THE Liberal Party has been wiped from the electoral map in the Hunter, with some of the biggest swings in the state against the Baird government delivering Port Stephens and Maitland into the ALP’s hands, along with Swansea.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Its MPs were also returned in Newcastle, Charlestown, Wallsend and Cessnock with strengthened margins, leaving the Lower Hunter wall-to-wall Labor in a major correction of the 2011 swings to the Liberals.
But the re-elected Baird government is declaring it will continue with its controversial renewal plans in Newcastle, despite both parties having framed the poll in the city seat as a referendum on the proposal to truncate the heavy rail and install light rail.
‘‘The government will press ahead full steam with the revitalisation of Newcastle,’’ a spokesman for Premier Mike Baird said.
‘‘It is one of the great projects [the Premier] had in mind last night when he said he was confident of a strong victory in 2019,’’ he said on Sunday, referring to the Premier’s victory speech on Saturday night.
The election results leave the region with seven Labor MPs among its nine state representatives to fight for its share of the expected $20billion proceeds from Mr Baird’s proposed lease of the state’s poles and wires.
Opposition Leader Luke Foley thanked Hunter voters on Sunday for returning to the Labor fold and said its representatives would ‘‘fight hard to hold the government to account for their promises to the region’’.
‘‘After the loss in 2011 where many in the Hunter voted against Labor for the very first time, the community has put their faith back in our party and I’m determined to never let them down again,’’ he said.
‘‘The Hunter is truly Labor heartland and all of our new MPs in the region will now get on with the job of delivering for their communities.’’
Labor’s Kate Washington was responsible for the upset of the campaign, securing Port Stephens despite the Liberals having held it with nearly a 15 per cent margin.
ALP polling had suggested the seat was in reach, after MP Craig Baumann moved to the crossbench amid the corruption watchdog’s inquiry into dodgy donations, then opted not to recontest his seat.
But even Ms Washington admitted she was ‘‘overwhelmed’’ at the result, which on the official count so far is about a 20 per cent swing.
Ms Washington attributed much of her win in Port Stephens to the ‘‘lack of care’’ shown by the Liberals in an area where it has dominated federal, state and local politics.
‘‘They have become very out of touch with what the community expects from them, they’ve lost perspective,’’ she said.
The result, along with a backlash against the Nationals in the seat of Myall Lakes, may cause discomfort for federal Paterson Liberal MP Bob Baldwin, although he has no obvious Labor challenger now Ms Washington will be in NSW Parliament.
The National Party clung on to the seat of Upper Hunter, but its margin of 23per cent was almost entirely eroded by Martin Rush, who even winner Michael Johnsen described as ‘‘the best candidate Labor’s run in the seat’’.
Mr Johnsen is now the only state government MP in the region, and said he would ‘‘proudly fly the flag’’ for the Coalition. As expected, Labor’s Yasmin Catley regained Swansea from Liberal-turned-independent Garry Edwards.
The ALP’s Jenny Aitchison won in Maitland but with a stronger-than-expected swing in her favour of about 18 per cent.
Her Liberal competition, Steve Thomson, warned voters could be in for a harsh dose of reality after choosing opposition MPs.
‘‘I think it will be another period of disillusionment for voters,’’ Mr Thomson said.
‘‘The ones who voted for Labor will be expecting to benefit from their election commitments, and that’s not going to happen.’’
In Lake Macquarie, independent MP Greg Piper will serve a third term, although the grassroots campaign run by Labor’s Melissa Cleary reined in his margin.
This article first appeared on The Herald website.