The Lord Mayors of Sydney and Melbourne have been appointed Officers in the Order of Australia in this year’s King’s Birthday honours.

Long time Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Anne Capp are among the 46 Australians to be honoured with an AO on Monday.

Clover Moore, who has been Sydney’s Lord Mayor since 2004 as well as an independent NSW MP between 1988-2012, was honoured for service to local government, the people and parliament of NSW, and the community of Sydney.

Cr Moore is also Chair of the Central Sydney Planning Committee and a member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. She was first elected as an Alderman in what was then South Sydney Municipal Council in 1980.

As a state MP she was a participant in the 1999 Drugs Summit and sat on Committees on police integrity, injecting rooms, whistleblower protection and gun law reform.

During her time in local government Cr Moore has been a strong proponent of liveable cities, cycling infrastructure, environmental initiatives and the LGBTQI community.

Cr Moore said she was honoured to be recognised and grateful for the opportunities she has had in both state and local government.

She said while holding the balance of power in the NSW she and fellow independents John Hatton and Peter McDonald achieved “what was called the most far-reaching reforms in any Westminster Parliament in the 20th Century”.

She also paid tribute to the staff at City of Sydney and CEO Monica Barone for helping transform the
City ‘into an equitable, liveable and sustainable 21st Century City for all our communities”.

Cr Capp received her award for distinguished service to the people of Melbourne, local government, business and the community.

Cr Capp has been Melbourne’s Lord Mayor since 2018 and currently chairs the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors where she’s also been a spokesperson on homelessness since 2019 and is the first woman to serve on the board of Collingwood Football Club.

She is a member of the Local Government Ministerial Advisory Panel, Chair of the M9 collaboration of inner nine metropolitan councils, and represents City of Melbourne on the Metropolitan Transport Forum.

Formerly CEO of the Committee for Melbourne, Councillor Capp was also named the McKinnon Emerging Political Leader of the year in 2019.

Cr Capp said she was surprised and humbled by the honour, and said it represented the combined efforts of the brilliant people she had worked with across various sectors, including the City of Melbourne team.

“It is a privilege to serve the people of Melbourne, and I thank them for the opportunity to work alongside them through past challenging circumstances and now as we shape the future of our city together,” she said.

“I have learned much from the resilience and ingenuity of Melbournians during difficult times, and I am grateful for the courage and determination they have instilled in me as Lord Mayor.”