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THE POLL BLUDGER FAIRFAX
Fairfax was created in 1984 around Noosa, which had previously been switched back and forth between Wide Bay and Fisher. The current redistribution has dramatically altered the electorate through a rearrangement to accommodate the new seat of Flynn, with Noosa and its surrounds returning to their old home of Wide Bay and Fairfax moving south into a smaller but more populous region inland of Maroochydore. The seat's inaugural member was Evan Adermann, who had held Fisher for the Nationals since 1972. When Adermann retired in 1990, the seat was contested for the Nationals by Senator and former Treasury secretary John Stone. However, this was at the post-Fitzgerald nadir of the Queensland Nationals' fortunes, and Liberal candidate Alex Somlyay (a former private secretary to Adermann) was able to overtake Stone with Democrats preferences. Occasional candidates fielded by the Nationals since have attracted progressively fewer votes. A 13.3 per cent swing to Labor in 1998 made the seat technically marginal, but Somlyay added more fat to his margin in 2001 and 2004. | |