Baird had campaigned on a controversial plan to lease 49 per cent of the state-owned electricity distribution network (known as the "poles and wires") to deliver an ambitious transport and social infrastructure program.

Labor, supported by the state's union movement, ran on an anti-privatisation platform, while also promising a moratorium on coal-seam gas (CSG) extraction, and encouraging voters to register a protest vote against the Liberal-led Coalition federal government.

Over the course of its last two terms, a succession of leadership changes, criminal convictions, corruption scandals and cancelled infrastructure projects began to eat away at Labor's support base.

At the next by-election, caused when Sports Minister and member for Miranda Graham Annesley resigned to take a job in Queensland, the Liberals suffered the largest two-party-preferred swing in state history—26 points—and former MP Barry Collier reclaimed the seat for Labor.

Things got worse for the Government when news broke of Operation Spicer, an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into allegedly illegal campaign donations to a number of Liberal MPs from the Hunter and Central Coast.

Throughout 2014, a succession of implicated MPs quit the parliamentary Liberal party to sit as independents: Craig Baumann (Port Stephens), Andrew Cornwell (Charlestown), Garry Edwards (Swansea), Marie Ficarra (Legislative Council), Mike Gallacher (Legislative Council), Chris Hartcher (Terrigal), Tim Owen (Newcastle), Chris Spence (The Entrance) and Darren Webber (Wyong).

However, Spicer's biggest scalp was that of Premier O'Farrell, who found he'd inadvertently misled the Commission over a bottle of wine he'd received as a gift from lobbyist Nick Di Girolamo.

A Cabinet reshuffle followed, with ministers Robyn Parker, Don Page, Greg Smith and George Souris dumped to make way for Troy Grant, Jai Rowell, Rob Stokes and Paul Toole.

Soon after taking office, Baird and Grant put a massive infrastructure program, funded by partial privatisation of the state's electricity networks, at the heart of the Government's re-election campaign.

In the aftermath of a hostage drama at a café in central Sydney, it emerged that Opposition Leader John Robertson had, in his capacity as member for Blacktown, made a representation on behalf of the gunman, Man Haron Monis, three years earlier.

Though frontbenchers Michael Daley and Steve Whan considered running, both men withdrew in favour of the party's Planning spokesman and leader in the Legislative Council, Luke Foley.

[7] Working in the Government's favour was a highly popular leader and a fully funded plan to build additional roads and rail lines in Sydney, easing congestion.

Baird has completed a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) at the University of Sydney and previously worked as an investment banker at Deutsche Bank, NAB and HSBC.

Two MLCs elected as Liberals, former Police Minister Mike Gallacher and former Hurstville mayor Marie Ficarra, had sat as independents following Operation Spicer.

All but two of the former Liberal MPs implicated by Operation Spicer announced they would not re-contest: Bassett (Londonderry), Baumann (Port Stephens), Hartcher (Terrigal), Spence (The Entrance), Webber (Wyong) and Ficarra (Legislative Council).

[21] Former Premier Nathan Rees (Toongabbie),[22] former deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt (Marrickville)[23] and Father of the House Richard Amery (Mount Druitt)[24] also announced their intention to quit politics, along with Cherie Burton (Kogarah),[25] Barry Collier (Miranda),[26] Amanda Fazio (after losing preselection for her Legislative Council seat),[27] Robert Furolo (Lakemba),[28] and Andrew McDonald (Macquarie Fields).

Baird sought a mandate to lease 49% of the government's electricity distributors, known locally as the "poles and wires", for 99 years and invest the proceeds in new road, public transport, water, health and education infrastructure.

The government's plan involved the lease of 100% of high-voltage distributor TransGrid and majority stakes in Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy, which together cover local distribution in metropolitan NSW.

The proceeds, estimated at $20 billion, were to be spent on major projects including an extension of the under-construction North West Rail Link to the city centre and on to Bankstown.

[32] Labor's campaign in opposition, supported by the union-funded television, outdoor and direct-mail advertising, rested on three arguments: The party's claims on price increases were debunked by separate reports from Australian Broadcasting Corporation,[33] Deloitte Access Economics and the Grattan Institute.

[34] Dr Tom Parry, formerly the head of NSW's Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, told The Australian "all the evidence" was that privatised networks "have much better cost controls ...

"[38] Foley's suggestion that Chinese investment represented a national security risk was dismissed as racist "dog-whistle politics" by treasurer Andrew Constance[39] and Egan.

The Liberals and Nationals also supported CSG as a means to create regional jobs and prevent an expected increase in domestic natural gas prices.

Responding to what was described as "a climate of community unease" about land access and the possibility of environmental damage, the Government asked the state's independent Chief Scientist, Professor Mary O'Kane, to review the CSG industry in NSW.

[42] Nonetheless, the Government had gas firms hand back many of the most contentious outstanding undeveloped licences in Sydney, the Central Coast and the Northern Rivers.

In December 2013, the government had suspended services on the surface-level train line that separates the Newcastle city centre from the Hunter River waterfront.

Animal Justice, a micro-party that received less than two per cent of the vote, is nonetheless considered a contender for the 21st and final Council seat, thanks to a preference deal with the Greens.

[52] The newly registered No Land Tax Party fielded candidates in all 93 electoral districts, thus maximising their chances of receiving public funding.

In Bega, held by Treasurer Andrew Constance for the Liberals, reports surfaced during the campaign that No Land Tax candidate Clyde Archard had in fact died in Borneo as a prisoner of war in 1945.

"[64] Labor was not united in the push to expel Ferguson, however, with former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty and former NSW Premier Morris Iemma among those coming to his defence.