Councillor Chris Harris

Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s exclusion of Councillors from meetings is undemocratic.  Below is a media release I sent out today detailing how her recent uncooperative approach to meeting times is unfair and exclusionary. 

 ****** 

City of Sydney Greens Cr Chris Harris was critical of undemocratic action by the Lord Mayor Clover Moore who deliberately reduced Greens representation at Committees of the City of Sydney on Tuesday June 15th. Clover Moore Party members used their majority to amend the date of June’s Council meeting to 21st June so that Ms Moore could preside over the meeting as well as attend a council funded trip to China on the originally scheduled meeting date of 28th June. The Committee meeting was then rescheduled to Tuesday 15th June.  However the new Committee date excludes Harris’ fellow Greens Councillor Irene Doutney from the committee as well as Labor’s only representative Cr Meredith Burgmann.

“Councillor Doutney planned an overseas trip several months ago and arranged it so as to avoid her personal activities interfering with her duties on Council.”  Cr Harris said.  “For the Lord Mayor to turn around and arrogantly move the Committee dates with a few weeks notice is outrageous especially given that Ms Moore received her invitation to visit China in October 2009.”

Both Greens Councillors wrote to the Lord Mayor requesting that the meetings be moved to a date that would allow them both to attend. However their letters were ignored and the Lord Mayor failed to respond to either Greens member. 

Clr Harris said: “At the council meeting I attempted to amend the motion to leave the Committee meeting where it was and simply move the Council meeting forward to Friday 25th. This would have allowed both Greens to participate and would have accommodated Ms Moore who was scheduled to fly out of Sydney on 27th June. Ms Moore offered no explanation and simply used her numbers to ram what she wanted through. Now the Committee meeting, which members of the public are able to address, will be on a Tuesday instead of the usual Monday and this may exclude community members as well.”

“This is just the latest in a series of very telling signs that the power of having a majority on Council has gone to Ms Moore’s head.  There was no reason given, not even an acknowledgement, other ideas & suggestions were simply ignored”