Polling day has arrived for four NSW electorates heading to the ballot box in by-elections triggered by the resignations of senior state MPs.
Within days of former premier Gladys Berejiklian quitting her leadership in October, then-Nationals leader John Barilaro, former Transport Minister Andrew Constance and former Labor Leader Jodi McKay announced they would leave state parliament too.
They left vacant the Sydney seats of Willoughby and Strathfield, and regional seats of Bega and Monaro.
The contest to find their replacements is the first electoral test for the state’s freshly-appointed major party leaders, and comes a year before all NSW voters heads to the polls in a general election.
But election day is likely to look quite different than it has previously, largely thanks to precautions put in place amid the state’s Omicron COVID-19 wave.
For starters, about 40 per cent of constituents have already voted – 18 per cent voting in person early, and 20 per cent by post – says NSW Electoral Commissioner John Schmidt.
Voters have previously needed a suitable reason to vote early, or via post, but all constituents in the four seats were this time allowed to do either.
However that means results will be delayed, Mr Schmidt said.
While postal ballots must be completed by the time the polls close at 6pm, the electoral commission has allowed extra time for people to mail them in.
“Results will start to be reported on our website from election night, but final results cannot be declared for these by-elections until all the postal votes received by 25 February have been processed,” he said in a statement.
“It is currently planned that the results will be announced by Friday, 11 March.”
There will be a fierce contest for the seat of Strathfield, which Labor won with a margin of five per cent last election.
Former United Nations lawyer Jason Yat-sen Li will try to retain the seat for the party, going up against businesswoman and Liberal Bridget Sakr – whose 11-year-old daughter died along with three other children when they were hit by a drunk and drugged driver at Oatlands in 2020.
The other key electorate to watch is Bega, on the state’s south coast, which the Liberals hold with a 6.9 per cent margin.
Labor has never won the seat, but local gynaecologist and obstetrician Michael Holland will try to break the drought, running against farmer and former teacher Fiona Kotvojs for the Liberals.
Nationals candidate Nichole Overall and Labor’s pick Bryce Wilson will face off in Monaro, which was held by the Nationals on a margin of 11.6 per cent.
Tim James, the candidate for the Liberals, is likely to retain Willoughby, the lower north shore seat held by Gladys Berejiklian on a margin of 21 per cent last poll.
The by-elections set up a key test for both Liberal Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor Leader Chris Minns.
Both were recently elevated to their position – neither elected by constituents – and both are painting their parties as the underdogs.
For Mr Perrottet, there is the usual swing against the government in by-elections, the loss of popular and senior MPs, as well as scrutiny of his handling of the surging Omicron wave.
The government is already in minority, and a loss of any further seats would force it to rely more heavily on the votes of more independent or minor party MPs.
The stakes are also high for Mr Minns, who has pitched himself as the man to make Labor a real election chance after more than a decade in opposition.
© AAP 2022
