Last year the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard accusation that several Liberal MPs in Hunter Valley and Central Coast seats took illegal political donations from property developers in the lead-up to the 2011 election.

Former Resources Ministers Chris Hartcher, who held the seat of Terrigal on the central coast, was forced to resign over the issue before the election.

The Liberals lost seven of those ICAC-affected seats to Labor on Saturday: The Entrance, Wyong, Port Stephens, Londonderry in western Sydney, Newcastle, Charlestown and Swansea.

The Liberals look set to hold on to Terrigal and Gosford but Labor’s hold over the Hunter and Central Coast has been reinstated as jobs and access to infrastructure become major issues in the region.