Premier Dominic Perrottet says he takes full responsibility for the loss of the seat of Bega and the swing against the government in Saturday's state by-elections.
The south coast seat is set to be taken by the ALP's candidate Dr Michael Holland in an historic victory for the opposition.
Bega had been held on a 6.9 per cent margin by outgoing MP Andrew Constance for 17 years, but with 30 per cent of the vote counted, the swing to the ALP is more than 13 per cent.
Mr Perrottet said it had been "a bad day at the office", which caused him to reflect on the messages coming from the local communities in the four electorates.
"It's certainly disappointing to lose the seat of Bega, that's the way it looks like it's heading — it's a tough day," he said.
The Premier said his visit to bushfire-ravaged Cobargo, located in the seat, showed him that residents were still suffering and the government could do better to help them.
"We've got a strong track record there, it's a community in Bega that's gone through a very difficult time off the back of the bushfires, and I'll look into that, " he said.
The Premier pointed to the result in Strathfield, the seat vacated by former opposition leader Jodi McKay, as a sign of "green shoots".
Strathfield was retained by Labor's Jason Yat-Sen Li but the government saw a 0.6 per cent swing towards it under Bridget Sakr.
"To have a swing towards us in government is pleasing, but [with] four very different seats, four very different issues at play — we'll reflect on it and learn from it. But ultimately I take responsibility for the results."
Liberal candidate Tim James claimed victory in Willoughby while the Nationals won Monaro, although there were swings against the government in both.
Mr Perrottet denied that the government's approach to the pandemic had contributed to the result.
Opposition Leader Chris Minns said the results in the four by-elections were promising for the Labor Party's chances at the next election.
The message for the government was to listen to the electorate's high level of dissatisfaction, he said.
"It's no good for hundreds of thousands of people to register an unhappiness with the direction of the government and then for the senior levels including the Premier to simply say nothing's changed, we don't hear the message at all," he said.
"We want the NSW Government to do better, that might sound strange coming from an opposition but we are in the middle of a pandemic and our focus is on the people of NSW."
Losing the seat of Bega to Labor means the Perrottet government is deeper in minority government.
It will have to rely on the support of the crossbench to pass legislation, which means making deals with independents, the Greens or the Shooters.
The former state member for Bega, Andrew Constance, acknowledged the local community's concerns about health.
In the lead up to the by-election, Dr Holland was a vocal advocate for the new Eurobodalla Hospital to open in Moruya as a level 4 facility.
Mr Constance believes the results were largely based on local issues.
"The [Bega] community has made a decision in relation to health, particularly," he said.
"He's [Michael Holland] made some very big commitments in relation to health, and we'll just see where that goes."
Liberal candidate Fiona Kotvojs has said she will not concede defeat in the Bega by-election despite the double-digit swing against her and Premier Perrottet congratulating her Labor opponent.
