Sandra Nori Quits - What Now?

Following months of heated speculation, as they say in the classics, Sandra Nori, the Member for Port Jackson (now known as Balmain), has announced she will retire from NSW Parliament after a 19 year political career. It had been rumoured for some time that Nori, the Minister for Tourism and Sport and Recreation, Minister for Women, and Minister Assisting the Minister for State Development, would outline her departure before the next election, possibly to avoid a challenge under new rules which oblige all sitting Members, including Ministers, to undergo formal preselection. Now that this scenario has been avoided, attention will now turn to the issue of choosing a successor.

Two names have consistently come up in relation to the seat - Leichhardt councillor and former Mayor Alice Murphy, and City of Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Verity Firth. Both are talented, both are hard working, both have strong grassroots support and, coincidentally, both are new mothers. Of the two, Firth has the higher profile, though Murphy is well liked in the Leichhardt Council area for campaigning on a number of local issues. Nori's pre-selection will come up in September (if memory serves me correctly). In the politically rarefied atmosphere of the inner city, it's likely to be an exciting race.