Fairfax in the 2013 Australian federal election
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7 September 2013
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Division of Fairfax (Qld) in the House of Representatives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 95,411[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 93.41% ( 0.63) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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An election in the Queensland electorate of Fairfax took place on 7 September 2013 as part of the 2013 Australian federal election.[2][3] Incumbent Liberal National Party (LNP) MP Alex Somlyay did not seek re-election.[4][5]
In an upset victory, billionaire Clive Palmer – contesting as the leader of his newly-formed Palmer United Party (PUP) – defeated LNP candidate Ted O'Brien by a margin of 53 votes in the two-candidate-preferred (TCP) count.[6][7] The result took almost eight weeks to be confirmed, with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) conducting the longest recount in federal election history.[8][9]
Alex Somlyay had held Fairfax for the Liberal Party since 1990, when he defeated the National Party following the retirement of incumbent member Evan Adermann.[10] His hold on the seat had only been seriously challenged twice – the first time in 1998, when there was a 13.25% TCP swing against him, and the other in 2007, when there was a 9.4% TCP swing.[11][12]
Following the 2010 federal election, Somlyay confirmed his plans to retire from parliament in 2013.[13] Although there was an expectation that LNP campaign director James McGrath would contest preselection for Fairfax, he instead sought to run as the candidate for the neighbouring seat of Fisher.[14] After that was unsuccessful, McGrath contested preselection for a position on the LNP's Senate ticket, which he won.[14] In November 2012, businessman Ted O'Brien won the LNP's preselection for Fairfax, defeating former national rugby union team coach John Connolly.[15]
In April 2013, billionaire and former LNP life member Clive Palmer formed the Palmer United Party (PUP) and announced he would contest Fairfax.[16]
Candidates
Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.[17][18]
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One Nation | Mike Holt | CEO of Restore Australia[19] | |
| Independent | Trudy Byrnes | Business consultant[20] | |
| Palmer United | Clive Palmer | Businessman and Palmer United Party founder | |
| Liberal National | Ted O'Brien | Liberal candidate for Brisbane in 2007 | |
| Family First | Angela Meyer | Piano training business owner[21] | |
| Labor | Elaine Hughes | Lifeline crisis line supervisor[5] | |
| Greens | David Knobel | Community worker[22] | |
| Katter's Australian | Ray Sawyer | Dance school operator[5] | |
Campaign
The Family First Party recommended preferencing Labor above the LNP because of the issue of same-sex marriage, which Labor candidate Elaine Hughes indicated her opposition to.[21]
Prior to the election, The Tally Room predicted that O'Brien "should have no trouble defeating Labor, and despite Clive Palmer's obnoxious claims, there is no evidence that Palmer is a serious threat to the LNP's hold on the seat".[23]
No electorate opinion polling for Fairfax was published, although Roy Morgan Research said it predicted Palmer "could" win the seat.[24][25] An exit poll released by Ten News at 4pm AEST on election day showed the PUP winning 9.5% of the vote in Queensland.[26][27]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal National | Ted O'Brien | 34,959 | 41.32 | −8.13 | |
| Palmer United | Clive Palmer | 22,409 | 26.49 | +26.49 | |
| Labor | Elaine Hughes | 15,429 | 18.24 | −9.07 | |
| Greens | David Knobel | 7,046 | 8.33 | −9.67 | |
| Katter's Australian | Ray Sawyer | 1,623 | 1.92 | +1.92 | |
| Family First | Angela Meyer | 1,416 | 1.67 | −3.57 | |
| Independent | Trudy Byrnes | 1,016 | 1.20 | +1.20 | |
| One Nation | Mike Holt | 709 | 0.84 | +0.84 | |
| Total formal votes | 84,607 | 94.88 | −0.09 | ||
| Informal votes | 4,569 | 5.12 | +0.09 | ||
| Turnout | 89,176 | 93.41 | +0.63 | ||
| Notional two-party-preferred count | |||||
| Liberal National | Ted O'Brien | 52,184 | 61.68 | +4.73 | |
| Labor | Elaine Hughes | 32,423 | 38.32 | −4.73 | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Palmer United | Clive Palmer | 42,330 | 50.03 | +50.03 | |
| Liberal National | Ted O'Brien | 42,277 | 49.97 | −7.03 | |
| Palmer United gain from Liberal National | |||||