Christine Forster says her brother, former prime minister Tony Abbott, will not be playing a major role in her bid to become Sydney’s next lord mayor.

“He’ll probably speak at a dinner and that will be it. There’s nothing more than that, no involvement in any of the policy or strategy,” she told ABC radio on Monday. “I’ll be pounding the streets myself.”

The City of Sydney councillor is the Liberal party’s official candidate for the September council elections.

She is running on a pro-business agenda and hopes to win the backing of businesses in the city which will get two votes each this election.

She says the city has fallen behind under Clover Moore’s tenure.

“We need fresh ideas, a new approach, the lord mayor’s been in power for 12 years, well over a decade.”