THE NSW election results show "Labor is back in Dubbo", according to Labor candidate Stephen Lawrence, even though he did not win the seat.
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"I was getting a positive feeling at the booths and as it turned out, it was the best vote Labor has had in Dubbo for a while," he said.
"We now have a two-party preferred vote in the vicinity of what we had prior to the rise of the independents and we'll continue to build on that."
Mr Lawrence said it had been more difficult for Labor to promote its party than it was for the Nationals.
"We didn't have the resources to spend massive amounts of money on advertising, it's always a challenge of politics," he said.
In the lead-up to election day and at the ballot box, Mr Lawrence said, poles and wires, health and TAFE funding were issues Dubbo residents had told him they were most concerned about.
Now the Coalition had been returned to government, Mr Lawrence said, NSW residents should expect more cuts to health and education, and more assaults on their working conditions.
"On a very local level, people need to hold Troy Grant and the Nationals to account for all the promises they've made, and I hope to be a part of doing that."
Mr Lawrence would not have much time to rest now, however, as he was due to present a paper at a conference in Vietnam next week, based on his experience in international law and detention in Afghanistan.
He was undecided about whether he would stand as a candidate again.
"I will give serious consideration to it, while it had its ups and downs it was very enjoyable," he said.
"Sometimes I thought, this is hard, but it's been a good, strong Labor campaign and we held Troy (Grant) to account on important local issues."
Greens candidate Matt Parmeter congratulated Mr Grant on his win and thanked volunteers for helping with the Greens campaign.
"Statewide, this is a good result for the Greens, with talk of four lower house seats, and 10 per cent of the NSW population supporting the Greens and Greens policies," he said.
"Labor candidate Stephen Lawrence ran a particularly strong campaign, and can be proud of the results he achieved."
Indpendent Colin Hamilton said the Nationals were a "formidable force" and deserved to win.
"The electorate will benefit when the government delivers on Troy's commitments over the next four years as I'm sure they will," he said.
He also congratulated the other candidates, along with his own helpers and those who voted for him.
"It's good to see democracy alive and well," he said.
Independent Rod Pryor, who ran for the seat of Dubbo because he was "disappointed in politics and politicians", said he would have liked a bigger percentage of the vote but was pleased with how he performed.
"What impressed me was that my votes were scattered evenly across the region, not just concentrated in Mudgee."
Mr Pryor said he felt Labor's strong showing compared with last election was because "people are concerned about the electricity sell-off and CSG".
"They say it's a lease but it's really a sale, it concerns me what will happen," he said.
Mr Pryor said the election was a huge learning curve. He said he held grave concerns about the Coalition's native vegetation policy.
"Particularly self-determination by farmers, putting the onus on them to have an extensive knowledge of botanica," he said.
Christian Democratic Party candidate Peter Scherer was contacted but did not respond.