NSW Coalition has the seats to form a majority as Michael Daley stands aside until new Labor leader vote held after the federal election

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

ABC’s election analyst Antony Green has called the seat of Dubbo for the Nationals, giving New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian the 47th seat she needs to claim majority government of the state.

And the opposition leader, Michael Daley, has stood aside in favour of his deputy Penny Sharpe, though he still intends to offer himself as leader in a rank-and-file ballot that will be held after the federal election.

In a brief statement Daley said the caucus rules provided that under normal circumstances an interim leader is appointed until a ballot is called to elect the leader.

“Notwithstanding that the party head office has decided to delay the ballot, it is in the spirit of the rules to take this course,” he said.

Daley is facing a challenge from Kogarah MP, Chris Minns, who looks set to hang onto his seat despite a swing against him. He has blamed the racially charged comments by Daley about Asians with PhDs taking “our kids’” jobs in the last week of the campaign for his near-death experience. Other challenges may emerge.

The counting in the state election is continuing.

Labor’s Marjorie O’Neill has claimed victory in the seat of Coogee, as she pulled 1,000 votes ahead. Green also called Lismore for the ALP’s Janelle Saffin. This means Labor gained two seats from the Coalition in the election.

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The seat of East Hills was on Monday afternoon still undecided but the Liberals were about 1,000 votes ahead.

The Coalition is now working on a new ministry, where resignations have created vacancies. The NSW Coalition has the chance to set a new direction in water policy and the environment following its return to government, after the resignation of the primary industries and water minister, Niall Blair.

There is pressure to return the moderate Rob Stokes to the environment portfolio as part of a super-ministry of planning and environment.

The appointment of Stokes to a powerful new portfolio and the resignation of Blair (who had responsibility for land clearing and fisheries) would provide a fresh opportunity for the Coalition to revisit contentious policies such as land clearing, marine parks, brumbies in Kosciuszko national park and climate change initiatives at the state level.

Polls are showing that climate change is now an important issue for voters.

NSW Labor has decided to delay choosing a new state opposition leader until after the federal election, partly because the party has committed to holding a rank-and-file ballot, and it is now in full campaign mode for the federal election in May.

“The party has directed the caucus to open nominations after the federal election and members of the state parliamentary Labor party (SPLP) are directed to refrain from commenting on, or campaigning for the SPLP leadership prior to the federal election,” a statement said.

In NSW, Dominic Perrottet is expected to remain as treasurer in the Berejiklian government and has become one of the premier’s most trusted advisers.

Some long-standing underperforming ministers, such as Ray Williams and Gabrielle Upton, could be dropped to make way for new talent. There are also three ministerial vacancies created by the retirement of Pru Goward and Blair, and a decision by Tanya Davies not to serve in the ministry this term.

Those in the running for promotion to the ministry are the Nationals’ upper house member Bronnie Taylor; Mark Coure, who has strengthened the Liberals’ hold on Oatley; James Griffin, the MP for Manly; Alister Henskens, the MP for Ku-ring-gai; and Epping MP Damien Tudehope. Melanie Gibbons, the deputy whip, has also been mentioned.

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Blair was re-elected to the legislative council for eight years on Saturday, but a day later announced he would not put himself forward for the ministry and would retire once a replacement was found, citing the pressures of the job.

Upper house casual vacancies can be filled by a nomination from the party, potentially clearing the way for the Nationals’ former director and upper house MP Ben Franklin to return to the red chamber after an unsuccessful tilt at winning the lower house seat of Lismore for the Nats.

The government has been under increasing pressure over its management of the Murray-Darling river system, and Blair faced loud criticism from farming communities over the Menindee Lakes mass fish deaths earlier this year.

Water issues played a big part in the Nationals’ loss of Barwon and Murray to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party.

Blair beefed up enforcement in the wake of allegations of water theft, but continued to defend NSW’s stewardship of the plan in the face of criticisms from farmers in the lower Darling, Indigenous groups and environmentalists, who accused the government of running the plan for the benefit of large irrigators in the north-west of the state.

“I cannot deny that the level of aggression directed towards me around water policy has had a profound impact,” Blair said in a statement.

“However, I stand by every decision I have made and believe that while the benefit of those decisions may not be felt immediately, they will be felt in the years to come as our state works to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin plan.”

Blair regularly threatened to pull NSW out of the commonwealth-state agreement, particularly when the Greens attempted to block plans to cut the environmental water recovery targets.

The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers have warned they will not negotiate on any legislation until the government makes the Murray-Darling Basin plan fairer. They have issued a 10-point plan for the river system. While some elements appear contradictory, it seems aimed at ensuring more water for smaller farmers and communities along the river, such as Menindee, while also preventing them from being hurt by more buybacks.