Albanese victory: We're not in Marrickville for long, Toto

It's a long way from Marrickville, where locals on Sunday expressed their elation via tooting car horns, applause and selfies as Anthony Albanese made his first appearance in Grayndler as PM-elect.

A crowd of locals and media around him, Mr Albanese had coffee at the Marrickville Library plaza with, among others, his partner Jodie Haydon, new MP elect Sally Sitou who had just wrested the neighbouring seat of Reid from the Liberals, and State MP for Summer Hill Jo Haylen. "Jimmy Barnes did ring at 3.29am, which was very nice of him," said Mr Albanese, who declared victory just before midnight on Saturday.

The "First Dog" Toto was there, naturally, as she was when Mr Albanese cast his vote at Marrickville Town Hall early on Saturday afternoon, with Ms Haydon, 43, and his 21-year-old son Nathan also by his side. They are all expected to move to Kirribilli House. But before his win Mr Albanese professed on Saturday his devotion to his electorate, which he has served since 1996.

"I will always make the Jets games at Henson Park when I can," he responded to a question at the town hall as to what sort of local MP he would make as PM. "And I've got to say the Sydney Badge district tennis started six weeks go - I think my team is Marrickville 4 or 5 ... I haven't yet made it on to the court; I'm hoping to get a couple of games in over the next little while."

Good luck with that.

"My heart's here," he continued. "I have lived in this area my whole life, and the great thing about this area, as you can see from the people voting here today, is it is a mix of Australia, it reflects it. People from outside I think sometimes don't understand it.

"What I want to do is continue to represent them. I don't take it for granted, that is why I am here in Marrickville, at Marrickville Town Hall, right now. It is an electorate I love, they are very generous people; they are demanding, as they should be, of their local member."

In an anomaly, Mr Albanese, 59, actually lives in the electorate of Barton - retained with ease on Saturday by Labor's Linda Burney, who will be indigenous affairs minister - after an electoral boundary redraw in 2016. As he pointed out on Saturday, his electorate office's address on Marrickville Road allows him to run in the seat that Labor has held since it was created in 1949.

With 63.6 per cent of the vote counted at Monday noon, Mr Albanese had secured nearly 55 per cent of first preference votes - a swing in his favour of 3.5 per cent. On a two-party-preferred basis he took out 67 per cent of the vote. Rachael Jacobs, of the Greens, earned second spot with 22.2 per cent of the primary vote and Liberal candidate Ben Zhang landed third with 15.1 per cent.

Have something to say? Send a letter to the editor at: editor@innerwestreview.com.au

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: