A police van was also torched outside an inner-west tattoo parlour, which reportedly has links to the Nomads.

Canberra is pushing for a second airport in Sydney to ease the strain at Mascot, but New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell wants the Canberra airport expanded and high-speed trains between Sydney and the national capital.

Both sides started strongly in attack and defence to make for an enthralling contest. It took a rare first half mistake to create the opportunity needed to open the scoring. The scoring was opened by some good second man play from the Bulldogs to put Turner in to score in the 12th minute.

Real Estate Institute of NSW data shows vacancies in the inner suburbs fell to 1.5 per cent, while the number of properties located up to 25km from the CBD dropped to 2.0 per cent.

Rental availability in Newcastle fell to the lowest level since last September, down to 1.3 per cent.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics latest population figures released yesterday revealed NSW had 76,700 new residents to the year ending September 2011 – an increase of 1.1 per cent.

Australians for Affordable Housing campaign manager Sarah Toohey said a vacancy rate of 3 per cent showed balance in the market.

She said households were forced to regions surrounding Sydney such as the Illawarra in search of cheaper housing.

“There are fewer opportunities for work there, and then to get into work to Sydney is much harder.

“Not only is it not good for individuals, it’s not good for Sydney,” she said.

“If your city is locking out essential service workers, you are going to come up against problems pretty quickly.

“We should be building more dedicated affordable rental properties, because rents are so high.”

REINSW president Christian Payne said it was disappointing the market had “gone backwards” in Sydney and Newcastle.

“It is unfortunate that the contraction of the rental market in both those cities last month will only make it harder for many prospective tenants to find a home,” Mr Payne said.

“Resolution of this chronic shortage in accommodation won’t be achieved in the short term.”

The REINSW February 2012 data showed Wollongong was the only major metropolitan centre in the state to record continued growth in rental vacancies, with the city’s rental vacancy rate rising 0.1 to 2.4 per cent.

Sydney mother Linda M, who asked her surname not be revealed, works two jobs but is left with just $74 a week to live on after paying rent on a modest two-bedroom northern beaches apartment.

“If it wasn’t for that I would be gone,” Ms M said.

She is reluctant to move her Year 12 daughter away from school but admits she desperately needs cheaper rent. She pays $440 a week, and earns just $514.

Premier Barry O’Farrell and Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian on Friday announced the $19.8 million buyout of monorail and light rail company Metro Transport Sydney (MTS), saying it would give them greater control over CBD transport planning.

The MTS purchase cleared the way to remove the controversial monorail, they said, almost 25 years since it began operation.

The monorail first rolled out during the 1988 Bicentenary Year, following mass protests against its construction.

Mr O’Farrell said the monorail struggled right from the start, with patronage figures in its first two years less than half that predicted by the Unsworth Labor government.

“The real problem with the monorail I think for most Sydneysiders is that it doesn’t actually go anywhere that you want to go,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“The monorail is not integrated with Sydney’s wider public transport network and has never been truly embraced by the community.”

Ms Berejiklian said tearing down the monorail would remove constraints on the proposed new convention centre development in Darling Harbour, which is expected to be completed by 2015-16.

She said the monorail could be pulled down in two to three years, but the government would not know for another 12 to 18 months the exact date of its removal.

Buying out MTS also gives the government greater flexibility when it came to planning future public transport, particularly proposed extensions to the light rail network, she said.

“It means our options have increased in relation to light rail,” she told reporters in Sydney.

“Our options have increased in relation to how we integrate the convention centre with other modes of public transport.

“The monorail’s been around for 20 years, and many argue that its use-by date has arrived, and that is certainly the government’s position.”

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who led protests against the monorail in the 80s, said it was “ugly” and “an intrusive, ineffective transport system”.

“Replacing it with efficient and effective light rail will improve transport access in central Sydney,” she said.

Business groups Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA), the Sydney Business Chamber, the Tourism and Transport Forum and the Property Council all backed the monorail’s removal, saying it was a barrier to the success of the new convention development.

IPA chief Brendan Lyon said few people would miss the monorail.

“It is an analogue mode in a digital world and is in the way of a range of important projects like Sydney’s new convention centre,” Mr Lyon said.

Opposition leader John Robertson was one of the few to criticise the decision to tear down the monorail, saying the government should be investing in new projects.

“I think it’s a good indication that Barry O’Farrell is more interested in destroying public transport around Sydney than he is in actually doing something about it,” he told AAP during a visit to the NSW Central Coast on Friday.

The report, released today, recommends no major increases to water bills and estimates that annual household costs will be $57 less in real terms, by 2016.

IPART Chairman Peter Boxall says the recommendation would mean revenue to Sydney Water would not increase.

“They put in a submission last September for a 15 per cent increase, in real terms, and our recommendation in the draft determination is that it be relatively flat,” he said.

“We believe that we can hold the revenue for Sydney Water roughly constant, in real terms, over the four years and they will still be able to supply good quality services and and comply with their licensing agreement.”

IPART assumes the desalination plant wont operate, as dams are full.

The opposition water spokesman Luke Foley says IPART has done the right thing.

“It’s now up to the O’Farrell Government to do the right thing and stop demanding massive profits, massive dividends from Sydney Water,” he said.

“The O’Farrell Government is demanding a massive 78 per cent increase from Sydney’s Water profit and unprecedented dividend payments to government.

“My my concern is that that profit and dividend would be at the expense of services and jobs.”

IPART has identified savings Sydney Water could make which include slowing the rate of investment in infrastructure.

It has called for stakeholder submissions on the recommendations by April 13th, with a final determination due for release in June.

Several caravan parks on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, between Windsor and Sackville, were also put on high alert.

“The confidence is of course higher now, because of the good performance and the good result when we play Perth – it lifts us up,” he said on Friday.

The NSW Food Authority has closed the abattoir in Sydney’s far north-west after reviewing the footage. The RSPCA has also examined the video and is launching an on-site investigation today into possible breaches of animal cruelty laws.

The Czech coach’s departure comes amid two disappointing seasons since leading them to the premiership-championship double in his first season in 2009-10.

Sydney FC chief executive Dirk Melton said the club met Lavicka earlier this week with both parties agreeing it was time for a “new direction” at the club.

Lavicka said he was sad to depart but had struggled living away from his wife and two daughters, who have been in Prague for the past 12 months.