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LABOR appears to have gained three Hunter seats, with a major upset in the seat of Port Stephens, and retained four others, including the region’s flagship seat of Newcastle.
Opposition leader Luke Foley on Saturday night thanked Hunter voters for returning to the ALP fold, after strong swings in Maitland, Swansea and Port Stephens.
Labor insiders were claiming victory for Kate Washington in Port Stephens over Liberal Ken Jordan, with a huge predicted swing of about 19 per cent.
Results last night, after 46 per cent of the vote had been counted, put Ms Washington on 12,797 votes to Mr Jordan’s 11, 201. A large pre-poll vote was still to be tallied.
Liberal Craig Baumann had held the seat on margin of nearly 15 per cent, before revelations were aired at the Independent Commission Against Corruption last year that he had failed to properly disclose political donations to his campaigns, including donations from developers in 2007.
After moving to the crossbench, he opted not to recontest the seat.
Ms Washington said the results on Saturday night were ‘‘overwhelming’’ and ‘‘beyond all our expectations’’.
‘‘I want to be a member the community can be proud of. I will be someone who works hard, and who stays true to the people who put me here,’’ she told her supporters.
In Maitland, Labor’s Jenny Aitchison was on track for a convincing victory over Liberal Steve Thomson, with the conservative vote appearing to split between him and independent candidate Philip Penfold.
The ALP’s Yasmin Catley easily picked up Swansea, from Liberal turned crossbench MP Garry Edwards.
Labor also comfortably retained Charlestown, Cessnock and Wallsend.
In Newcastle, Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp increased his primary vote from 37 per cent at the October byelection to 41 per cent. But so too did Karen Howard lift her results, up 34 per cent on Saturday night as a Liberal compared to 26 per cent she recorded in the byelection as an independentl.
Mr Crakanthorp said the government had to respect the result and abandon plans to truncate Newcastle’s heavy rail line and install light rail.
"I think it's time for the government, the transport minister and the planning minister to listen to the people of Newcastle and the Hunter," he said, in reference to both ministers declaring the election in Newcastle a referendum on the city's heavy rail line," he said.
Independent Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper is assured a third term.
In the Upper Hunter, Labor's Martin Rush is trailing Nationals candidate Michael Johnsen by about 1700 votes, with 22,860 counted.
