NSW election result ‘deeply rooted’ in western Sydney’s cost-of-living crisis

Voters arrive at a polling booth in Parramatta, where the Liberal party’s first preference vote collapsed by 15%. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

The cost-of-living crisis in western Sydney and a loss of trust in government drove voters in the region away from the Coalition in a shift that decided the New South Wales election, experts say.

Western Sydney has been labelled the region where “elections are won and lost” after it played pivotal roles in the NSW election as well as last year’s federal poll.