Michael Daley set to be challenged as leader of NSW Labor

Labor leader Michael Daley warns off potential challengers to his position a day after the party’s poor showing in the election.

NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley has warned off potential challengers to his position a day after Labor’s poor showing in the state election, declaring he will “get back on the horse and keep riding”.

Mr Daley today reaffirmed his intention, expressed last night when conceding defeat, that he intended to remain party leader and fight the next NSW election in four years.

He said he had received no indications from two potential challengers, frontbenchers Chris Minns and Jodi McKay, that they might run against him.

The Labor leader dismissed criticism within his party of Labor’s result in winning possibly just one seat, claiming the Berejiklian government “went backwards” and “just scraped in”.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s Liberal Party lost at least one seat, Coogee, to Labor, and losses at this stage appear to be with her Coalition partner in the regions, the Nationals, to independents or minor parties.

Mr Daley played down a large personal swing against him of almost 11 per cent in his own seat of Maroubra in Sydney’s south, saying he had faced a strong independent candidate while the Liberals has tried to contain him to defending his local electorate by running the well known former MP and ultra-marathon athlete Pat Farmer.

“As leader you don’t work in your own electorate,” he said.

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Comment: This should be career ending

Asked to comment on former Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson saying on Sky News last night that he could not see how Mr Daley could stay on as leader, Mr Daley said Mr Richardson was “not a member of caucus”.

He claimed to have the continuing support of NSW ALP head office chief Kaila Murnain, and federal leader Bill Shorten, but declined to reveal what was said in any conversations with colleagues since last night’s party defeat.

He blamed the election outcome on a lack of engagement among voters on NSW-based issued, the quiet new year holiday period, and the 134 days he had held the leadership which meant he did not have enough time to establish himself.

Again Mr Daley said he had apologised for making insensitive comments about Asian immigration last October that were reported during the final week of the campaign. He added that they were “poorly chosen words” and insisted he was a progressive on issues such as immigration.

He did not regret focusing much of Labor’s campaign on the Coalition’s multi-million dollar redevelopment of city stadiums, saying it was “emblematic” of a profligate government.

Mr Minns, who was defeated in a caucus vote by Mr Daley last November, would not rule out a tilt this morning but said he was still concerned about securing his seat of Kogarah, which has come under threat after Michael Daley’s anti-Asian immigration remarks.

Chris Minns. Picture: Tim Hunter

“I’m not ruling anything out and everybody in the Labor Party needs to do some soul searching about the future direction of the party including me and what policy approach needs to be looked at,” Mr Minns said.

“Facing 12 years in Opposition we also need to take a look at the leadership.”

Mr Minns said the priority for him was winning Kogarah after suffering a swing greater than 4 per cent in the seat with a 7 per cent margin. Scrutineers are heading to the count for the seat now.

Mr Daley suffered a devastating result last night, taking just one seat from the Coalition and winning just 33 per cent of the primary vote — a 1 per cent swing away from Luke Foley’s 2015 result.

The vote for leader would occur with the party membership and caucus members voting.

The vote last year only involved the caucus because it was less than six months from a general election.