Christian Democratic MP Fred Nile will push for the legal drinking age to be raised to 21 and seek to give greater rights to unborn children if he is re-elected to the upper house, raising questions over how far the Baird government may lean to secure his critical crossbench support.

The octogenarian MP also says he's "ready and raring to go" and would be "lost" if he were no longer in Parliament, despite indicating he will hand over the baton before his eight-year term expires.

Late on Sunday with just over half the Legislative Council votes counted, the Reverend Nile was widely expected to be returned, despite suffering a negative swing of about 0.4 per cent.

The government was hoping to improve its upper house numbers by winning at least nine seats, so it would require only the support of the two Christian Democratic MPs to pass legislation, assuming that Mr Nile was returned.

That result appears likely.

However, Mr Nile has offered only conditional support for the government's cornerstone policy to privatise part of the state's electricity "poles and wires".

He wants a parliamentary inquiry into the contentious reform, and a jobs guarantee to prevent mass job losses if the assets fall into private hands.

He has also raised concerns over the risks of foreign investors controlling a share of the network.

On Sunday, Mr Nile told Fairfax Media the inquiry might include the circumstances surrounding a report by government adviser UBS, which originally concluded the power plan would be "bad for the budget".

The report was controversially reissued after a phone call from Premier Mike Baird's staff, which raised claims of government interference.

Mr Nile rejected suggestions he would demand the government back his religious agenda in exchange for his support.

"I don't usually bargain with the government. What [proposal] I put up, I want the government to support on its merits. I'll never vote for something I don't agree with and I never have," he said.

Asked about his policy priorities, Mr Nile said he would seek to ban all alcohol advertising and lift the drinking age to 21, adding "there is a lot of support for that in the community and the medical profession".

He would also seek to revive Zoe's law, a bill that stalled in the upper house last year and would have granted the legal status of "personhood" to unborn children.

Many feared it could have led to restrictions on abortion.

Mr Nile would also seek extra government support for scripture classes in schools, saying the present system was weighted towards greater student enrolment in ethics classes.

A senior government source said the Coalition was forced to negotiate with the CDP and Shooters and Fishers Party in the last Parliament, and the notion that Mr Nile's party was further empowered was "a bit of a furphy".

"Nothing will change really . . . we will potentially have less people we have to negotiate with," the source said.

Mr Nile, 80, said he would hand over to theologian and broadcaster Ross Clifford at some point in his eight-year term if re-elected but "at this stage, I'm ready and raring to go".

Asked about life after politics, Mr Nile said: "I haven't thought about it, I think I'd be lost. I've been in Parliament for 34 years . . . I think I've spent more time in Parliament than I have in my home."