NSW Greens claim historic Balmain victory

AAP,April,2-The NSW Greens have claimed a historic victory in the inner-west Sydney seat of Balmain.
While the results are yet to be made official by the electoral commission, Greens candidate Jamie Parker has claimed victory and Labor incumbent Verity Firth has conceded defeat.
"We ran a really positive proactive campaign and I think that resonated with the voters," Mr Parker, mayor of Leichhardt for the past two years, told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
It is the first NSW lower house seat the Greens have ever won, in an election which saw Labor routed by the coalition.
"This is a historic victory for the Greens in NSW," Mr Parker said.
"People are hungry to see change, they know that the two-party system has not served them well and now they have a real alternative to support the Greens."
Ms Firth, who conceded defeat soon after Mr Parker's victory speech, congratulated Mr Parker and said it was "remarkable" that such a marginal seat came down to the wire.
"In an election where some seats recorded swings of more than 30 per cent, it is remarkable that a marginal seat such as Balmain came down to the wire," the former education minister said in a statement.
"I am proud of the campaign and of the values for which we stood."
Federal Greens leader Bob Brown has also congratulated Mr Parker saying he is "delighted" that a "powerful and intelligent voice for a fair go" will represent Balmain.
"As with Adam Bandt's win for Melbourne in the House of Representatives, this is historic and breakthrough politics," Senator Brown said in Hobart.
"Jamie will be a strong voice for Balmain but will also bring an infusion of good new ideas into the parliament for all the Greens voters of NSW."
Mr Parker said first on his agenda is talking to the new Premier Barry O'Farrell about state planning.
"We want to make sure the reform is about the community and not just about the developers," he said.