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Fairfax — Australian Federal Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Fairfax was won by Ted O'brien (Liberal National (Qld)) at the 2019 federal election, with a margin of 26,248 votes over Julie Mcglone after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Fairfax 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 Evan Adermann National 31,642 60.6% Peter Shooter (Labor) 11,078 (21.2 pts)
1987 Evan Adermann National 35,713 57.3% Alison Smith (Labor) 9,148 (14.7 pts)
1990 Alex Somlyay Liberal 45,449 57.5% Beryl Muspratt (Labor) 11,815 (14.9 pts)
1993 Alex Somlyay Liberal 42,662 59.8% Kerry Orton (Labor) 13,979 (19.6 pts)
1996 Alex Somlyay Liberal 49,109 68.1% Peter Marconi (Labor) 26,099 (36.2 pts)
1998 Alex Somlyay Liberal 37,286 54.4% John Henderson (Labor) 5,986 (8.7 pts)
2001 Alex Somlyay Liberal 45,135 59.2% John Henderson (Labor) 14,040 (18.4 pts)
2004 Alex Somlyay Liberal 45,452 60.8% Ivan Molloy (Labor) 16,185 (21.7 pts)
2007 Alex Somlyay Liberal 43,558 53.0% Debbie Blumel (Labor) 4,949 (6.0 pts)
2013 Clive Palmer Palmer United Party 42,330 50.0% Ted O'brien (Liberal National (Qld)) 53 (0.1 pts)
2016 Ted O'brien Liberal National (Qld) 56,299 60.9% Scott Anderson (Labor) 20,135 (21.8 pts)
2019 Ted O'brien Liberal National (Qld) 61,944 63.4% Julie Mcglone (Labor) 26,248 (26.9 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.

1984

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Evan AdermannNational23,59345.2%
Peter ShooterLabor17,60733.7%
Terry WelchLiberal7,40214.2%
Bob BorsellinoAustralian Democrats3,6086.9%

1987

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Evan AdermannNational24,81739.8%
Alison SmithLabor21,95335.2%
Joy BrannellyLiberal10,73317.2%
Brian StockwellAustralian Democrats4,7867.7%

1990

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Beryl MusprattLabor26,01732.8%
John StoneNational20,92826.4%
Alex SomlyayLiberal20,39525.7%
Bob BorsellinoAustralian Democrats10,43913.2%
Sheila AdamsIndependent1,5281.9%

1993

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alex SomlyayLiberal28,68640.2%
Kerry OrtonLabor22,02230.8%
Gordon SimpsonNational10,38214.5%
Elizabeth Oss-EmerAustralian Democrats3,3134.6%
Peter ParnellGreens2,8584.0%
Santo FerraroIndependent1,6462.3%
John HendersonIndependent1,5672.2%
Keith ValentineIndependent9241.3%

1996

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alex SomlyayLiberal44,99462.1%
Peter MarconiLabor17,35524.0%
Elizabeth Oss-EmerAustralian Democrats5,8088.0%
John FitzgeraldGreens3,8685.3%
Colin HicksIndependent3840.5%

1998

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alex SomlyayLiberal24,70936.0%
John HendersonLabor19,67928.7%
Fraser AnningOne Nation12,17117.7%
Lindsay HorswoodNational4,6926.8%
John RyanAustralian Democrats2,7544.0%
Peter BakhashGreens2,3813.5%
Harry CookChristian Democratic Party1,2801.9%
Mike HarperIndependent9211.3%

2001

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alex SomlyayLiberal35,86847.1%
John HendersonLabor19,10125.1%
Shane PaulgerIndependent7,5199.9%
Jim MackellarOne Nation6,2818.2%
Joy RingroseGreens3,7915.0%
Karen JacksonAustralian Democrats3,6704.8%

2004

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alex SomlyayLiberal39,07552.3%
Ivan MolloyLabor20,28927.2%
David NorrisGreens7,53610.1%
Paula HuntFFP3,3904.5%
Patrick RozanskiOne Nation2,3173.1%
Debbie CampbellAustralian Democrats1,8962.5%
Kevin WattCEC2160.3%

2007

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alex SomlyayLiberal38,47046.8%
Debbie BlumelLabor29,96036.5%
Dave NorrisGreens7,0118.5%
Lisa WoodsFamily First3,2874.0%
Max PhillipsIndependent1,3001.6%
Kevin J SavageOne Nation8611.0%
Janette HashemiAustralian Democrats7640.9%
Kevin WattIndependent5140.6%

2013

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Ted O'brienLiberal National (Qld)34,95941.3%
Clive PalmerPalmer United Party22,40926.5%
Elaine HughesLabor15,42918.2%
David KnobelGreens7,0468.3%
Ray SawyerKatter's Australian Party1,6231.9%
Angela MeyerFamily First1,4161.7%
Trudy ByrnesIndependent1,0161.2%
Mike HoltOne Nation7090.8%

2016

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Ted O'brienLiberal National (Qld)44,78748.4%
Scott AndersonLabor19,05420.6%
Susan EtheridgeGreens11,67212.6%
Robert PasqualiOne Nation9,0069.7%
Keith CampbellIndependent2,8863.1%
David ReesFamily First2,4492.6%
Robert DicksonIndependent1,9852.1%
Kris BullenIndependent6240.7%

2019

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Ted O'brienLiberal National (Qld)48,45149.6%
Julie McgloneLabor20,97621.5%
Sue EtheridgeGreens12,29112.6%
Paul HenselinOne Nation7,6617.8%
Kylie CowlingUnited Australia Party2,9873.1%
Jake RyanFACNP1,5021.5%
Richard BelcherIndependent1,4101.4%
Sinim AustralieIndependent1,3181.3%
Bertrand CadartLiberal Democrats1,0441.1%

Margin Over Time

Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.

1984: National margin 21.2 pts 1987: National margin 14.7 pts 1990: Liberal margin 14.9 pts 1993: Liberal margin 19.6 pts 1996: Liberal margin 36.2 pts 1998: Liberal margin 8.7 pts 2001: Liberal margin 18.4 pts 2004: Liberal margin 21.7 pts 2007: Liberal margin 6.0 pts 2013: Palmer United Party margin 0.1 pts 2016: Liberal National (Qld) margin 21.8 pts 2019: Liberal National (Qld) margin 26.9 pts 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2013 2016 2019

Trend

Fairfax has been contested at 12 federal elections on record since 1984. Winning parties over that span: National, Liberal, Palmer United Party, Liberal National (Qld).

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Fairfax in the 2019 federal election?

Ted O'brien (Liberal National (Qld)) won Fairfax in 2019 after preferences, with 61,944 votes (63.4%) to Julie Mcglone's 35,696.

Which parties have won Fairfax since 1984?

Since 1984, Fairfax has been won by: Liberal, Liberal National (Qld), National, Palmer United Party.

What was the closest result in Fairfax?

The closest result on record for Fairfax was 2013, when Clive Palmer (Palmer United Party) beat Ted O'brien by 53 votes (0.1 percentage points) after preferences.

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