[1] He had previously been an electrician and was Occupational Health and Safety Officer of the Electrical Trades Union.
[2] He defeated the sitting Liberal member, Phil Barresi, who had held the seat since 1996.
Barresi led for most of the night, but on the fifth count a large flow of Green preferences allowed Symon to become only the second Labor MP in the seat's 70-year history.
At the 2010 election, Symon faced Barresi again, and was reelected with a slight swing in his favour—again due to Green preferences.
At the 2013 federal election, Symon suffered a swing of 3.8% against him and was defeated by Liberal candidate Michael Sukkar.