Sartor gives top job to ex-chief of staff

Robert Domm took control of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority last Monday after the organisation's chief executive of five years, Robert Lang, had left to become the general manager of Parramatta City Council.

The Opposition's spokesman on planning, Brad Hazzard, said the close working relationship between Mr Sartor and Mr Domm should be scrutinised.

During Mr Sartor's reign as the lord mayor of Sydney, Mr Domm was his chief-of-staff for six months, before he was appointed the council's general manager in 2001.

Clover Moore kept him in the role after her lord mayoral victory in early 2004.

But Mr Domm, who was nicknamed "The Dominator" by inner-city residents, resigned in September 2004 with two years left on his contract following a feud with councillors aligned to Cr Moore.

After receiving a $208,000 severance package from the council, he criticised Cr Moore's ability to simultaneously perform duties as the Lord Mayor and the member for Bligh.

"What she's creating, in fact, is like a royal court of servants trying to make her life easy for her," Mr Domm said a week after his departure.

He denied Mr Sartor, who had since become a Labor minister, was behind his sudden exit. But within three months Mr Sartor appointed him the first chief executive of the Redfern-Waterloo Authority.

In a press release issued last week, Mr Sartor, who is on holidays, said: "Robert Domm has done an outstanding job at the Redfern-Waterloo Authority, and before that as the general manager of the City of Sydney. In the short- to medium-term he will retain his job at the [authority] to see through a number of major projects, including the renewal of North Eveleigh."

Mr Domm will perform both roles on a level seven state executive salary, which can range between $278,000 and $348,000. It is the same salary level as his predecessor, Dr Lang.

The position of foreshore authority chief executive was not publicly advertised but a spokesman for Mr Sartor said the appointment was made in accordance with the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.

"The Government considered the qualifications and experience of Mr Domm in deciding on his suitability for the role," the spokesman said.

The authority's chairman, Michael Collins, said Mr Domm was highly qualified.

"Mr Domm was executive head of the City of Sydney under three different lord mayors and as head of the RWA helped guide the implementation of the Government's Redfern-Waterloo plans, attracting more than $600 million in investment to the area," Mr Collins said.

However, Mr Hazzard said: "The public already have concerns about the way Mr Sartor does business … It all reeks of the overall arrogance of this government."