NSW election: John Barilaro wins back seat of Monaro

Deputy Premier John Barilaro has arrived to a rock star welcome at his election night party in Queanbeyan after being returned as the member for Monaro.

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Deputy Premier John Barilaro will hold on to his marginal seat of Monaro in the state’s southeast after winning every booth in his electorate.

The NSW National Party leader arrived to a rock star welcome shortly after 8.30pm with wife Deanna, telling supporters he was humbled by his own win.

“It’s been a decent win.”

NSW National Leader John Barilaro celebrates with a beer after retaining the seat of Monaro. Picture: Kym Smith

Going in to election day, the outspoken MP held the regional electorate, which covers Queanbeyan on the ACT-NSW border, Cooma and the NSW snowfields, by a slim margin of just 2.5 per cent.

National sources believe Mr Barilaro will be returned off the back off an 8 per cent swing in Monaro. Labor candidate Bryce Wilson conceded defeat less than two hours into the vote count.

Monaro was one of several regional seats Labor targeted, with Mr Wilson hoping to claw back the electorate Labor lost in 2011.

Despite his personal victory, early results suggested the National Party was facing massive swings in some seats, losing ground to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers.

Nationals MPs believe the party will lose the state seats of Barwon, Murray and Lismore. Mr Barilaro said he takes “full responsibility” for any losses.

“Those results at this stage are concerning,” he said.

“It’s been a tough night in the bush.”

Mr Barilaro, the Minister for Regional NSW, Skills and Small Business, strongly defended accusations the Berejiklian Government had been too city-focused claiming the Government had failed to sell its successes.

“At the end of the day people switch their TVs on every night and they hear about NorthConnex, WestConnex and stadiums but if you have a look at the regional investment in NSW when we came to Government in 2011 that investment under Labor was $23 billion, over our eight years it’s $50 billion.”

John Barilaro holds his sleepy three-year-old daughter. Picture: Kym Smith

With the Morrison Government on track for an election thumping in May, Mr Barilaro tried to distance himself from the chaos in Canberra. Yesterday, he repeated criticism of this federal colleagues claiming they had caused a distraction during the campaign by “navel-gazing”.

“Over the pre-poll period it’s clear that voters have been able to distinguish the difference between state and federal politics. The issues they are raising with me are state issues,” he said

“But there has been a lot of noise in relation to the feds, of course (they’re) upset at our side because we are continually navel-gazing.”

“There is no question whenever the feds are talking about themselves that always … play into the campaign.”

Labor candidate Bryce Wilson told The Sunday Telegraph Labor had doorknocked 25,000 houses in the electorate but admitted Mr Barilaro was difficult to topple.

If re-elected Mr Barilaro, who was first elected in 2011, said it will be his last term in parliament. Federal Nationals leader Michael McCormack spent the day in Wagga Wagga supporting National’s candidate Mackenna Powell.