Decision details

Moved by Deputy Lord Mayor Maxwell, seconded by Councillor Wilson –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         Councillor Linda Scott served valiantly as a City of Sydney Councillor representing Sydney Labor from 2012 to 2024. During that time, she championed the shared values of fairness, sustainability and community;

(ii)        Councillor Scott also served as Deputy Lord Mayor between September 2018 and September 2019. During that time, she continued to advocate for more affordable housing and green spaces, increased early education and care centres, new skate parks, and boosted city funding for climate change action;

(iii)      Councillor Scott made many valuable contributions to the City of Sydney Council during her time as a Councillor paired with her tireless work as the President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA). As the President of ALGA, Linda worked with many local government representatives across the country to secure funding to enable councils to serve local communities with place-based solutions equalling a total of $17.4 billion dollars which included $11.8 billion dollars of Federal Assistance Grants over four years, $5.5 billion in new and additional program funding over 4 years, and an extra $500 million dollars for community infrastructure under the National House Accord, to create more affordable homes;

(iv)      during her time in the role, Councillor Scott also served as the first female President of Local Government NSW from 2017 to 2021, paving the way for more progressive women leaders in local government;

(v)       Councillor Scott continued to fight for progressive policy during her time on the City of Sydney Council including fighting for the LGBTIQA+ community. Of particular note, championing a Trans and Gender Diverse Swim Night within the City of Sydney utilising public pools to celebrate diversity. Councillor Scott was a continued ally with our LGBTIQA+ community and made valuable contributions in this space. In Linda’s first term on Council, she pushed for the Council to provide archival storage space for items destined for a future LGBTIQA+ Museum. This is now a reality with Qtopia Sydney open with the support of the City of Sydney Council which provided its initial seed funding in 2022. Councillor Scott also championed the installation of the rainbow flag at Taylor Square, paired with securing a commitment from the City of Sydney to install a rainbow crossing in Newtown to celebrate our LGBTIQA+ community;

(vi)      as a Councillor, Linda moved over 330 motions and presented 14 petitions on issues of importance to residents and business owners in the City of Sydney. She also asked over 600 Questions on Notice contributing to meaningful change on the City of Sydney Council. Over the past 12 years, more than 60 of Councillor Scott’s Questions on Notice were about public space, and more than 60 of the motions she put up centred on preserving, improving and expanding the Sydney community’s access to open and green spaces in the City. She was also the only Councillor to vote against the outsourcing of the City’s waste services and fought to preserve Council services; and

(vii)     Councillor Linda Scott held a deep conviction to serve the City of Sydney community with honour, commitment and dedication and her vision was to make our City a fun, fair and sustainable place. As the Deputy Lord Mayor, alongside Councillor Mitch Wilson, we are committed to continuing this hard work to keep fighting for our City of Sydney community. Thank you Linda; and

(B)      the Lord Mayor be requested to write a letter of thanks to former Councillor Linda Scott and all former Councillors from the previous Council term including HY William Chan, (Waskam) Emelda Davis, Jess Scully and Shauna Jarrett for their contributions to the City of Sydney Council during their time as Councillors and as the Deputy Lord Mayor (as relevant).

The motion, as varied by consent, was carried unanimously.

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