Deputy Lord Mayor, City of Sydney
In my three years as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, I initiated a global competition to find new models for addressing the housing crisis; I secured the creation of transitional housing through “meanwhile use”. I advocated for a Community Wealth Building framework for inclusive economic development and successfully campaigned to establish the NSW Micro Business Support Grant which helped thousands of small service and creative businesses survive lockdown.
A number of my contributions are outlined in this Lord Mayoral Minute of April 3, 2023.
Housing and Social Justice Advocacy
One of my proudest achievements during my time as Deputy Lord Mayor was establishing Abbie House transitional housing with Women’s Community Shelters (WCS) in 2021: securing 20 studio apartments, available at low rent for a year, provided by SCAPE student housing, to be managed by City West Community Housing Provider with case management and support from WCS. I have received very moving feedback which demonstrates just how critical this safe, affordable housing has been to support women escaping violence and experiencing some of the most difficult times in their lives.
City West Chair Diana D’Ambra, CEO Leonie King, Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Scully at the launch of City West Housing’s Harold Park development, established with support and subsidy from the City of Sydney.
I also championed new models to combat housing unaffordability by asking the City to launch the Alternative Housing Ideas Challenge in 2018: we don’t just need more housing in Sydney, we need more housing models to choose from to overcome the structural barriers to building and accessing affordable housing. This competition drew ideas in from innovators around the world, and supported the development of a model which could be applied in Sydney to deliver prototypes which could include Community Land Trusts, co-housing and cross-subsidy models to unlock new ways of solving a chronic problem.
Advocating for age appropriate housing and priority social housing for older people in support of the Housing for the Aged Action Group.
Advocating for greater participatory democracy in Sydney
Encouraging the City of Sydney to use participatory democracy models to draw in a more diverse range of voices as we shaped the future vision for Sydney, leading to the establishment of the Citizen’s Jury process ahead of Sustainable Sydney 2050.
Reframing economic development for justice and inclusion
Championing new models to combat housing unaffordability with the Alternative Housing Ideas Challenge: we don’t just need more housing in Sydney, we need more housing models to choose from to overcome the structural barriers to building and accessing affordable housing. This competition drew ideas in from innovators around the world, and supported the development of a model which could be applied in Sydney to deliver prototypes which could include Community Land Trusts, co-housing and cross-subsidy models to unlock new ways of solving a chronic problem. the City to reframe our economic development and social justice work around a Community Wealth Building model with local and purpose-led procurement, which so far has resulted in the City’s Community Wealth Building discussion paper and a new mindset in our Economic Strategy.
Community Wealth Building is a global movement towards a fair and inclusive (or “generative”) local economy. In 2020 I asked the City of Sydney to explore how we could develop a CWB policy to elevate a generative, inclusive and more resilient 21st century economy. Turns out, our peers in Amsterdam were doing the same! It’s great to be able to share ideas, projects and best practice among global cities as we all try to shape the kind of economic tide that lifts all boats. It’s meetings like this that help us turn theory into tangible projects.
The City has since drafted a discussion paper and included Community Wealth Building in their long term economic strategy discussion paper. I am proud to have contributed to building a fairer future economy for Sydney.
Along with other efforts, we met with Egon van Wees from the City of Amsterdam’s Impact project (below), with some City of Sydney staff working on CWB, to learn how CWB principles are informing Amsterdam’s extensive work on social entrepreneurship, economic inclusion, citizen participation and much much more.
Support for Micro-Businesses and Small Traders
I supported tens of thousands of micro-businesses and small traders to get financial support from the NSW government during the 2021 lockdown establishing a successful Parliamentary Petition when they were forgotten;
I launched a parliamentary petition, gathering over 12,000 signatures, calling on the government to lower the threshold for the Small Business Covid-19 Support Grant: which was achieved in the form of the Micro-Business Support Grant in 2021.
As I wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald, as part of my campaign to support thousands of micro-businesses who found themselves rendered ineligible for support while locked down:
I’ve heard from artists and children’s entertainers, drag queens, DJs, yoga teachers, tattoo artists, martial arts instructors, massage therapists and more hairdressers than I can count. Audio-visual techs and performers whose festival gigs have disappeared with nothing on the horizon. Florists, photographers and caterers counting on weddings that are cancelled for the foreseeable future.
I’ve been a sole trader in the creative industries for 20 years and I know how many people earn project to project, yet under normal circumstances are able to create sustainable and successful careers. By this stage of a crisis, which has disproportionately affected people in personal services, entertainment, hospitality and the creative industries, many have exhausted their reserves, are unable to trade online, and there is a need for immediate support.
While these are small businesses, this is not a small group. In Greater Sydney there are more than 165,000 businesses with a turnover of $50,000 per annum or less. When decision-makers make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year it might be hard for them to put themselves in the shoes of small business operators or sole traders who support themselves and their families on less than $75,000 a year.
I’m enormously proud that my advocacy contributed to support and recognition of this sector of our community and economy.
Making Sydney the first Australian capital city to adopt a Fossil Fuel Ad Ban
At my instigation the City of Sydney became the first Australian jurisdiction to ban fossil fuel advertising on council-run properties and infrastructure, citing detrimental effects on health, environment and climate. Thanks to the Comms Declare campaign for their advocacy on this critical issue.
