John Harrison comments in the Brisbane Times (5.6.16) on the contest among the minor parties and Independents for a Queensland Senate seat, arguing that voter familiarity may well be the deciding factor for some candidates.
‘Name recognition will help decide who lands the final Senate seats in Queensland. Even though we have compulsory voting, name recognition can greatly advantage a candidate.
‘There are four contenders for the final Senate seats in Queensland. They are: former Democrat senator Andrew Bartlett for the Greens, Pauline Hanson, Glenn Lazarus and Suzanne Grant for the Nick Xenophon Team. Suzanne who? Suzanne Grant, a self-confessed newbie to politics, is from Brisbane’s western suburbs and a former small business owner with a UQ doctorate in politics. She will be relying heavily on the Xenophon name to get any traction against Hanson and Lazarus.’