Teal MP Zoe Daniel’s celebrations may have come too soon, with Liberal challenger Tim Wilson pulling ahead in the ultra-tight contest for Goldstein as postal votes turn the race on its head.

Daniel, who ousted Wilson from the once-safe Liberal seat in 2022, took to the stage at Elwood Bowls Club on Saturday night to the song Titanium, declaring: “What we have created in this community is rare … We might not have a minority government, but I’m pretty sure we can pull some levers.”

“This has been incredibly hard, but we did it,” she said, celebrating with supporters.

However, by Monday morning, the outlook had drastically changed. After leading by more than 1,800 votes on Sunday, Daniel’s margin vanished as the postal vote count favoured Wilson.

Sky News Chief Election Analyst Tom Connell said Wilson had stormed back into contention and now held the advantage.

“He's caught up 3,000 votes. In about half of what's been counted so far. In other words, he's going to move well ahead,” Connell said. “I'm finding it hard to see how Zoe Daniel actually hangs on.”

On primary votes, Wilson leads with 43 per cent to Daniel’s 32 per cent, and with an estimated 10,000–12,000 postal votes still to come, momentum has clearly shifted.

Daniel acknowledged the uncertainty in a Facebook post, writing: “We have some very tight numbers friends with pre poll and postal votes still being counted.” She added, “The result is not clear yet unfortunately.”

Wilson has been relatively quiet throughout the count, but said he remained “incredibly optimistic” about regaining the seat.

“There are a lot of crossbenchers that made a lot of promises that are just going to be siting on the sidelines once again,” he posted. “The results clearly show that it is not over... We are just going to have to be patient.”

Climate 200 invested more than $500,000 in Daniel’s re-election effort, making Goldstein one of its key contests nationwide.

Please donate to support our independent journalism in Australia

Unlike almost all of our mainstream media competitors, Rebel News Australia doesn't receive any government funding. We rely on our generous audience to keep us reporting.

Optional email code

Canadian Dollars U.S. Dollars Australian Dollars British Pounds

Amount

$25

$50

$75

$100

$250

$500

$1,000

$2,500

Other

$

One-time

Monthly

DONATE