In Shortland, Pat Conroy claimed victory at 8.30pm, with nearly 75 per cent of the vote counted and a three per cent swing towards him, increasing Labor's margin in the seat to 10 per cent.

Mr Conroy, who shifted from the seat of Charlton after it disappeared in the redistribution, takes over Shortland from Jill Hall, who retired at this election after 18 years in federal parliament.

Mr Conroy thanked Ms Hall for her unwavering support, saying she had been "on board since day one".

He also acknowledged the previous member Peter Morris, who was also at the post-election function.

"Between them, they have 44 years' experience in the seat of Shortland – and I will be drawing on it," he said.

Most of Mr Conroy’s former electorate was consumed within the redrawn boundaries of the Hunter seat, held by Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon, so despite being a sitting member, he had to familiarise himself with an almost entirely new constituency.

In his victory speech, he thanked volunteers for helping him run a comprehensive grassroots campaign.

“We together made 8300 phone calls, we doorknocked 3200 homes, we voter-ID’ed (asked people who they would vote for) 2500 people,” he said.