NSW Election: Chris Minns romps to victory after intense voting day

Chris Minns stood hand in hand with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as they hailed in a new era of Labor dominance in Australia – after romping to victory in the NSW state election.

Dominic Perrottet had a horror night at the polls, losing a suite of seats as Mr Minns secured an historic majority win for his party.

Mr Minns has vowed to overhaul the teaching profession as his first act as 47th Premier of NSW, telling party faithful and the general public they voted ‘for nurses and teachers’ in his victory speech on Saturday night.

He’s determined to employ more teachers and improve the working conditions of those already in the field, noting that he’s also taking active measures to reduce the cost of living amid an ongoing global crisis.

The new premier will eliminate stamp duty for first home buyers on properties worth up to $800,000 and introduce an Energy Relief Fund to bring down household bills. 

The 43-year-old father-of-three has historically voted conservatively within his left-leaning party and is considered a centrist.

His pragmatism and reputation within his party has earned him comparisons to Paul Keating, and over the years he’s butted heads with the unions, who on one occasion said he’d be better suited ‘having a crack at leadership of the Liberal Party’.

Prior to taking over leadership of the Labor party unopposed in 2021, he had two failed attempts at the role in 2018 and 2019. 

He was raised in Penshurst by a lawyer mother and school principal father, both of whom were passionate Labor voters, and himself joined the party age 18, eventually becoming president of Young Labor by 2004, aged 25. Paul Keating, Bob Carr and Anthony Albanese all led Young Labor in their day.  

His win in NSW is just the final nail in the coffin for a Coalition who until recently ran much of the nation. 

The Liberal party’s vote first collapsed in South Australia in March 2022, followed by the federal election in May of the same year.

Now, there is no Coalition government on mainland Australia. The Liberal party remains in Tasmania, where the next election is not scheduled until mid-2025. 

Mr Minns was the early favourite to win the election, but nobody was expecting such a decisive result – particularly in some of the key battlegrounds which many thought would be hard fought.

Kyle Sandilands, who was one of Mr Minns’ biggest advocates throughout his campaign, told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday night he was thrilled with the result.

‘Chris is not only a fresh ideas man, he is kind and considerate,’ he said. ‘Just what NSW needs right now.’ 

But the lead up to polls closing this evening was not without controversy, with ‘disgraceful acts’ at polling booths, tense exchanges between opposing candidates  and early accusations of voter fraud throughout the state.

Corflutes belonging to Liberal’s Coogee candidate Dr Kylie von Muenster were vandalised with the words ‘scum’ and ‘racist’ scrawled across them on Saturday morning in a move later branded ‘disgusting’.

Initial counts indicate Dr Von Muenster was beaten by incumbent Labor MP Marjorie O’Neill, who enjoyed a 9.8 per cent swing back toward Labor with almost 50 per cent of the vote counted. 

Earlier, conspiracy theorists cornered NSW election officials as they attempted to move sealed boxes filled with votes, accusing them of voter fraud.

And tensions boiled over between One Nation’s Mark Latham and Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court in a tense TV interview as the count wore on on Saturday night.

During the fiery stand-off Mr Latham called the Australian businessman ‘a complete and utter fraud’, claiming he was ‘pulling the strings’ of the teal candidates.

He said the teals should declare themselves as a political party after questioning who chose their five candidates – only one of whom secured a win.

‘Who (in the community) picked Judy Hannan in the seat of Wollindilly?’ Latham said. ‘There’s been no democratic process… She picked herself and you funded her.’

As the count stands, Labor appears to have secured 47 seats – enough to form a majority government – with 28 going to the Liberal party, three to the Greens and seven to other parties.

Eight seats are still in doubt, with Labor ahead in the polls in four of them. 

Mr Perrottet called Mr Minns to concede defeat within hours of polls closing, and gave a public concession speech at 9.50pm.

He told the small crowd gathered at the Hilton hotel in Sydney that Mr Minns would make a ‘fine premier of NSW’ as he revealed he would step aside as leader of his party.

‘I take full responsibility for the loss this evening. To everyone in the Liberal Party, this next period of time will not be easy but it will be necessary.

‘It is a time to reflect, it is our time to rethink and ultimately to renew.’

Mr Perrottet was complimentary of the new state premier, telling the small crowd be believed Mr Minns would ‘lead with the same decency of the same integrity that he has led with so far. 

‘Ultimately, I ask everybody across New South Wales, whatever your political persuasion, to get behind him. I feel a profound sense of gratitude to have been able to serve the people of New South Wales. 

‘Make no mistake, we have made history. We have been a government for the longest time is our party was for. Our government has achieved so much in so many ways.’

But it was a sad sight at the Liberal gathering. The party had hired out a private room at the Hilton in Sydney and anticipated 300 people to turn out.

A photo from inside the convention centre shows a nearly empty room with news broadcasts on two projectors revealing a landslide win for the NSW Labor Party.

The sound on the screens were reportedly turned off shortly after news organisations started to call the election. 

By 9pm, there was not a single MP in sight and the room was still sparse. A few more groups had gathered by the time former Prime Minister John Howard had arrived, but it was a somber scene when Mr Perrottet delivered his concession speech.

He left a short time after. 

Meanwhile at Labor’s party in Brighton Le Sands, guests began celebrating their victory early after a hard-fought campaign. 

Mr Minns was joined by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who introduced the new Premier with a short speech about his kindness, compassion and integrity.

He waited until after Mr Perrottet had conceded publicly to take to the stage with his family, wading through the excitable crowd as they shouted ‘Labor, Labor’. 

‘I thought it was going to be close, but in the end we got there,’ he said.

In an equally as respectful speech, Mr Minns thanked the outgoing premier for running a respectful and civil campaign which could serve ‘as a model for the way democracy is done right across this country’.

Labor have already secured the 47 seats needed for a majority, and could end the count with as many as 50 by early next week.

The seats of Goulburn, Holsworthy, Kiama and Oatley are all still too close to call but Labor is ahead in the count so far, while the Liberal party are ahead in Miranda and Pittwater. Willoughby and Wollondilly are likely to go to Independents.

Labor Deputy Leader Prue Carr said her party’s policies had clearly ‘struck a chord’ with the people of NSW.

‘The campaign, thus far, is showing that we really were listening to people, and talking about the bread-and-butter issues that people are concerned about,’ she told the ABC.

It’s an enormous and historic victory for Labor.

Mr Minns is only the fourth state Labor leader to win from Opposition since World War II – ending 12 years in the political wilderness for the ALP.

He now joins William McKell in 1941, Neville Wran in 1976 and Bob Carr in 1995 as the only New South Wales Labor leaders to have won from Opposition since World War II.

He’s also be the first state Labor leader since 1995 to have won from Opposition when Labor was in power federally.

This also makes Mr Perrottet the first Liberal premier to lose an election since the late John Fahey, leaving him as the only living former Liberal premier to have been defeated.

Here’s what to expect from the new NSW government 

Cheaper Tolls  

Mr Minns made tolls a key focus during this campaign, despite early criticism from some in his own camp who branded it ‘small politics’.

But he stuck to his guns, spurred by feedback he received in western Sydney that travelling to and from the city was a huge hit to the hip pocket of millions of voters.

Under a Labor government, NSW residents are ensured a $60 weekly toll cap, enforced from January 1, 2024 for two years. 

Housing 

Labor has promised action on stamp duty, to allow first-home buyers to get on the housing ladder more easily. It promises to scrap or reduce stamp duty for first home buyers for purchases up to $800,000.

Stamp duty would also be partly waived for first home buyers purchasing homes up to $1million under Labor’s plan.

Mr Minns has also committed to abolishing the land tax.

‘NSW Labor will remove or reduce stamp duty for 95 per cent of first home buyers, abolish the Liberals forever land tax on the family home and deliver real reform for renters,’ the Labor leader said.

The NSW Labor government zeroed in on providing social housing for struggling Aussies.

A mandatory requirement will be introduced under a Minns government where 30 per cent of all homes built on surplus government land must be allocated for social and affordable housing.

Demerit Points

Mr Minns has vowed to remove one demerit point on a motorist’s record every year for those who have had a clean driving record for at least 12 months.

Currently it takes three years for a demerit point to be scrapped.

Public Transport

Labor will build new public transport in Western Sydney to match the area’s significant growth in population forecast over the next two decades.

The party also pledged to conduct a review into Sydney trains and reinstate express services, which will slice commuting times for those in Sydney’s west and the outer suburbs the most.

Mr Minns also wants to establish a fleet of rapid buses that would link Campbelltown, Liverpool and Penrith to Badgerys Creek from 2026.

Education

Labor has pledged to convert 10,000 existing temporary teacher positions to permanent roles.

The party will also build 100 new preschools, 50 new and expanded schools and establish TAFE Domestic Manufacturing Centres.

Health

Labor promised to increase the number of healthcare workers across NSW and implement continuous upgrades to existing hospitals.

If elected, they will recruit an additional 1,200 nurses and midwives and up to 500 new paramedics to work in rural and regional areas.

Wage caps for nurses, midwives, paramedics and hospital staff will also be scrapped.   

NSW Labor plans to upgrade a number of hospitals in the state, beginning with facilities in Canterbury and Fairfield.

Energy

Labor will subsidise energy bills for families by $250 and for small businesses by $315 under a proposed $485 million Energy Relief Fund.

Deductions will be applied directly to power bills for one year and will be provided as quarterly instalments.

There are 1.6million families and 320,000 small businesses who will be eligible for the scheme. 

Labor said it would also spend $1 billion creating a state-owned energy company called the Energy Security Corporation.

The ESC will develop renewable energy projects such as community batteries and energy storage through pumped hydro. Labor said the money would come out of the proceeds of selling state assets.

Privatisation 

Mr Minns has ruled out any further privatisation, telling Daily Mail Australia: ‘NSW Labor will not privatise Sydney Water, Hunter Water or Essential Energy which would see water bills skyrocket, the Liberals cannot be trusted to offer the same commitment.’

The Labor leader is also considering buying back the coal-powered Eraring Power Station to guard against a power supply shortfall from less robust renewables – in what was a notable departure from Labor’s anti-coal positions at federal and state levels.