Liberal Tim Wilson has won a hard-fought election battle against teal independent Zoe Daniel, with the defeated MP hinting at a potential rematch.
The former member for Goldstein won back the seat in Melbourne’s bayside with a final margin of 175 votes following a partial recount of ballots, the Australian Electoral Commission announced on Saturday.
Mr Wilson took to social media to thank all Goldstein voters, including those who made efforts to vote overseas.
“After 29 days of counting, I understand the final recount margin in Goldstein is 177, with 50,232 Liberal primaries which is 14,697 more than the former MP,” he said on X.
“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.”
Ms Daniel has called Mr Wilson to congratulate him on his win and offered commiserations to her volunteers and supporters.
“Goldstein is now a vastly different seat to the one he once sat in – about as marginal as it gets – and with that comes embedded accountability,” 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.”
The defeated first-term MP praised her team’s integrity and humanity, saying they did not seek to “divide” or resort to “attack advertising, misinformation, disinformation, dirty tricks or personal attacks”.
Ms Daniel ended her post on X with: “See you in 2028? Maybe!”
The AEC conducted a partial recount at the request of Ms Daniel after the final count had Mr Wilson 260 votes ahead.
The change in margin was attributed to scrutineers challenging the formality of some ballots and a data entry error that was picked up in the recount.
“The partial recount has been a methodical and highly transparent process with all counting activities throughout the entire counting period occurring in front of candidate-appointed scrutineers,” the commission said
Mr Wilson, who lost to Ms Daniel in the 2022 election, is the only Liberal candidate to gain a seat at the election, where the coalition suffered its worst result in 80 years, securing about 43 seats in the House of Representatives.
A recount continues in the northern Sydney electorate of Bradfield, where Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian is narrowly ahead of independent Nicolette Boele.
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