Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Dobell was won by Emma Mcbride (Labor) at the 2019 federal election, with a margin of 3,035 votes over Jilly Pillon after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Dobell from 1984 to 2019.
Australia uses instant-runoff (preferential) voting: voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one has a majority of first-preference votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed to voters' next preference, repeating until one candidate has a majority. The "Winner" and "Margin" below reflect the final result after preferences (equivalent to the AEC's own two-candidate-preferred figure) — not simply whoever led on first preferences, which can occasionally be a different candidate.
Full Election History (After Preferences), 1984–2019
Election
Winner
Party
Final Votes
Final Share
Runner-up
Margin
1984
Michael Lee
Labor
33,159
59.9%
Isaac Shields (Liberal)
10,924 (19.7 pts)
1987
Michael Lee
Labor
36,161
56.9%
Les Nunn (Liberal)
8,778 (13.8 pts)
1990
Michael Lee
Labor
43,860
60.6%
Ian Crook (Liberal)
15,355 (21.2 pts)
1993
Michael Lee
Labor
39,140
56.8%
Bob Baldwin (Liberal)
9,394 (13.6 pts)
1996
Michael Lee
Labor
36,675
50.1%
Doug Eaton (Liberal)
117 (0.2 pts)
1998
Michael Lee
Labor
40,980
53.3%
David Parker (Liberal)
5,140 (6.7 pts)
2004
Ken Ticehurst
Liberal
42,151
55.9%
David Mehan (Labor)
8,904 (11.8 pts)
2007
Craig Thomson
Labor
44,413
53.9%
Ken Ticehurst (Liberal)
6,430 (7.8 pts)
2010
Craig Thomson
Labor
44,551
54.5%
John Mcnamara (Liberal)
7,388 (9.0 pts)
2013
Karen Mcnamara
Liberal
43,653
50.7%
Emma Mcbride (Labor)
1,166 (1.4 pts)
2016
Emma Mcbride
Labor
52,991
54.8%
Karen Mcnamara (Liberal)
9,308 (9.6 pts)
2019
Emma Mcbride
Labor
52,244
51.5%
Jilly Pillon (Liberal)
3,035 (3.0 pts)
First-Preference Result by Election
Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.
1984
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Michael Lee
Labor
31,112
56.2%
Isaac Shields
Liberal
20,114
36.3%
Lynn Sawyer
Australian Democrats
4,168
7.5%
1987
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Michael Lee
Labor
33,719
53.1%
Les Nunn
Liberal
24,168
38.0%
Graeme Ward
Australian Democrats
5,657
8.9%
1990
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Michael Lee
Labor
37,063
51.1%
Ian Crook
Liberal
23,659
32.6%
Rod Benninson
Australian Democrats
6,317
8.7%
Neville Malloy
Independent
1,948
2.7%
Gordon Craig
Independent
1,861
2.6%
Karl Singman
Greens
1,657
2.3%
1993
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Michael Lee
Labor
36,795
53.4%
Bob Baldwin
Liberal
27,654
40.1%
Brian Day
Australian Democrats
2,311
3.4%
Bob Hudson
Independent
2,131
3.1%
1996
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Michael Lee
Labor
32,221
43.9%
Doug Eaton
Liberal
31,817
43.3%
True Martin
Australian Democrats
5,223
7.1%
Jeremy Pritchard
AAFI
2,146
2.9%
Graham Freemantle
Communist Party
1,304
1.8%
Aldo Katalinic
Independent
751
1.0%
1998
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Michael Lee
Labor
34,770
45.2%
David Parker
Liberal
29,103
37.8%
June Beckett
One Nation
7,301
9.5%
David Mott
Australian Democrats
2,547
3.3%
Philip Dwyer
Greens
1,625
2.1%
Karen Russell
Christian Democratic Party
1,564
2.0%
2004
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Ken Ticehurst
Liberal
37,347
49.5%
David Mehan
Labor
27,417
36.4%
Scott Rickard
Greens
3,782
5.0%
Naomi Paton
FFP
1,656
2.2%
Frank Sanzari
Independent
1,487
2.0%
Andrew Webber
One Nation
1,163
1.5%
Carolyn Hastie
Australian Democrats
647
0.9%
Paul Unger
Independent
475
0.6%
Sious Hong Chia
Independent
445
0.6%
Les Wallace
Independent
430
0.6%
James Laing-Peach
Independent
417
0.6%
Steven Hughes
CEC
132
0.2%
2007
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Craig Thomson
Labor
38,168
46.3%
Ken Ticehurst
Liberal
34,865
42.3%
Scott Rickard
Greens
4,429
5.4%
Doug Eaton
Independent
1,639
2.0%
Michael Darby
Christian Democratic Party
1,549
1.9%
Hadden Ervin
Family First
1,407
1.7%
Graeme Bird
Independent
182
0.2%
Steve Hughes
Independent
157
0.2%
2010
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Craig Thomson
Labor
38,268
46.3%
John Mcnamara
Liberal
33,287
40.2%
Scott Rickard
Greens
7,121
8.6%
Gavin Brett
Family First
2,033
2.5%
Rhonda Avasalu
Christian Democratic Party
2,005
2.4%
2013
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Karen Mcnamara
Liberal
35,617
41.3%
Emma Mcbride
Labor
30,248
35.1%
Nathan Bracken
Independent
7,090
8.2%
Sue Wynn
Greens
4,238
4.9%
Craig Thomson
Independent
3,444
4.0%
Kate Mcgill
Palmer United Party
2,920
3.4%
Hedden Ervin
Christian Democratic Party
1,250
1.5%
Greg Owen
Independent
711
0.8%
Christian Kunde
Independent
622
0.7%
2016
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Emma Mcbride
Labor
41,454
42.9%
Karen Mcnamara
Liberal
36,586
37.8%
Carter Edwards
One Nation
8,326
8.6%
Abigail Boyd
Greens
5,607
5.8%
Hadden Ervin
Christian Democratic Party
2,549
2.6%
Gregory Stephenson
Independent
1,176
1.2%
Paul Baker
Independent
976
1.0%
2019
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Emma Mcbride
Labor
42,093
41.5%
Jilly Pillon
Liberal
41,326
40.7%
Scott Rickard
Greens
7,579
7.5%
Aaron Harpley-Carr
United Australia Party
5,411
5.3%
Gregory Stephenson
Independent
3,176
3.1%
Paula Grundy
Christian Democratic Party
1,868
1.8%
Margin Over Time
Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Dobell has been contested at 12 federal elections on record since 1984. Winning parties over that span: Labor, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Dobell in the 2019 federal election?
Emma Mcbride (Labor) won Dobell in 2019 after preferences, with 52,244 votes (51.5%) to Jilly Pillon's 49,209.
Which parties have won Dobell since 1984?
Since 1984, Dobell has been won by: Labor, Liberal.
What was the closest result in Dobell?
The closest result on record for Dobell was 1996, when Michael Lee (Labor) beat Doug Eaton by 117 votes (0.2 percentage points) after preferences.