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New South Wales politics takes place in context of a bicameral parliamentary system. The main parties are theLiberal andNational parties of theCoalition, and theLabor Party. Other minor political parties include theGreens,Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party,One Nation, and theLibertarian Party, along with several independent politicians.
The executive government (called the NSW Government) comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. There are also a number of independent agencies that fall under a portfolio but remain at arms-length for political reasons, such as theIndependent Commission Against Corruption andElectoral Commission. The stateExecutive Council, consisting of thegovernor and senior ministers, exercises the executive authority through the relevant portfolio.
The legislative branch includes the bicameralstate parliament, which includes the monarchy as represented by thegovernor, theLegislative Assembly, andLegislative Council. The judicial branch consists of three general courts (Local,District andSupreme Court), and several specialist courts such as theChildren's Court orCoroner's Court.[1]
New South Wales receivedstatehood upon thefederation of Australia in 1901, with thestate's Constitution establishing a parliamentary democracy. Its relationship with the federal government is regulated by theAustralian Constitution. The current government is held by thestate Labor Party, led by PremierChris Minns. Minns succeededDominic Perrottet from theLiberal Party on 28 March 2023 following thestate election.
The New South Wales government is sometimes referred to informally as "the bear pit", as a mark of perceived unruly behaviour within the parliamentary chambers, and 'Macquarie Street', ametonym of thestreet of that name whereParliament House is located, inSydney's CBD.
The Australian state ofNew South Wales has abicameral parliament. The Legislative Assembly (lower house) is composed of 93 members of parliament, each of whom represents a single electorate. The voting system ispreferential. Until the mid-1990s, members of the Assembly served for up to four years, until theGreiner government made terms a fixed length of four years. The Legislative Council (upper house) comprises 42 members, who serve terms of 8 years. TheKing is represented by thegovernor, who formally appoints the premier, as nominated by the majority party in the Assembly.
The formal chief executive ofNew South Wales is thegovernor, who is appointed asthe King's representative on the advice of the head of the governing party. The current governor isMargaret Beazley. The governor holds limitedreserve powers, but with few exceptions is required by convention to act on the advice of the government.
ThePremier of New South Wales is currentlyChris Minns of theLabor Party. The 47th Premier, Minns assumed office on 28 March 2023. TheDeputy Premier of New South Wales isPrue Car.
Officially opposing theNew South Wales government is theoppositionLiberal–National Coalition
The government is decided every four years by election. The most recent electionwas held in 2023, with the next in2027.
New South Wales is currently governed by theLabor Party. The two main parties are theLiberal Party/National PartyCoalition, and theLabor Party. Other currently elected parties in New South Wales politics include theGreens, theShooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, theAnimal Justice Party,One Nation, and theLibertarian Party, along with multiple independents.
New South Wales is governed according to the principles of theWestminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of theUnited Kingdom. Legislative power formally rests with the King, acting with the advice and consent of theLegislative Council andLegislative Assembly—together known as theParliament of New South Wales.[2] Executive power is exercised by the Executive Council, which consists of the Governor and senior ministers.[3]
The Governor, as representative of the Crown, is the formal repository of power, which is exercised by him or her on the advice of thePremier of New South Wales and the cabinet. The Premier and ministers are appointed by the Governor, and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly. Judicial power is exercised by theSupreme Court of New South Wales and a system of subordinate courts, but theHigh Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Australian Constitution.
In 2006, theSesquicentenary ofResponsible Government in New South Wales, the Constitution AmendmentPledge of Loyalty Act 2006 No. 6 was enacted to amend theConstitution Act 1902 to require Members of the New South Wales Parliament and its Ministers to take a pledge of loyalty to Australia and to the people of New South Wales instead of swearing allegiance tothe Queen her heirs and successors, and to revise the oaths taken by Executive Councillors.[4] The Act was assented to by the Queen on 3 April 2006.
On 5 June 2012 the Constitution Amendment (Restoration of Oaths of Allegiance) Act 2012 No 33 was assented to and made a further amendment to theConstitution Act 1902, by restoring the option of taking the oath of allegiance to the Queen, her heirs and successors, in addition to the option of taking the pledge of loyalty.[5] The change applies to members of Legislative Council, Legislative Assembly and Executive Council.
The Liberals strongest base has always been on theNorth Shore andNorthern Beaches as well as theHills andForest districts, creating a 'bloc' on the northern side of Sydney Harbour. The last time the Labor party won an electorate wholly within any of these districts was the electorates ofManly,Wakehurst andWilloughby in the1978 'Wranslide' election. The electoral districts ofNorth Shore and the single Liberal held electorate ofVaucluse in theEastern Suburbs are the most affluent areas in the state and have never been lost to the Labor party. In recent decades, the Liberals have consistently held the regional electorates ofAlbury andGoulburn.
The Nationals (formerly the Country Party) are a party representing country issues and farmers and only generally seek to represent rural and regional electorates. They are ideologically conservative and sit on the centre-right of the political spectrum. Their strongest base within the state has always been theNew England,Northern Tablelands,Northern Rivers,Mid North Coast,Riverina and theCentral West. The Nationals biggest competitors are the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers and well as local independents from time to time. When there is no incumbent, it is not uncommon for the Liberals to run candidates against the Nationals creating three cornered contests in semi-rural electorates such asCessnock,Monaro,Goulburn andWagga Wagga.
Labor was traditionally strongest in theInner West,Western Sydney andSouth Western Sydney; however, their status has diminished since the late 2000s in the Inner West with the rise of theleft-wing Greens in the electorates ofBalmain andNewtown. Labor's significant majorities and continual hold-outs with its highesttwo-party preferred votes are in the electorates with the highest concentration oflower socioeconomic groups such asMount Druitt,Blacktown andCanterbury. Labor are equally unchallenged in the electorates with knownethnic enclaves such asLakemba,Cabramatta,Bankstown andFairfield respectively.
Outside metropolitan Sydney, Labor have consistently recorded majorities in the regions of theHunter andCentral Coast with the Coalition holding only a single electorate in each without interruption, being:Upper Hunter andTerrigal. Labor generally performs well in theIllawarra and in theFar West mining town ofBroken Hill.
The Greens have solidified support within the Inner West city region of metropolitan Sydney at the expense of Labor. There has been little to no opposition from the Liberals or their predecessors in seats where left-wing candidates have always won by substantial margins such as the currentBalmain andNewtown and the former related seats such asLeichhardt,Phillip,Elizabeth,Rozelle andPort Jackson. With the loss of these reliable seats, this creates a harder task for Labor to form majority government into the future. The Greens have seen localised success in the Northern Rivers seat ofBallina which entirely encompasses theByron Bay district.
The following lists current electorates where the opposing party (Liberal/National versus Labor/Greens) have never won each seat or its direct predecessor following a redistribution or since the abolition ofproportional representation of the lower house in 1927:
Labor | Liberal | Nationals
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For governments to change hands, generally there is a quantity ofmarginal electorates that determine the result of the election which sustain the most attention from the major parties. In New South Wales, most of these electorates are located in Western Sydney and surrounds and generally after redistribution by the New South Wales Electoral Commission they remain marginal or ± 5% of the previous margin. In the case of electorates that more than often side with the incoming or continuing government, known as abellwether, the electorate ofMonaro holds the record for all but two (1995 and 1999) elections since 1932 in having sided with the government of the day. Other common bellwethers beingOatley (formerlyGeorges River) andRyde (formerlyGladesville andFuller). Other electorates that often change hands between the major parties include:Drummoyne,Gosford,Heathcote,Holsworthy,Parramatta andPenrith.
New South Wales has 47 seats in theAustralian House of Representatives, the most of any state. As such, it is nearly impossible to win government without a strong base in New South Wales, while a decent showing in New South Wales can usually make up for a poor night elsewhere. Labor has never won an election without winning a majority in New South Wales.[6]
The1996 federal election was an example of how critical New South Wales is in federal elections. The election turned into a Coalition rout in large part due to Labor losing 13 of its 33 seats in New South Wales.
Like at the state level, the federal party draws most of its continuous support from north-west Sydney and the surrounds of theHawkesbury River. The Liberal Party of Australia has never lost the divisions ofBerowra orBradfield, on the northern side of the harbour. The Party also has strong bases in Southern Sydney and Southern NSW, having continuously held the divisions ofCook,Hughes (excluding party resignations),Farrer andHume for several decades. The party lost its traditional harbour-side base of seats includingNorth Sydney,Warringah,Warringah andWentworth to theteal movement between 2018 and 2022.
Unlike with state results, Labor has consistently maintained dominance over the Greens in the Inner West and the Liberals through the bulk of the Western Sydney basin to the Blue Mountains. The only inner-metropolitan Sydney seat that changes between Labor and Liberal is the division ofReid (formerlyLowe) which is currently held by Labor as of 2022. Labor dominate the Hunter, Illawarra and South Coast regions, as of 2022 holding every seat. However, the divisions ofDobell,Gilmore,Hunter andPaterson are considered winnable seats for the Liberals in each region. The Central Coast seat ofRobertson is the longest-continuousbellwether in the country.
As of 2024, the most recent state referendum in New South Wales was in1995.
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| Primary vote | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ALP | L+NP | Oth. | |
| 1999 New South Wales state election | 42.21% | 33.69% | 24.1% |
| 2003 New South Wales state election | 42.68% | 34.35% | 22.98% |
| 2007 New South Wales state election | 38.87% | 36.88% | 24.26% |
| 2011 New South Wales state election | 25.55% | 51.15% | 22.93% |
| 2015 New South Wales state election | 34.08% | 45.63% | 20.29% |
| 2019 New South Wales state election | 33.31% | 41.58% | 25.11% |
| 2023 New South Wales state election | 36.97% | 35.37% | 27.68% |
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