CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
One month since the 2025 election and the Federal Division of Goldstein has finally been called.
The seat’s former MP, Tim Wilson, is now back in Parliament – after spending three years in the wilderness while the south Melbourne seat was held by the Independent challenger Zoe Daniel.
The media has described this development as an unprecedented and surprising victory for the Liberal Party, as Tim Wilson proudly boasts of his ability to ‘turn the teal tide’.
The animosity between these two candidates has been building over the last three years, with Tim Wilson refusing to concede after his loss in 2022, and then later admitting to ‘crying in the fetal position in the shower’ over the result.
After being ousted, he made headlines for pretending to still be the local MP at community events, in scenes that left many of his former colleagues quite concerned about his state of mind.
As a man who has clearly been told by a lot of people that ‘he will be Prime Minister one day’ – Tim Wilson dedicated every waking minute of the last Parliamentary term to criticising Zoe Daniel from the sidelines.
On election night, both candidates celebrated their victory over the other one – weeks before it had been confirmed in a fourth recount.
However, a month later, and the AEC has confirmed that Tim Wilson has won the seat on favourable 5th and 6th preferences.
The Australian Electoral Commission finalised the partial recount of 85,000 votes on Saturday, confirming Wilson had won with a margin of 175 votes. In an official quote, he has stated that he ‘hopes Ms Daniel finds peace’.
While most MPs would view this kind of victory as nothing more than a lucky numerological glitch, Wilson has celebrated the clarification like a man who has just won government as Liberal leader.
The otherwise sleepy main street of Caulfield is today playing host to a noisy marching band, and confetti is falling from the skies.
Tim Wilson has done it. He has mastered the art of winning back blue-ribbon seats from uppity women who care about climate change.
He now bumps up the number of seats held by the Liberal Party in Victoria from 5 to 6. And will be joining the 43-seat Federal Opposition in their tireless effort to keep Albanese’s 94-seat Labor Government honest.
