Federal election Gold Coast seat of Moncrieff as Australia votes

Incumbent LNP Member for Moncrieff Angie Bell is celebrating winning a third-term in her central Gold Coast seat.

Incumbent LNP Member for Moncrieff Angie Bell has thanked her supporters after winning her seat for a third successive time.

Ms Bell has held the Gold Coast central seat which takes in Gold Coast tourism hotspots Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach since 2019 after taking over when LNP stalwart and former Tourism Minister Steve Ciobo retired from politics.

Ms Bell won again in 2022 with a 11.2 per cent margin on a two-party-preferred basis.

Ms Bell held a healthy lead on Saturday night on a two-party preferred basis over Labor challenger Blair Stuart, an automotive industry worker and not for profit volunteer.

By Sunday, with 39 of 43 polling places returned and counted, she sat on a two-party preferred percentage of 59.4 per cent versus 40.6 per cent for Mr Blair. She posted “thank you Moncrieff” to voters but she did suffer a minor swing against of 1.79 per cent.

On voting day, Ms Bell was feeling the love from voters early, saying: “I have been warmly welcomed across the whole electorate.”

But she added: “If we face a Labor/Greens/teals minority government it would be disastrous for the nation and the cost of living will go even higher.

“If the Prime Minister finds himself in that position and he can’t pass bills through the Senate then we will be back at the polls again very soon and I don’t think the public would be happy with that.

She added that “Peter Dutton has been a very strong leader with a vision for our nation” - but he would later take responsibility for the Coalition’s national slump and also lost his own seat of Dickson, the first time an Opposition leader has done so.

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Moncrieff, a central Gold Coast electorate spanning 100 square kilometres, covers tourist magnet suburbs Surfers Paradise, and Broadbeach plus Mermaid Beach, Mermaid Waters, Bundall, Benowa, Ashmore, Carrara and most of Nerang and Southport.

Ms Bell faced eight challengers (in ballot paper order) Nicole Arrowsmith (Independent), Waddah Weld Ali (Independent), Sally Spain (Greens), Glen Wadsworth (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation), Ruth Fea (Family First), Natasha Anne Szorkovsky (Gerard Rennick People First), Blair Stuart (Australian Labor Party) and Vic Naiker (Trumpet of Patriots).

Angie Bell LNP - the incumbent candidate for Moncrieff - voting with her partner Ros Franklin at Nerang State High School. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Originally published as Federal election Gold Coast seat of Moncrieff as Australia votes