SAM’S BID FOR MAYOR NO JOKE
“I live in the city, and contribute heavily through taxes and rates to the city, so I have a vested interested in seeing that the city is as good as it can become.” SAM NEWMAN
GEELONG Cats great and TV personality Sam Newman has confirmed he is seriously considering a run for lord mayor, and he’s criticised the Melbourne City Council for not doing enough to tackle homelessness.
Newman rubbished claims that his possible tilt at Town Hall was a publicity gimmick.
“If someone who is partially educated like myself thought that running for the mayor would be some sort of selfish stunt to ingratiate myself for my own personal satisfaction or gratification, that would be just ridiculous,” he said.
“What would be the point of a gimmick, because if you are suddenly called on to do it then where would you be?”
Newman’s interest in the lord mayoral role was revealed last month, and yesterday he sounded even more like a serious candidate.
“I live in the city, and contribute heavily through taxes and rates to the city, so I have a vested interested in seeing that the city is as good as it can become,” he said.
Speaking near his home in Docklands, boat-owner Newman railed against a plan to build a tram bridge across the Yarra River to service the future Fishermans Bend urban renewal precinct.
“This would be an act of aesthetic vandalism against the Yarra’s Edge marina, a disgrace — every great city has a marina or waterway in front of it,” he said.
The Footy Show star revealed that friends were encouraging him to run for lord mayor, but he had not spoken about the issue with mate and show host Eddie McGuire.
If he runs, Newman will face declared candidates Sally Capp from the Property Council, pollster Gary Morgan and former city councillor Ken Ong. Other possible lord mayoral aspirants include state Labor MP Jane Garrett, anti-violence campaigner Phil Cleary and Harrolds stores co-owner Mary Poulakis.
Newman said he was frustrated by the inability of the city council to solve the homelessness problem, despite all the co-operation with police and welfare agencies like the Salvation Army.
“Having unfortunate homeless people in unfortunate circumstances having to dwell in the city streets and doorways of the CBD is not acceptable to the people who live in the city,” he said.
“It’s not aesthetically pleasing to the people who visit it, and more importantly it’s not ideal for the people who find themselves in those circumstances who have to do it.”
Newman said that political correctness and vested inter- ests were holding back action on the issue, but if he became lord mayor he would work closely with the State Government and police on fixing it.
“If Melbourne is going to portray itself quite rightly as one of the most liveable places on the planet it must be attractive to the people who live in it, who commute to it and work on a daily basis in the CBD,” he said.
A source close to the city council who is a sounding board for Newman said the TV star would attract strong media attention and would poll well in Docklands, while also pulling third party support through his charity work.
“This is not about being a stunt for Sam,” he said.
Nominations for the byelection caused by Robert Doyle’s resignation open on April 5 and close on April 10.