News in brief

Leong prevails

Jenny Leong has won Greens preselection for the newly-created seat of Newtown ahead of next year’s state election. The seat should be an easy win for the minor party, according to election analyst Antony Green, with a nominal margin of more than four per cent.

Ms Leong narrowly beat former Marrickville mayor Fiona Byrne by four votes out of approximately 70.

Labor’s community preselection will be finalised on Saturday. Sitting MLC Penny Sharpe is a favourite to beat Sean Macken and Natalie Gould in a contest expected to attract more than a thousand  ballots.

Housing rally

A rally will march on Parliament House today, March 27, to protest the state government’s sell-off of public housing properties at Millers Point.

The event is being organised by Hands Off Glebe, which unsuccessfully opposed a sale of 16 low-rise apartment blocks in and around Cowper Street under the previous Labor state government.

Co-ordinator Denis Doherty called on the state government to urgently put aside more money for public housing. “It’s just lack of will on their part,” he said.

The rally will assemble at Hyde Park fountain at 11am, with opposition leader John Robertson and Greens MP Jamie Parker expected to attend.

All aboard

The inner west light rail extension was due to open this morning with a 6am ceremony at Dulwich Hill. The service to central will operate every ten minutes in peak periods and every 15 minutes at other times on weekdays.

Transport minister Gladys Berejiklian said the project had been delivered “on time and on budget” and the opening would showcase a new fleet of light rail vehicles.

“Customers won’t need to consult a timetable and can easily interchange between inner west bus services as well as local train services at Lewisham and Dulwich Hill,” she said.

POINTER