Oz's Labor loses key state to conservatives

Gillard’s government holds a one-seat majority in the national parliament thanks to independents and Green MPs and her standing will be jolted by the election loss in New South Wales. Prominent Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) analyst Antony Green, writing in a blog, said the conservatives had won enough seats to take control of the state legislature.

Early returns showed Labor could retain as few as 16 of 93 seats in the lower house, a swing of 17 per cent statewide. Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell is set to become the first conservative premier for 16 years. The opposition will now run three of Australia’s six states, including the two most populous—New South Wales and Victoria—as well as Western Australia, its resource base.