Liberal candidate Rachel Merton has ended the Animal Justice Party's hopes of securing a second seat in the NSW upper house.
The NSW Electoral Commission computer today revealed the long-awaited results of the Legislative Council count following the March 25 state election.
Twenty-one candidates were elected for the next eight years, with the Labor government securing eight spots and the Coalition seven.
They join the 21 Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) who are continuing their terms.
Today's counting confirmed the election of two Greens to the upper house, GP Amanda Cohn and the re-elected Cate Faehrmann.
Jeremy Buckingham has been elected as the state's first upper house member for the Legalise Cannabis Party, continuing an upward trend for the group who recently scored seats in Western Australia and Victoria.
One Nation secured one seat, that of state party leader Mark Latham.
Lead candidate for the Liberal Democrats, John Ruddick, was also elected, along with Robert Borsak, leader of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers.
Crossbench votes key to Labor agenda
The tally for the final seat was close, but Ms Merton defeated social worker and Animal Justice Party candidate Alison Waters.
Ms Merton is from the party's conservative faction, and was a former staffer of MLC Natasha Maclaren-Jones and was also an adviser to the Howard federal government.
She was put on the upper house ticket after former premier Dominic Perrottet intervened in the pre-selection process to ensure there was gender parity on the ticket for winnable positions.
Full results for the New South Wales electionThe results have determined the overall make up of the Legislative Council, and show how the newly elected Minns government will need to rely on the crossbench to pass legislation if the Coalition opposes.
Both Labor and the Coalition have 15 members in total, but traditionally a government member is elected as president, which will leave Labor with 14 members.
Labor will now have to rely on votes from seven of the 12 crossbench members, without opposition support.
Mr Buckingham said one of his priorities would be a bill to legalise recreational cannabis use for adults – an issue which has today drawn in Premier Chris Minns.
In 2019 then-transport minister Mr Minns spoke at a Labor party gathering in favour of the legalisation of cannabis.
But today, following questions from the media, he walked back his support.
"The comments were made well before prescriptions for medicinal cannabis were as widely available as they are today," a spokesperson for the premier said.
"In 2018, there were fewer than 3,000 prescriptions. In 2022, more than 120,000 were issued, mostly for chronic pain, anxiety and sleep disorders, but also for cancer, ADHD and migraines.
"In light of that, the views of the premier have changed."
Mr Minns says his government had no plans to introduce legislation around cannabis use.
