Meryl Swanson surprised herself when she became teary while being formally declared as the Federal Member for Paterson.
"It's a big thing for a girl from Heddon Greta to be representing our area," she said. "The gravity is not lost on me at all."
The poll was officially declared by the Paterson returning officer Clare Graham on Tuesday morning.
There are still 807 votes to be counted, but Ms Swanson now has enough votes to get her over the line.
She said despite already knowing she had won, hearing the result read out hit home for her.
Ms Swanson said going into her second term, she felt more confident and prepared than last time around.
"It was a steep learning curve, which I very much enjoyed," she said.
"I feel more emboldened this time. I've done it once so I know the processes and I know how it all works."
Despite the learning curve, Ms Swanson described her first term as a success.
"I feel I was able to successfully raise a number of important issues," she said. "As a regional member of the caucus, I wanted to promote the idea that so much of our economy is generated in the regions.
"I was able to build some good relationships, with both Labor and the other side."
But it wasn't all smooth sailing. The sitting MP suffered more than a five per cent swing against her this election.
She described the campaign as "dirty" and said there were "scare tactics" used against Labor, namely the "death tax" policy and the idea of "Labor wanting to shut down coal mining".
"It was wrong, but it's been and gone. You've got to take the rough with the smooth," she said.
But she did acknowledge there were people in the electorate who were not happy with her party and its policies.
"On election day there were people with their eyes downcast who made a protest vote," she said. "There were people who turned to One Nation and Clive Palmer.
"I totally understand there were people who felt let down by our party. I want to talk to them.
"Labor needs to have conversations with the people that we thought were our base.
"We need to re-think our policies - there were confusing messages."
She said the big things Paterson residents spoke about during the campaign were the cost of living, jobs, healthcare, energy costs and the environment.
The MP said she planned to take those issues to her party and "speak up loudly" in caucus.
"We've got to prosecute some of those policy positions and make sure the regions are not forgotten," she said.
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
