NSW by-elections: Labor tipped to win as voters in Newcastle and Charlestown ... - ABC Online

Updated October 25, 2014 17:49:55

Labor's candidates in today's New South Wales by-elections say they are not taking anything for granted, despite being widely tipped to win.

Voters in the state seats of Newcastle and Charlestown have been forced back to the polls after Liberal MPs Tim Owen and Andrew Cornwell vacated the seats earlier this year.

Both quit Parliament after the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) heard they had accepted undeclared donations from property developers for their 2011 election campaigns.

Property developers are banned from making campaign donations under NSW electoral laws.

ABC election analyst Antony Green tipped Labor would cruise to victory, with the Coalition opting not to stand candidates as "an act of atonement".

Both Newcastle and Charlestown were considered safe Labor seats before the last election.

Charlestown's Labor candidate, Jodie Harrison, said she was not taking anything for granted.

"The polling booths don't close until six o'clock and I'm going to be working really hard between now and six," she said.

The seat's Greens candidate, Jane Oakley, said residents were "tired of the corruption".

"People are very tired of the way politics has been done in New South Wales," she said.

Nine candidates are running for Charlestown and eight are running for Newcastle.

The Greens and the Christian Democratic Party are fielding candidates in both seats and the Palmer United Party has endorsed an independent in each.

Some voters told the ABC the ICAC revelations were in the front of their minds as they cast their votes today.

"I'm really after someone with a lot of integrity," one told the ABC.

"The corruption issues - I think that concerns me more than having to come back to vote," said another.

Transport issues were also expected to influence the results, with the State Government's decision to cut the heavy rail line into Newcastle remaining a divisive issue for voters in both electorates.

Labor recently unveiled its own plan to keep the rail line.

In Charlestown, commuters are also still waiting for funding for the second stage of Glendale's Transport Interchange.

Today's successful candidates will only be in the job for about five months, with voters heading back to the polls in March.

Topics: elections, political-parties, newcastle-2300, charlestown-2290

First posted October 25, 2014 08:22:58