Liberals disappointed by new Labor/Greens alliance
Dylan Parker has been elected Mayor of Randwick, with Labor making a deal for the Greens to take over after his two year term.
Liberal Councillor Daniel Rosenfeld has expressed his disappointment in the new Labor/Greens alliance, which will ensure Randwick Council again has a Greens Mayor in two years time.
On Tuesday evening, Labor’s Dylan Parker was elected Mayor with the help of the Greens, with the third year of the council term again to be handed over to the Greens – likely to be Philipa Veitch.
The AJN understands Randwick’s Liberals sat down with Labor and were happy to take one year of the Mayoralty, but specified it had to be the first year.
Labor then made a deal with the Greens, who were satisfied to take the third year of the Mayoralty, as has been previous agreements.
Veitch’s tenure as Randwick Mayor sparked controversy, with her and her fellow Greens Councillors’ pro-Palestine stance a divisive element locally, particularly among Randwick’s sizeable Jewish community.
It reached the point where Rosenfeld called for a motion of no confidence in Veitch, but Labor failed to back the call.
“The Labor party doesn’t seem to learn from their mistakes with regards to dealing with the Greens,” said Rosenfeld, who ran for the position of Deputy Mayor while his Liberal colleague Christie Hamilton ran for Mayor.
“They wouldn’t support my no confidence motion against the former Mayor and received widespread criticism from our sizeable Jewish community.
“The Labor party is happy to make a deal that will lead to another Greens Mayor and Deputy Mayor. I’m very disappointed there’s a new Labor/Greens alliance.”
Parker was elected by a vote of nine to six and will serve alongside his Labor colleague, Councillor Marea Wilson, who was elected Deputy Mayor.
comments