City of Sydney Mayor Lord Clover Moore has been accused of snubbing Australian manufacturers by spending $258,000 to import children’s playground equipment from France.
Liberal Councillor Christine Forster dubbed it “ludicrous” that the Mayor would choose to source the Darlinghurst park’s new play equipment from France as opposed to a Sydney-based manufacturer.
“There’s absolutely no need to source this from overseas when we’ve got great manufacturers building this equipment here in Sydney,” she told the Daily Telegraph.
“By importing children’s playground equipment from France the Lord Mayor is hurting the environment, costing local job opportunities and draining the city’s budget,” she added.
The equipment was purchased from the Sydney branch of a French firm, which built the equipment at its French headquarters. It has been confirmed that the equipment cost $257,916.
The Mayor has not clarified her decision to purchase equipment from France as opposed to Australian playground equipment manufacturers.