By Cara Waters
Zoe Daniel has conceded Goldstein after Tim Wilson won the federal seat by 175 votes following a recount that narrowed his lead but not by enough for him to be overtaken by the former independent teal MP.
The Australian Electoral Commission announced the results of the recount on Saturday, and shortly after Daniel called Wilson to concede the seat in Melbourne’s south-east.
Liberal Tim Wilson has won the Goldstein recount. Credit: Wayne Taylor
Daniel congratulated Wilson on being re-elected as the member for Goldstein but hinted that she might recontest the seat in the future.
“Today we did not win,” she posted to social media. “But we are not defeated. Hard things are hard, and a better kind of politics is worth fighting for. See you in 2028? (Maybe!)”
Daniel said the count had been a long process and, in the end, after a recount of about 85,000 votes – representing 75 per cent of the votes cast – there were only a few votes in it.
“When I said before the election that I would fight for every vote, the last month was not quite what I had in mind!” she said. “Goldstein is now one of the most marginal seats in the country, and with that comes embedded accountability. In that, we have done our job.”
Daniel said the “incredibly close contest” reflected how much the Goldstein community cared about the future.
“I am deeply proud of the campaign we ran – honest, respectful, hopeful, and rooted in the values we share,” she said.
Daniel also appeared to criticise Wilson’s campaign and said her campaign’s strength was its integrity and humanity.
“We do not seek to divide to win,” she said. “We do not shelve our ethics or our principles. We do not resort to attack advertising, misinformation, disinformation, dirty tricks or personal attacks. Winning that way is not something to be proud of.”
Daniel thanked her volunteers, the staff at the AEC and her scrutineers who volunteered weeks of time to watch over the count.
“What we have built together is powerful and lasting,” she said.
“This is not the end. It’s not even the end of the beginning. Community independent politics is alive. It is thriving. And together, we will keep shaping the future of our democracy.”
After the final count last week, Wilson was 260 votes ahead of Daniel, and she requested a recount by the AEC “in light of 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 partial recount for the seat of Goldstein was undertaken this week in Mount Waverley. Credit: Joe Armao
Daniel claimed victory on election night on May 3, but postal votes then came in strongly in Wilson’s favour, and he held a victory press conference in Brighton two weeks later.
Wilson’s margin over Daniel then continued to narrow as overseas postal votes were counted.
Announcing the results of the recount, the AEC said the change in margin was the result of further determinations made on ballot paper formality as a result of challenges from scrutineers, and a data entry error on a previous count that was picked up by the recount process.
“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,” an AEC spokesman said in a statement.
Wilson said he won because from 2016 to the present he had turned up and worked for the community, including during the three years after he lost the seat to Daniel.
“This contest was about more than two candidates; it was a contest for the soul of the community, the Liberal Party and Australia.”
Wilson said his campaign had been “positive and hope-focused”.
“To those that said taking back Goldstein was improbable and likely impossible in over three years – and to Liberals across Australia who doubt our future electoral prospects – I have four words: it can be done,” he said.
Votes are checked in the Goldstein recount this week. Credit: Joe Armao
On social media, Wilson praised the “extraordinary effort” some Liberal voters made.
“One posted on socials they crossed Indonesia’s archipelago to vote at our embassy in Jakarta, another left their post in southern Israel to vote in Tel Aviv and multiple flew from European capitals to London to vote at our High Commission at great personal expense.”
Wilson said some voters had reorganised entire itineraries to walk into an embassy or be at a hotel to return a postal vote.
“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,” he said.
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