Bega MP and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance, is "incredibly grateful" after winning a fifth-straight term in the NSW Legislative Assembly during last night's state election.
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Mr Constance thanked the people of the Far South Coast for "having confidence in me and what I'm doing for the community".
"We're about to take it up a notch," he said. "We're fighting for issues that matter to this community.
"Safer roads are something I'm very passionate about, and making sure the Princes Highway is upgraded and duplicated is important.
"I'm going to be fighting hard with the feds to get the money needed to upgrade the highway. We will be talking to the Commonwealth and my expectation is that the Federal Government will make a significant commitment."
READ ALSO: Labor's Leanne Atkinson gracious in defeat
Mr Constance has been the Bega MP since the state election of 2003, and won 47.91 per cent of the primary vote last night.
"The community is responding to local issues, and they expect their local member to fight hard."
"I will fight harder now than when I was first elected, and I will make sure the Moruya Bypass is built, the hospital is built, and the indoor aquatic facility is completed.
"We've got to get these things done."
Mr Constance said his track record as Bega MP helped him win re-election.
"People can see stuff is happening here," he said. "It's not as if I've been promising and not delivering.
"People were initially skeptical of the Batemans Bay bridge, but now they can see the work has begun on that."
Mr Constance said he was "pretty confident" that the Coalition will be able to form a majority government after a history-making night.
"The trends in terms of some of these final seats are with us," he said. "I made the call early last night that we'd take some time to form the majority, but I'm confident Gladys (Berejiklian) will get there.
"We've made history in terms of having the first female elected as premier in NSW, but it's also been 50 years since the Liberal Party have received a third-consecutive term.
"It's not about those things though, it's about making sure everybody in NSW gets a fair opportunity.
"Her (Ms Berejiklian's) focus has always been the community, and I think that was clearly demonstrated last night."
Mr Constance will look to take a couple of days off this week before getting straight back into it.
"I want to thank my family, they put up with an enormous amount," he said. "I also want to thank my political opponents and their supporters for how respectfully they handled their campaigns."
COMING SOON: Leanne Atkinson and Will Douglas respond.