David Evans, Giovanni Frischman, Rebecca Lau, Edward Mandla, Shayne Mallard, Georgina Anderson, Glenn Phillips, Adrian Bartels - Note Jeff Koid not in picture)

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Election Funding Reforms


















IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6 August 2008


Statement on Election Funding Reform

In my 8 years as a Councillor I have always been a strong supporter of genuine election donation and funding reforms. Over the years I have argued at Council and at the Local Government & Shires Association level that the government should introduce similar reforms to the USA with donations prohibited to campaigns and political parties from all entities (corporations, partnerships, unions, associations etc) other than individuals and capped at a responsible level such as $2000 per campaign. In addition I support campaign expenditure caps (eg on direct mail and advertising expenditure) and tax deductibility for small donations to encourage and reactivate grass roots engagement in the political process.

These are genuine reforms that have been generally supported by Council and the LGSA conference. However the responsibility for introducing any reforms lies squarely at the feet of the State and Federal parliaments. The recent reforms introduced by the NSW Parliament have created last minute uncertainty and compliance headaches for all candidates, particularly the independents and smaller local based campaigns such as ours. In the longer term parliament must hold a balanced sober enquiry into proper and fair long term donations and funding reforms that create a genuine level playing field, encourage community involvement in elections and are transparent.

In the politically heated weeks before an election the Council can not act on its own to create a non compulsory system that shifts the goal posts for some candidates who agree but not all. In addition the motion moved by the Greens was legally flawed in that it sought to violate the current legal privacy donors are entitled to if they are donating less that $1000. This legal privacy can not be violated by a Council resolution.

My Liberal Campaign Reforms

In my Liberal campaign for Town Hall we have introduced our own voluntary reforms without fanfare or political grandstanding at Council. We have capped all donations for the City of Sydney campaign at $2000 and our average donation to date is a quarter of that amount. We are also experimenting with internet fundraising and encouraging a broad based community support for our campaign. Of course we are also complying with all current disclosure laws.

Our campaign is against well funded opponents. Labor’s Left wing candidate is supported by wealthy unions such as the CFMEU whilst Clover Moore’s party has abused millions of dollars in public money with self promotion, publications, events and advertising that I have called on the Department of Local Government to investigate.


Shayne Mallard
Councillor
Liberal candidate for Lord Mayor of Sydney



Sydney Morning Herald today reports - Moore votes down donations disclosure

Monday, August 04, 2008

Sydney City Council financial result ‘pea and shell’ accounting


IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3 August 2008

Liberal Candidate for Lord Mayor of Sydney and Deputy Chair of Council’s Finance Committee, Councillor Shayne Mallard, has criticised the final quarter financial reports for the Council as an example of the classic ‘pea and shell’ confidence trick.

"Where is the much promised ‘accelerated’ capital works spending for the community? Is it under this year’s shell or is it under next year’s?" Shayne said.

"For the fourth year in a row this administration has failed to deliver on its hyped and overblown capital works promises.
"Every year this administration has spectacularly failed to meet its published budget. In the last financial year, the Council was only able to spend $120.4 million of a promised $174.8 million in capital works.
"This is clear evidence that Clover Moore and her team are not able to deliver any sort of acceptable financial management or accountability for this City.
"They are clearly asking too much of the staff. This reinforces my long held view that this orgy of spending is unsustainable and should be spread evenly over a 10 year period," Shayne added.
"The Lord Mayor has attempted to front-load the spending to help her re-election bid, but she has failed miserably with many projects still on the drawing board or not near their promised completion.
Shayne also alerted the community to some sneaky changes to Council’s current budget. Buried in ‘Attachment B’ to the report is a transfer of $37 million of capital works spending to the next financial year starting in July 2009.

"Less than four weeks after the Council adopted Clover Moore’s biggest spending budget ever, the Lord Mayor and her 'Independent' Councillors are quietly sneeking major parts of projects out yet another 12 months," Shayne said.

Major projects delayed include:
Burton Street Tabernacle
Fitzroy Gardens
Foley Lane
Glebe Town Hall
Harris Street upgrade
Paddington Town Hall
Prince Alfred Park
Rushcutters Bay Park
Stanley Street upgrade

"Ratepayers should be thankful that Clover Moore fails each year to spend all their money, despite her promising to deliver in media releases and glossy newsletters (paid for by ratepayers).
"Whilst ratepayers’ money may have been protected more by luck than any management ability – Clover Moore has adopted a new budget that yet again has big spending promises and is underscored by a new, bigger, cash deficit of $295 million over the next four years.
"That’s Mercedes Clover spending the equivalent of a $180,000 top of the range Mercedes every day for four years if she gets her way and is re-elected to run the Council without any checks and balances," Shayne concluded.
RELEASE ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT
Shayne Mallard
Councillor
0439 426 274
Web:
www.sydneyliberals.org.au
Link: Capital Expenditure Financial Results, City of Sydney Council Q4 2007/2008 report