It’s official: Tim Wilson is back as the member for Goldstein, reclaiming the bayside Melbourne seat from independent Zoe Daniel after one of the closest election races in recent memory.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) confirmed on Saturday that Wilson finished just 175 votes ahead of Daniel, following a partial recount that shaved the margin from 260 votes down to its final nail-biting tally.
Daniel, a former ABC journalist who took the seat from Wilson in 2022, conceded the contest in a post on X (formerly Twitter). She called Wilson to congratulate him and left the door open for a possible return, telling supporters: “Today we did not win. But we are not defeated. Hard things are hard, and a better kind of politics is worth fighting for. See you in 2028? Maybe!”
How did it get so close?
Goldstein has never been this marginal. The AEC’s recount was triggered after Daniel flagged “the very tight margin and several errors being picked up in the portion of the count that was included in the distribution of preferences”.
The recount found changes in informal votes and corrected a data entry error, bringing the final difference to just 175 votes out of more than 115,000 formal ballots.
The AEC said the recount was “a methodical and highly transparent process with all counting activities throughout the entire counting period occurring in front of candidate-appointed scrutineers”, per SBS.
Wilson thanks voters, Daniel rallies supporters
Wilson, who was recently made the shadow employment minister, wasted no time in getting back to business. On social media, he thanked voters — including overseas voters, like one person who “crossed Indonesia’s archipelago to vote at our embassy in Jakarta” and another who travelled from southern Israel to vote in Tel Aviv.
He wrote: “Now the recount is finished, the result is clear, it is time to get on with the job and take the voice and values of Goldstein to shape the future of Australia: and that’s precisely what I will do every day in service.”
Daniel, meanwhile, praised her team’s “integrity and humanity”, pointing out that they didn’t resort to “attack advertising, misinformation, disinformation, dirty tricks or personal attacks”.
In a message to young people, she said: “Changing systems of power is hard. Two steps forward is sometimes followed by one back. It’s a resilience test and it’s a reason to get back up and keep fighting, not a reason to give up. Today we did not win, but today we fought, we worked and we acted for the future of this nation. Be proud of yourselves, as I am of you and us”.
What’s next for Goldstein?
With a margin this tight, Goldstein is now “about as marginal as it gets”, according to Daniel, meaning Wilson will be under serious scrutiny from locals over the next few years. The AEC is set to formally declare the result soon, but the numbers are in and the seat is back in Liberal hands for now.
For those keeping score, Wilson is the only Liberal to reclaim a seat in an election where the Coalition otherwise copped its worst result in 80 years. Meanwhile, all eyes are now on Bradfield in Sydney, where another recount is underway and the numbers are even tighter.
Lead image: Getty / Instagram
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