NSW Election 2023: Nationals MP Dugald Saunders vows to deliver for Dubbo despite coalition's loss of government

But he says he isn't giving up on trying to deliver on his promises for the electorate.

"You do have to keep on doing what you're doing but also make sure you're actually a voice for the regions ongoing," he said.

"One of the things that is important is having the ability to work with other people and other parties. And as a minister I've done that for the past 15 months, I've worked with lots of different local members in lots of different electorates about their concerns."

"I'm very pragmatic, I want to find solutions to problems and that's what I will continue to do. I'm hoping my good relationship with most of the opposition members that I've dealt with will continue and we can find a way to keep delivering for the region."

The coalition losing government also means Mr Saunders will be moving away from his cabinet roles as Agriculture Minister and Minister for Western NSW.

But, Mr Saunders said he is keen to work alongside Labor's new ministry to ensure projects started by the coalition are completed.

"They're portfolios that are significantly important to me. So I will be wanting to work with the opposition to ensure that all of the things we had in planning are able to be followed through," he said.

"We have a significant amount of investment that we had guided towards the western areas and for agriculture, and for regional NSW. So one of my roles will be to make sure that I'm holding the new government to account and trying to work with them as much as possible to achieve the results that I know will make a difference for regional NSW."

"I'm hoping some scope is there for the new government to work with some of the amazing things we've already put on the table and continue them into the future."

Key to Labor's victory in this election was securing a number of seats in Sydney's west and south west from the Liberal party. Recognising the importance of these seats in the lead up to the election, both Labor and the Liberals were promising to splash cash across the area.

Mr Saunders said he, and other Nationals MPs, have concerns Labor could slash funding set aside for regional areas to deliver on these promises.

"One of the concerns that any regional MP will have is that our Regional Growth Fund might be under threat. The fear I have is that a new government will strip all of those funds - that $3.3 billion worth of funding specifically for regional areas we had set aside there," he said.

"Some of the election commitments that have been made by Labor revolved around removing money from those funds. So it does mean there is likely to be cutbacks in those funding areas."

"I want to make sure we don't see a wholesale pillaging of those funds. I want to make sure regional areas keep getting all the support that we need. I'm just hoping this Labor government will actually have a different view on how important regional NSW is."

At close of count on Saturday night, pollsters counted five seats as losses for the Liberal party - including four to Labor and one to an independent.

A further six Liberal seats are likely to be lost to Labor and Independents when counting resumes on Monday.

Despite the widespread losses for the Liberal party, the Nationals retained a strong hold on most of their seats - only losing the seat of Monaro which was previously held by controversial former Nationals leader John Barilaro.

Mr Saunders said, while there are always lessons to be learned from all elections, this result was something the Nationals should be proud of.

"Those electorates in western Sydney and south west Sydney have changed remarkably over the past couple of years and it's been a bit of a wake-up call for the Liberal party to be thinking about a focus for the future," he said.

"For the Nats, the result has been really strong and really shows promise and the fact that if you're a good local member, and listening to your community, and talking to people on the ground all the time, then you can continue to do that job."

"[The Nats] all live and work in regional NSW, we're a party of geography not ideology. That's what we do, we stand for regional areas, and I think that's been shown at the ballot box."

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