Much more of me to come, says Moore
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday October 19, 2009
She is Sydney's choker-wearing Lord Mayor who, despite criticism of her holding down two jobs, retains an iron grip on the inner city as the state MP for Sydney. But unlike a certain former prime minister, Clover Moore (at right) has never promised to consider her political future at the age of 64. Moore is secretive about her age, but according to Australian Securities and Investments Commission records, she celebrates the milestone on Thursday. And, as was the case with John Howard, it is quite clear that she intends to ask the question "Will you still love me?" of her constituents at least one more time when she is up for re-election as Lord Mayor in 2012. "I do intend to run. I am still very excited about and committed to the work," said Moore, who defeated Labor's Michael Lee to succeed the city's first female lord mayor, Lucy Turnbull, in 2004. Her ability to simultaneously run Town Hall and look after her state seat became the main focus of challenges from opponents in the lead-up to the poll, in particular from the former NSW Liberal leader Peter Collins, who also stood against Moore. "I find my dual roles at city and state levels enable me to be even more effective for the community and the city, and I am committed to long-term plans to improve inner-city transport and sustainability, particularly in this era of global warming, Moore told The Diary.ETHICS YOU CAN BET ONWhile the Anglican Church's Sydney diocese lost $160 million gambling on the stockmarket, it is far less tolerant of gambling by others. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, will today reveal the extent of cuts to be imposed on the faithful thanks to the financial bath taken by the church after it adopted a high-risk investment strategy to borrow money to punt on stocks. Less well known is the long-running condition the church has imposed on the owners of the only newsagency in Town Hall Square: a complete ban on the sale of lottery products. The church owns the property and is believed to have imposed the ban as a condition of the lease for more than 10 years. A spokesman, Russell Powell, said yesterday that the church imposes "some ethical conditions on leases which preclude gambling products". However, he said, "the church sees a big difference between appropriate long-term investment in ethical companies and designated gambling products such as scratch lottery tickets".RICHO'S ROUNDThe former federal minister turned lobbyist Graham Richardson, who is expected to front the parliamentary inquiry into the planning decisions around land at Badgerys Creek this afternoon in his capacity as a professional door opener for the Medich Property Group, had a big win last week. But it had nothing to do with his professional activities, which have come under rather intense scrutiny since the murder of Michael McGurk. Rather, Richo, who recently turned 60, took out the midweek "Individual B" competition at Concord Golf Club on Wednesday with a round of 43. Apparently Richo plays off an impressive handicap of 19 the hard-won reward for all those hours on the links with his former employer Kerry Packer.SMILING WITH SATCHMOThe Mayor of Willoughby, Pat Reilly, is well known to locals as an enthusiastic part-time Elvis impersonator, but the independent pollie changed his tune last week at a function celebrating the Willoughby Hotel's 110th birthday. "[Reilly] spoke about the history of the venue and its significance as an icon in the local area, finishing his speech with a rendition of the Louis Armstrong classic When You're Smiling," the industry newsletter, The Shout, reported. Reilly, who has been mayor for more than 10 years and who lists the local resident Bob Hawke among his fans, could also fairly be described as an icon of the area.GOT A TIP?Contact diary@smh.com.au or 92822179WHAT'S ON TODAY*Food charity OzHarvest to launch its 1 Million Meals Campaign as part of the Sydney International Food Festival, Paddington Town Hall*The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, to launch National Carers Week, Canberra*Economist Ross Garnaut and former Reserve Bank governor Ian Macfarlane to dissect the economic crash at the Lowy Institute, Sydney*Tabcorp annual meeting, Sydney"It was sort of a miaow but he was so half frozen he couldnt get the noise out properly, poor thing." SARAH CROMBIE, from Waikato in New Zealand, recalls how she found her cat alive after 19 hours in her freezer.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald