Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore needs to wake up and smell the roses

It seems Clover Moore is living in an alternative universe. In the real world, Australia is recovering from the effects of a global pandemic. People are struggling, businesses are treading water. We have 6.9 per cent unemployment, and 14.5 per cent youth unemployment in Australia. 

In the backdrop of economic and social annihilation, Clover Moore has just spent an exorbitant $15 million on flowers for Sydney, most of which won’t survive longer than a couple of years.

Only 10 per cent of the flowers ordered are perennials. This means 90 per cent of the flowers ordered will live less than 2 years.

While beautiful cities do attract more traffic and help lift the mood, planting all of Sydney with flowers won’t boost the tourism industry while the borders remain closed. If Mayor Moore wants to beautify the city and brighten people's day, she can find a better way than spending our money on flowers with a life-span less than two years.

For comparison, the City of Sydney spends 6.6 million on alleviating homelessness. Clover Moore may have an affinity for plant life, but she shouldn’t put that above the lives and well being of taxpayers.

It took the average annual council rates from 21 174 Sydney residents to pay for these flowers. When Aussies spent their hard earned money on council rates, I doubt they were hoping Clover Moore would spend it all on a few temporary plants. This gross spending on flowers is demonstrative of the Lord Mayor being completely divorced from the priorities of Sydneysiders. 

City of Sydney Councillor Kerryn Phelps put it aptly on her social media, “I love flowers and I support any reasonable efforts to introduce more greenery and natural elements into the city and our villages.  But I think it can be done in a more thoughtful, sustainable, and cost effective way.”

If there were ever a time to be thoughtful in the allocation of taxpayer money, it would be now. It’s time taxpayer money be respected instead of facilitating nonsensical blowouts like this flower saga.

This article first appeared in MyChoice on 29 October 2020.