Labor's Mike Kelly was officially returned to the division of Eden-Monaro on Thursday, July 21.
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Following a long and arduous election campaign, the MP was declared the winning candidate by Australian Electoral Commission divisional returning officer for the division of Eden-Monaro, Renee Damasena, at the Queanbeyan AEC office.
Dr Kelly bested eight other candidates vying for the electorate and removed his closest competitor, incumbent Liberal member Peter Hendy, by a slim difference of 1,683 votes.
Dr Kelly said he was "delighted to be returned" and began his acceptance address by thanking the AEC staff and volunteers, recognising the efforts it took to man polling booths across an electorate as diverse and vast as the Eden-Monaro.
"Nobody really pays enough attention to all of that furious paddling under the surface that you guys do," he said.
"Some electorates around the country are more demanding than others, some you can walk across, but others like this would take a hell of a lot of management and work to get it right and you guys have done a fantastic job, always here serving the community and being a key part of how our democracy works."
He continued, commending the efforts of a campaign team with the uphill battle of dethroning a first-term MP, and made particular note of the passionate Eden-Monaro constituents who had approached him throughout the course of the election.
"It was really pleasing to see the number of people who came out passionate about different issues, most of them really worked hard, were great people, and I'm grateful to them for the exercise in democracy that it was," he said.
"I've seen the alternatives in places like Somalia and Bosnia, Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan so I'm always extremely appreciative of what we have in this country."