Senior federal coalition members have conceded time was against the party in its loss at the New South Wales (NSW) election.
NSW Liberals were swept from power at Saturday’s poll after more than a decade in office, with Labor leader Chris Minns to become the state’s next premier.
Federal Liberal frontbencher Paul Fletcher, who hails from NSW, denied the party had failed to learn lessons from its defeat at last year’s federal election, instead insisting history was not on their side.
“After three terms and 12 years, inevitably, it becomes harder to win a fourth term. It’s the nature of Australian democracy that the electorate starts to look for alternatives,” he told ABC Radio on Monday….