NSW election 2023: Chris Minns claims victory in front of Labor party supporters in Sydney. Follow live results and updates. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
NSW election 2023: Chris Minns claims victory in front of Labor party supporters in Sydney. Follow live results and updates. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
In a very Sydney thing to happen on election day – there’s another train outage.
Trains are not running on the T1 (western line), T2 (inner west and Leppington line) and T9 (northern line) due to urgent signal repairs at Homebush. There are flow-on effects throughout the network – screens have gone blank at Milsons Point station, for example.
In a statement, Transport for NSW has said services on the North Shore, Bankstown, Cumberland, Airport & South, and Central Coast and Newcastle lines are also affected.
It has prompted Transport for NSW to issue a warning that anyone travelling to an NRL game at Olympic Park tonight should avoid taking the train.
Train outages across the Sydney network have plagued the Coalition in recent weeks. It remains to be seen if they will be punished for the outages at the ballot box.
A train pulls up to the platform at Milsons Point station in Sydney. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
Crossing live to Sky News just now from an election night function in his seat – where he is facing down a tough test from Climate 200-backed independent Victoria Davidson – Roberts confirmed Rinehart’s visit.
“Well Gina’s an old family friend,” he said.
Roberts said she handed out sandwiches and pies to volunteers of all candidates, not just Liberal volunteers.
“In the rain she was out there delivering to all booth workers,” Roberts said.
Here are some of the key seats to keep an eye on as results start coming in:
Penrith - held by former deputy Liberal leader Stuart Ayres on a wafer-thin 0.6% margin. Is seen as key for Labor’s chances to win government
East Hills - held by Labor on a 0.1% margin.
Murray - held by former former Shooters party MP turned independent Helen Dalton on a 2.8% margin. Dalton, her former party and Nationals make this a potential three-cornered contest.
Balmain - Held by retiring Greens MP Jamie Parker on a 10% margin.
Lane Cove - Held by Liberal frontbencher Anthony Roberts on a 14.7% margin. Being targeted by Climate 200-backed independent Victoria Davidson.
Wollondilly - Held by the Liberals on a 6% margin. Also being targeted by a Climate 200-backed independent.
Kogarah - Held by Labor leader Chris Minns on a 0.1% margin.
Heathcote - Held by the Liberals. But notionally Labor has a 1.7% margin.
Leppington - New seat. Notionally a Labor seat with a 1.5% margin.
Parramatta - Held by the Liberals on a 6.5% margin.
We’ll keep you updated on the results as they come in, but here’s a quick guide for those of you wishing to tune in to the televised coverage at the same time!
The ABC’s coverage is being helmed by Sarah Ferguson, with David Speers and - of course - Antony Green leading the panel. Treasurer Matt Kean and senior Labor MP Penny Shape will join the panel.
Nine’s coverage is being led by Peter Overton and will feature two former premiers - Labor’s Morris Iemma and Liberal Mike Baird - as well as NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell.
Seven will have outgoing Liberal minister David Elliott, Labor frontbencher Jo Haylen and One Nation’s Mark Latham featuring in its coverage, which is being hosted by Amelia Brace and Michael Usher.
Kieran Gilbert is helming Sky News’ coverage, which will feature Peta Credlin, Graham Richardson, Joel Fitzgibbon, Barnaby Joyce and NSW metropolitan roads minister Natalie Ward.
Polls have closed across New South Wales and a few staffers are starting to file into the Labor party function at Brighton-Le-Sands in Chris Minns’ seat of Kogarah.
The party is favourite to form government - either in minority of majority - ending 12 years in opposition. The final Newspoll of the election has raised hopes within Labor that majority government could be in reach.
The stage is set for Labor’s election-night function at Brighton-Le-Sands in Chris Minns seat of Kogarah. pic.twitter.com/oDPfquAxVC
But the expectation management game is already underway with party figures stressing that with a minimum nine seats required to form majority government and only four Coalition seats with a margin under 5%, it remains a narrow path to victory.
One of those seats, Goulburn in the state’s south, has not been held by Labor since 1965.
NSW Labor has only formed government twice from opposition, in 1976 and in 1995.
On the ABC, Coalition treasurer, Matt Kean, is also talking down the government’s chances of hanging on, saying the “deck is stacked against us” and that the party has “Mount Everest to climb”.
Gina Rinehart reportedly spotted at Sydney voting booth
Tamsin Rose
Volunteers for Lane Cove ‘teal’ candidate, Victoria Davidson, have told Guardian Australia that booths in Liberal Anthony Roberts‘s leafy north shore seat were visited by mining magnate Gina Rinehart this afternoon.
A volunteer called David who was handing out at Putney Primary told Guardian Australia a white SUV pulled up around 4pm and Rinehart got out to hand Liberal volunteers meat pies.
David said:
She was handing pies to the Liberal volunteers and she was saying what a great job they were doing. She was probably there for 10 minutes or so.
Apparently, they were warm, delicious pies.
A photo from another booth in the electorate appeared to show Rinehart beside a large white car with Australian flags attached to the top.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has been handing out pies in the the Liberal-held seat of Lane Cove this afternoon. A volunteer told me the recipients reported the pies were “warm and delicious”. pic.twitter.com/6to0kkLzVw
