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]
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]
After the AEC realigned the TCP count, Palmer emerged with a narrow lead over O'Brien.[24] It was also revealed that a sorting error during election night meant 760 votes were recorded as being from the Buderim polling booth, instead of Coolum Beach, leading to Palmer seeking an injunction to stop counting.[24][31] His application was rejected by the Federal Court of Australia on 17 September 2013.[32][33] Palmer also stated that despite leading during the count, he would "be highly surprised if I won".[34]
On 21 September 2013, the AEC declared Palmer had won Fairfax by a margin of 36 votes.[35] After an automatic recount, which still resulted in a margin under 100 votes, a full recount was triggered.[36][37]
Full recount
The full recount began on 3 October 2013.[24] Around 20,000 votes were recounted after five days, but more than half of those were challenged by scrutineers.[38] During the count, Palmer increased his lead to as high as 67 votes.[24] According to the AEC spokesperson, the "vast majority" of challenges had come from PUP representatives.[39] By the end of the recounting, 50,099 of the 89,176 ballots were challenged, with 38,644 of those referred to the AEC for a decision.[40][41]
On 31 October 2013, the AEC declared Palmer had won the seat by a margin of 53 votes following the recount.[42][43]
↑"QLD DIVISION - FAIRFAX". Australian Electoral Commission. 7 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 September 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
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