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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 Bartlett was considered a credible potential MP, even if there wasn't much expectation he would win in 2016. And then he served a brief term and stepped down to run for Brisbane and make room for Waters to return.

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.

perhaps first senator in a wheelchair? But yeah there was clearly an element who liked the image of having him in the Senate (and possibly also aiming to block the candidates who would have otherwise won)

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.

Very easy to say, harder to do. JSJ was an active member who was trusted with responsibility, people in those position usually are. But he hadn’t faced the standard of competition and vetting that you’d normally get for a Senate seat.