The decline of Sydney's nightlife is shaping up to be a major issue in the race for the city's town hall. Lord Mayor Clover Moore insists Oxford Street is on the cusp of revival, as she seeks a sixth term in office. But some of her challengers say after two decades of failed attempts, it's time for fresh blood.
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00:00Here we are on one of Sydney's windy corners, it's up in Oxford Street, Sydney.
00:07Sydney-siders have long complained about the pulse of the city.
00:10I think it's very dull.
00:11I think it's absolutely dead in Sydney.
00:12Well, is it gay enough?
00:13I mean, is it happy enough for the average person, do you think, in this city?
00:18No.
00:19The sentiment at Taylor Square these days is remarkably similar.
00:22Late night life, it's not fantastic.
00:24Have you seen a change over the years?
00:26Absolutely, yeah.
00:27It's become a lot quieter.
00:29Newspaper man Lawrence Gibbons remembers the strip in the mid-90s.
00:33Oxford Street was pumping.
00:36He says the Golden Mile began to decline around the turn of the century.
00:40The opening of the Clearway and Westfield shopping centres at both ends decimated retail.
00:46Then lockout laws and COVID-19 lockdowns ripped the heart out of Sydney's nightlife.
00:54He admits the slide had already started when Clover Moore was elected Lord Mayor in 2004,
00:59but blames the council for failing to reverse it.
01:02The city of Sydney's management of Oxford Street has done very little to help.
01:07Numerous council proposals to revive the neighbourhood have gone nowhere.
01:12You've had 20 years to fix Oxford Street.
01:14Why should voters trust that you'll do it this time?
01:17Well, they can look at the work that's happening on the Ashmorgan site.
01:21We're incentivising developers to provide that creative and cultural space.
01:26So we're hoping that's going to give a new life too.
01:28I'm also very confident that the bike lane will be revitalising.
01:32The city of Sydney has leased three blocks to investment firm Ashmorgan for 99 years
01:38to develop offices, shops, restaurants, bars and creative spaces.
01:42The council put up these colourful hoardings ahead of Sydney World Pride early last year
01:47to hide the dilapidated buildings during construction.
01:51Work halted earlier this year when the developer fired the builder, but has since resumed.
01:56Some of the sites will be ready early next year.
01:59Independent councillor Yvonne Weldon is among the Lord Mayor's challengers who've seized
02:03on the delay.
02:04Last election, Clover Moore was sitting in an establishment here, one of the few left,
02:12He's stated that by the time the next election comes around, Oxford Street will be completed.
02:17Council election in September.
02:19Labor's Zan Maxwell says it's time someone else had a go.
02:22The renaissance of Oxford Street is always just around the corner with this Lord Mayor,
02:26but nothing ever changes.
02:28He was just 15 when Ms Moore was elected to Town Hall.
02:32There are people who are voting in this election who weren't even born when Clover Moore first
02:36became Lord Mayor of Sydney.
02:37I think we're at the forefront of reigniting the city.
02:43People say the city is now really buzzing, and it is, you can see for yourself, and streets
02:49like Crown Street have really taken off.
02:53There's no plan for Stanley Street at the moment.
02:55We've got restaurants that are vacant.
02:57The Liberal Party's Lyndon Gannon is another 30-something trying to dethrone the Lord Mayor.
03:02The only people that have served longer are dictators, unfortunately.
03:05The first-term councillor has pointed to a decision to ban the old Fitzroy Hotel from
03:10letting patrons drink outside after 8pm, following two noise complaints.
03:15I think that was an unfortunate incident.
03:17I'm sorry it's happened.
03:19I've called for a review.
03:20Ms Moore turns 79 in October.
03:23Do you have a succession plan?
03:26I will have a succession plan when I decide to leave.
03:29I still find the work very exciting, and I'm very energised, and we have real momentum
03:37happening, and I want to continue with that work.
03:41Not ready to relinquish power.