The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has launched an
investigation into Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP’s election campaign.
Ms Moore has been accused of using State funds to run her Lord Mayoral campaign, after a Sydney resident discovered a phone number on a local government newsletter that belonged to the Mayor’s parliamentary office.
Andrew Woodhouse, President of the Potts Point and Kings Cross Conservation
Society lodged the complaint with ICAC on July 12 after he received an anonymous tip-off. He said: “The complaint was made by a local resident who states emphatically that they received an invitation to a Clover Moore fundraiser and phoned a number on the invitation, only to find out the call went through to her MP’s office and was answered by someone working from the office … We had no choice but to pass on this serious complaint.”
If these allegations turn out to be true, Ms Moore will have breached the code of conduct of both the NSW Remuneration Tribunal and Council. In the anonymous tip-off received by Mr Woodhouse, the resident suggests the Lord Mayor has failed to respect the transparency of both local and State Government, stating in an email: “The appearance is that one office is subsidising the other. Herein lies the problem of one person having two positions.”
One of Ms Moore’s media representatives spoke out against this allegation, denying that her dual role is a conflict of interest. The spokesperson blames the allegations on a misunderstanding.
The spokesperson said: “These allegations are not true and there is no valid basis for these claims. The constituent was phoned about Clover’s electorate newsletter, ‘State News’ … The phone call was not about ‘Clover’s eNews’, a weekly newsletter that includes information on Clover’s work as State MP and Lord Mayor, as well as election and other matters.”
The spokesperson said the eNews newsletter is written and sent out to constituents on a volunteer basis.
“The weekly eNews is sent using a system that is not funded by the Lord Mayoral or electorate offices … The Clover Moore Independent Team campaign is run by volunteers, with a separate office from the Electorate Office and the Office of the Lord Mayor.”
When contacted, ICAC did not wish to speculate on the matter in any form.
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