Labor gets NSW poll lesson

Premier Nathan Rees has vowed to put forward a "fundamentally different" plan for New South Wales over the next month after his state government's disastrous showing in three byelections in Ryde, Cabramatta and Lakemba.

Rees said Labor's results in the Sydney polls were a lesson that he and his government needed to learn from.

Swings of more than 20 per cent against the Government in two of the byelections handed the Liberal Party Ryde. It also eroded the 29 per cent margin Labor enjoyed in Cabramatta.

A double-digit swing was also recorded against the Government in the seat of Lakemba, previously held by former Premier Morris Iemma and what was Labor's safest seat in NSW.