Gladys Berejiklian leads Coalition to third term in government in NSW

Premier says she will work closely with minor parties as prospect of minority government remains

Gladys Berejiklian has led the Coalition to a third term in government in New South Wales despite a rising tide of minor parties and independents, and has become the first woman elected premier of the state at a general election.

Many seats were still too close to call on Saturday evening but one thing was certain – the night had been a huge disappointment for Labor, with no chance of forming government and no major improvement in their statewide primary vote compared with the election four years earlier.

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Bangers and ballots: everything you need to know about the NSW election

There’s a good chance Saturday’s poll will produce a hung parliament. Here’s how to make your vote count – and where to buy your democracy sausage

Almost 5.3 million people are enrolled to vote at more than 8,000 voting stations in Saturday’s state election. New South Wales has fixed terms, with elections held on the fourth Saturday in March every four years since 1995. About a quarter of voters cast their ballot before election day in 2015, and this is expected to rise in 2019. Almost 850,000 people had voted by Thursday morning.

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Michael Daley claims Asian workers taking young people’s jobs in Sydney

NSW Labor leader says ‘no offence’ meant after video surfaces of him saying ‘our kids are moving out and foreigners are moving in’

The New South Wales opposition leader, Michael Daley is under sustained pressure over his comments in a 2018 video in which he said young Sydneysiders were leaving and being replaced by workers from Asia.

Despite repeatedly apologising “if anyone took offence” Daley insisted his comments were not racist or dogwhistling and were about housing affordability in Sydney.

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‘Farmers feel let down’: rural NSW seats suddenly up for grabs

Gabrielle Chan finds bush electorates that were once locked in for the National party are now under siege from a variety of challengers

The state seat of Barwon is about as rusted-on as you can get.

About the same size as Germany, its south-western end is the Labor-dominated town of Broken Hill. Most of the rest is committed National party country and has been that way since 1950.

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Former NSW minister Ian Macdonald walks from jail ahead of a retrial

The former Labor minister will face a new trial after the court of criminal appeal quashed his conviction

Former Labor minister Ian Macdonald maintains he’s “absolutely” innocent after a New South Wales appeal court quashed his conviction for misconduct in public office and he walked from jail ahead of a retrial.

The former ALP politician had been in custody since 2017, when he was jailed for 10 years - with a minimum term of seven years - after being found guilty of two counts of wilful misconduct in public office.

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Festivalgoers hospitalised in NSW and Victoria after suspected drug-taking

Eleven people left ill in Sydney and six near Ballarat after Australia Day long weekend music festivals

A teenage boy has been found with almost 600 capsules and $2,000 cash at a Sydney music festival where several people left critically ill due to drug use.

Six young men aged under 25 left the Hardcore Till I Die festival at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday in critical or serious conditions. All were either stable or discharged from hospital by Sunday.

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Water crisis: western NSW mayors travel to Sydney to demand help

Five mayors warn their towns could run out of water within weeks and call for their needs to be prioritised over irrigators

The mayors of several western New South Wales councils have warned their townships face major water crises within weeks and have urged the state government to impose a one-month embargo on irrigators pumping from the upper part of the Darling River system.

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