What we know tonight
Labor leader Chris Minns will be New South Wales’ next premier, delivering a victory speech to a jubilant crowd of Labor supporters at the party’s election nigh function in Sydney where he was welcomed by prime minister Anthony Albanese.
While that’s the headline, the count is not yet done. Here’s a summary of what we know just before midnight:
Labor are on track to form a majority government, with results in a few key seats still unclear late on Saturday as counting ended for the night. Various vote counts have Labor hovering at the 47 seats needed for majority government.
Dominic Perrottet will stand down as New South Wales Liberal leader, he announced in a concession speech in which he said he feels a “profound sense of gratitude” to have led the state. Former treasurer Matt Kean, when asked if he was interested in the leadership, said it was too early to say.
Both Perrottet and Minns heaped praise on each other for waging a fair campaign.
The Coalition have lost a slew of seats, including many once considered safe Liberal seats. Wakehurst, held by retiring health minister Brad Hazzard, has been won by independent Michael Regan. Liberal MP Stuart Ayres appears to have lost his seat of Penrith to Labor, as many other Liberal-held western Sydney seats fell to Labor.
The outcome in several key seats is still unclear. Willoughby is on a knife-edge, with independent challenger Larissa Penn ever so slightly leading Liberal MP Tim James. Independent challenger in Wollondilly Judy Hannan is also the (slight) favourite over Liberal MP Nathaniel Smith.
With that, we’ll wrap up our live election blog for the night. You can read more of our coverage from today here.
Premier-elect Chris Minns’ victory speech:
Updated
