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If Ludlam had resigned from the Senate in the normal manner, the party would have had a choice about who they ran, and my understanding was there was a number of contenders in the wings, JSJ was not one of them.

But because Ludlam was disqualified due to citizenship, the seat was filled by a recount, and JSJ was automatically elected. Steele-John could have chosen to resign and let the party conduct a full preselection, but didn't. Since then, he has been preselected and elected, but always from incumbency.

The only comparable example is Andrew Bartlett who replaced Larissa Waters for the same reason. But Bartlett was a former senator, former Democrats leader and had contested the #2 seat which was winnable in many states (perhaps not Queensland). He also had run for Brisbane, one of their best seats.