NSW Labor's Biggest Win in 16 Years as Coalition Loses 19 Seats

Labor has delivered NSW voters the biggest rejection of a state government in more than a decade, winning 47 of 93 seats and forcing the Coalition to surrender 19 electorates in a historic swing against the Liberals and Nationals.

With counting still incomplete on Saturday night, Labor was already projected to claim around 50 seats — a commanding majority — marking the party's return to power after 12 years in Opposition. The last time Labor won a state election here was 2007, under Morris Iemma. Chris Minns, the Labor leader, will become the 47th Premier.

The numbers tell a story of decisive rejection. The Coalition, which has governed NSW since 2011, faces the loss of traditionally safe seats including Parramatta, Penrith, and others across the south coast, the hills district, and the outer west. Labor successfully reclaimed Riverstone, Leppington, South Coast, Heathcote, and East Hills — territory the party had lost in previous cycles. Stuart Ayres, a sitting Liberal MP in Penrith, appears poised to lose his seat.

Sky News called the result just two hours after counting began at 8:04pm, such was the scale of the shift against the government.

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared at Labor's victory rally, describing Minns as embodying "vision, compassion, and integrity." Minns, in his first speech as Premier-elect, acknowledged both the scale of the task ahead and the unusual tenor of the campaign itself. He praised the outgoing Premier for running what he called "a model of respect and civility," noting that "neither party took the low road." He pledged to look after those who had supported the party and singled out frontline workers — hospital and school staff, emergency responders — who had carried the state through the pandemic years.

"After 12 years in Opposition, I want to say to the people who voted for Labor or the Liberals and Nationals, or for the Independents or minor party candidates, we will govern for everyone in NSW," Minns said.

Dominic Perrottet, who had become Premier less than two years earlier, conceded defeat shortly after 9pm. In a brief address to Liberal Party members, the 40-year-old took "full responsibility for the loss" and announced he would stand down as party leader. Perrottet had been sworn in as the 46th Premier in October 2021 after his predecessor, Gladys Berejiklian, was forced to resign following a corruption investigation.

Despite the defeat, Perrottet offered measured words about the campaign and about Minns. "Elections can get ugly, but I believe this election was truly a race to the top — a genuine battle of ideas," he said. He urged all New South Wales voters, "whatever your political persuasion, to get behind" the incoming Premier. "When New South Wales goes well, our country goes well."

The scale of Labor's swing — one of the largest state election reversals in recent Australian political history — reflected broader voter frustration after 12 years of Coalition government. With the full count expected to continue into Monday, the projection of around 50 Labor seats would give Minns a comfortable majority and a clear mandate to implement his election platform across the state's healthcare, education, and cost-of-living priorities.