Brutal swipe at Dutton after NSW election

An Albanese government minister says Peter Dutton should learn his “lesson” from the Liberal Party’s wipe out in the NSW state election.

Labor leader Chris Minns won the premiership convincingly on Saturday night, and the party is on track to form a government in its own right.

Tasmania is the only remaining blue state, and after the Coalition thumping in last year’s federal election, there are questions about the sustainability of the Liberal-Nationals partnership.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek applauded the civility of the NSW election, thanking outgoing premier Dominic Perrottet for his respect and candour.

She said the federal opposition leader could learn something from Mr Perrottet.

“(Mr Perrottet) put his all into it … We are lucky in Australia that we have this sort of peaceful transition of government,” she told Sunrise on Monday.

“It was a very civil campaign, the two leaders should take credit for that and I think it’s probably a lesson to Peter Dutton. You don’t have to have this limitless negativity and hostility.”

Meanwhile, Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said the NSW Coalition needed time to lick its wounds before it could assess the partnership’s future.

He said splitting up the Coalition “wouldn’t achieve a lot”, despite the wipe-out.

“But that’s a decision that my colleagues in NSW have to make,” he said.

“I really do think it’s time to change the curtains – the curtains were working perfectly well, but after 12 years people want to change.

“The Liberals and the Nationals (were in) power for 12 years, and after 12 years it becomes incredibly hard to win elections because people define their lives by different events and one of those events is a change in politics.

“Now we have to be a very good opposition and of course now the Labor Party have got no excuses.”

Independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said the ongoing problems within the Coalition had not helped their image in the lead-up to Saturday’s election.

“There was a lot of ICAC stuff going on, especially over the last six years, which has not been helpful,” she told Nine.

“I think we’ve all watched the Liberal party not perform for the last nine years very well, so it actually doesn’t surprise me.

“But what I will say this … they are struggling – both the big parties are struggling to get people to run.”