Liberals retain two seats at City of Sydney despite departures of Chung, Forster

By DANIEL LO SURDO

City of Sydney candidates Shauna Jarrett and Lyndon Gannon have both been elected to retain the Liberal’s two-seat presence following the departures of previous party representatives Craig Chung and Christine Forster.

Election results released by the NSW Electoral Commission comes after the Liberals, who control the majority in both NSW and Federal Parliament, made a strong push behind lord mayoral candidate Shauna Jarrett to ‘refresh Sydney’ after 17 years of incumbent Lord Mayor Clover Moore being in office.

While Cr Moore and her Independent Team retained the lord mayoralty and their majority on council, Crs Jarrett and Gannon will enter the council chamber prepared to increase city accessibility for residents and businesses while growing partnerships with the state government.

Ahead of the December local elections, Jarrett took aim at Cr Moore’s prioritisation of cycling lanes, arguing that a more harmonised approach was needed to ensure that all visitors and inhabitants could move freely around the city. During the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple pop-up cycleways were commissioned by the City to encourage transport options that could be used in open spaces with ample ventilation.

While speaking to City Hub in November, Cr Moore said that pop-up cycleways would be made permanent following community consultation and conversations with the state government regarding the safety outcomes for the transport option.

COVID-19 Recovery

The City Liberals also plan to enhance the performance sector and return the 24-hour economy following COVID-19. The party believes this can be done through better investment of the City’s budget, while also reducing red tape and accelerating approval processes to ensure that businesses can thrive in the city.

In their COVID-19 Recovery Plan, the Liberals suggested introducing entertainment and incentives for office workers to return to the city, while also waiving application fees for businesses seeking to trade after 5:00 pm.

Cr Jarrett has circled changes to the city’s car parking operations while in office, proposing free parking for weekends and after business hours while targeting greater investment in electric vehicle charging stations as part of the City’s continued focus on sustainability.

The Liberals have targeted the City’s operating surpluses as an avenue to absorb costs lost through parking reform, while also will look to capitalise on opportunities afforded by council’s budget for the benefit of the community.