Mike Baird has been re-elected as Premier of New South Wales in spite of a predicted swing to the State’s Labor party, with the Liberal-National Coalition retaining 53 seats.
It wasn’t the landslide swing that Labor were hoping for, but opposition leader Luke Foley was grateful that the people of New South Wales voted more favourably for his party this time around, declaring that: “With this result tonight we have gone from a rump in the State Parliament to a real opposition.” The 9% swing towards Labor was to be expected after their defeat in 2011 where the party lost 32 seats in a record defeat.
The Premier was fierce in his victory speech at Coalition HQ in Sydney, where he was welcomed with huge celebratory cheers by his fellow party members and colleagues.
“We will do what we say we are going to do, and to the people of NSW I say this: I will guarantee that we’ll work every day for you to make your lives better,” he said.
There were also celebrations to be had for the Greens, with the party looking set to win the seats of Ballina, Lismore, Balmain and Newton. They also look hopeful to gain seats in the state’s upper house.
One of the most debated issues in the lead up to the election was the privatisation of power assets, which headlined Foley’s monumental scare campaign against Mike Baird’s government.
It is confirmed that Labor are still opposed to the move, and the New South Wales government will now have to gather support in the upper house in order to lease the assets.
In the next fortnight it will be clear if the Coalition have the numbers in the upper house to push this legislation through.
IMAGE: NSW Premier Mike Baird. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)