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An under-rated part of the JSJ story is how he ended up in parliament. He didn't win a contested party preselection for a winnable seat - he was the #3 on the WA Greens Senate ticket in 2016 behind Ludlam and Siewert. No Green has ever come close to being elected from #3 (or #2 in a half-Senate)

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.

So of all the long-term Greens senators in Australia, only Steele-John short-circuited the normal rise in the party and preselection, instead going from a totally unwinnable spot to a safe seat in the Senate.

Related bsky.app/profile/drcl...

Then there’s also the bullshit about being the first person with lived experience of disability to serve in federal parliament, when he wasn’t even the first guy in a wheelchair.

My feeling on this is that the parties shouldn't be putting anyone on the Senate ballot that they wouldn't be happy getting a seat, even in a presumed "unwinnable" position.