Labor returns for fourth NSW term

Mr Iemma has vowed to improve the state's public transport system

Voters in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, have re-elected the Labor Party for a fourth term.

Labor had been expected to win against its main Liberal-National rival, despite a campaign described as lacklustre by Australian media.

The incumbent government of Premier Morris Iemma took a clear majority in the state parliament, despite a swing against Labor of more than 4%.

A former Guantanamo Bay detainee failed in his bid for election.

Mamdouh Habib, 51, who stood as an independent, had contested a seat in a suburb of Sydney.

He was one of a handful of Muslims standing in the election, in the hope of gaining a political voice.

Main opposition leader Peter Debnam, of the Liberal-National coalition, conceded defeat in the poll late on Saturday.

"The people of NSW have given Labor one last chance to fix the problems in this state," he said.

He had focused his campaign on the state's dwindling water supply.

Distance

Mr Iemma became New South Wales premier 18 months ago, after long-term leader Bob Carr announced his resignation.

He has sought to distance himself from the legacy of Mr Carr, amid dissatisfaction in the state over Labor's 12 years in power, analysts say.

Mr Iemma has promised a "massive improvement" to the state's public transport system if he is re-elected, saying it would be his "number one priority... it will be so over the next four years".

New South Wales is home to about six million of Australia's roughly 21 million people. Most of whom live in Sydney and a few other cities.

The polls come in an election year in Australia.

Prime Minister John Howard, who leads the Liberal-National coalition, is expected to call elections in the second half of 2007.