Are you a person of faith?I am. It’s part of my personal strength. I try to separate my beliefs from the failings of the institutional Church. I’m as shattered as anyone about what has been exposed in recent news,about what’s been going on for a long time.
Are you a member of any particular denomination?I was brought up a Catholic. The tougher my job has got,the more I’ve prayed. But as an MP,the institutional Church has been very unhappy with me.
With what,specifically?My petition supporting Mardi Gras. Going in Mardi Gras. Same-sex adoption legislation. Once,there was a complaint about me to the local parish priest,and he said:“What have you been doing that’s upsetting the Church?” It turns out,the fact I’d been in Mardi Gras on the Saturday night and doing a reading in church on the Sunday had caused great alarm.[Laughs]
There’s a social justice arm to the Church,though.To what extent does your faith inform your work?Well,that’s what Christ was about. He was a real radical. He took on the establishment,threw the money changers out of the temple,and they went after him. He was sort of a radical leading a revolution. The trappings of the Church now would be so out of kilter with the life he led and what he did.
Does all this mean you’re now persona non grata at your local church?Not with people doing the real work of the Church,on the ground doing the real work of Christ. They’re my friends. And you can shop around to go to mass.
Do you have any mantras?A major mantra is one Buddha taught his followers:“Your job is to find your work,then work hard at it.” Theodore Roosevelt similarly said that one of the most important things in life is working hard,at worthwhile work.
MONEY
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How much does the lord mayor of Sydney get paid?Oh! I would have to check that … But for some years,I didn’t take the mayoral salary because I was getting my backbencher salary.[Between 2007 and 2012,Moore donated her mayoral salary to charity.] The work has always been the driver to me,rather than the money. [The council’s secretariat confirmed $240,789 as the true and accurate total of Moore’s salary,a combination of her councillor and lord mayoral fees.]
Is there anything about your job you dislike?I’ve never been mad about the politics. The long,long hours of Parliament that were wasted on politicking. But when I was a[high school] teacher,I wasn’t mad about the corrections.[Laughs] There’s always aspects of the job that you find a bit tedious. It’s a bit of a pity. But we have fantastic staff at the City of Sydney. It’s an exciting place to work.
You’re running for lord mayor again at the next election,which has been postponed until September 2021. Have you thought about life on the other side of this job?I haven’t. My work occupies my every waking moment,probably,and every waking thought,just about. I don’t do things by half measures. When I was being inspected for my teaching,the inspector said to me:“Argh – if you keep working like that,you’ll kill yourself!”[Laughs] So I suppose whatever I do next,I’d be just as enthusiastic about. But I’m really – very truly – occupied with all the various facets of the work of the City of Sydney.
After the necessities – food,water,hygiene,shelter – what’s the next thing you spend money on?Our dogs,Bessie[a staffordshire-kelpie cross] and Buster[a staffordshire bull terrier].
diceytopics@goodweekend.com.au
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