All the candidates fighting for Sydney this state election

By HENRIQUE MONTEIRO

Five candidates will be fighting for election to the Legislative Assembly seat for Sydney.

The Sydney electorate includes regions of the CBD, Moore Park, Centennial Park, the Rocks, Millers Point, Haymarket, Pyrmont, Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo, Kings Cross, Elizabeth Bay, Potts Point, Paddington and Surry Hills, and covers a total of 18.7km.

According to the changes made in August 2021, the redistributed Sydney boundaries lost parts of Edgecliff and Woollahra in the east to the neighbouring electorate of Vaucluse, and gained Surry Hills, Moore Park and Centennial Park from the south, however the ABC predicts the boundary changes won’t have a significant impact in changing voter demographics.

The current serving MP is Independent Alex Greenwich, who was first elected in 2012, winning further state elections in 2015 and 2019. Greenwich won the seat by a margin of 11.8% to the Liberal candidate in 2019.

Sydney is classified as a safe independent seat due to the electorate’s unique history as a stronghold for non-party candidates.

The electorate has been independent since its most recent conception as an electoral boundary in 2007, however the area’s history of independent representation runs back to Clover Moore’s election in former electorate of Bligh back in 1988.

Alex Greenwich (Independent)

Independent Alex Greenwich has served as MP for Sydney for the past decade, and is a well-known and supported figure.

His main areas of focus for his current campaign are tackling the cost of living, high rents, rising interest rates, the increase on food and electricity costs, the overall need for “greater investment in social and community, and affordable housing in the inner city,” Greenwich told City Hub last February.

He says that no fault evictions need to come to an end, where landlords cancel contracts many times before their agreed end date to lease to others at a higher price, a problem that is a “pathway to homeless”.

In Greenwich’s two previous terms, he has successfully supported the passing of the Marriage Equality Bill, the creation of a Special Commission of Enquiries into LGBTQ+ hate crimes, the decriminalisation of abortion in NSW and the passing of voluntary assisted dying legislation.

Born in New Zealand, Greenwich grew up in Circular Quay and studied Human Resource Management and Russian Studies at the University of New South Wales.

Skye Tito (Labor)

Labor candidate Skye Tito was a communications officer at the NSW Department of Education, and is currently the Chief Operations Officer at nonprofit “Raise Our Voice Australia”.

The first-time candidate told City Hub that she is mainly concerned with providing affordable housing, fixing public transport, supporting healthcare workers, pushing for an education reform and rebuilding the night time economy for inner city residents.

Regarding housing affordability, Tito will seek to put “an end to secret rent bidding, banning no grounds evictions, implementing a transferable bond scheme and making it easier to have pets in rentals”.

In a bid to fix the impact of “the lockout laws and lockdowns” in Sydney’s “decimated arts, entertainment and hospitality sectors”, Tito has said that a Labor government will invest $103 million in the music scene to counter pandemic losses.

When describing the focus on public transport, Tito explained that Labor will focus on bus and ferry arrangements to reinstate important stops that have been cancelled.

Nick Ward (The Greens)

Greens candidate Nick Ward is the Greens chosen newcomer to fight for Sydney.

Ward has a background in political activism, having been a leader in the fight for LGBTI law reform in Brisbane in the early 1990s, and in the travel, technology and private education sector.

Ward’s main concerns are to fight the approval of new fossil fuel projects, to support decriminalisation of the possession and consumption of illicit substances, to put preventive healthcare as a priority and to promote concrete change to rental rights.

On his campaign website, Ward and the Greens have vowed to fight “the consequence of years of profits being put above the planet”.

Ward has lived in Darlinghurst for over 10 years and has a degree in space engineering.

Phyllisse Stanton (Liberal)

Liberal candidate Phyllisse Stanton is a Media Managing Director and has worked for UKTV/BBC, Nine Network, Network 10, Prime Television and SBS in her past.

Stanton’s main promises are to use strong economic management to afford significant infrastructure and service improvements necessary for inner city residents.

In addition to committing to support of local residents and reduce the cost of living, Stanton has also defended the need to protect iconic Sydney locations, waterfronts and parks for the present and future residents.

When announcing her candidacy, Stanton said she will be focusing on “easing family budgets with cost of living measures, supporting small business, toll relief and investing in health and education”.

Mark Whitton (Sustainable Australia Party)

The Sustainable Australia Party candidate for the Legislative Assembly is Mark Whitton. The SAP lower house candidate is campaigning to reduce environmental pollution, to fight against corruption and to cease the overdevelopment occurring within the inner city.

City Hub reached out to the SAP for more information on their Sydney candidate.