Perth might be the other side of the continent, but what is 4000 kilometres to a Canberran determined to stand for the Senate in Western Australia?
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Leon Ashby, a handyman and former farmer, said he was unlikely to get to Perth to campaign before the election on April 5. But distance isn't the point. "You only have to be a resident of Australia to contest a Senate election," he said. "Quite often, parties bring in people to run who are not in the electorate or in the state, depending on who they think's the best candidate, so we're not the first one to do that."
Mr Ashby is running as No 2 to Bill Koutalianos, a Sydney builder, who is in Perth campaigning. Mr Ashby said his job was to support Mr Koutalianos' bid for election. The pair are standing for the Freedom and Prosperity Party, which has changed its name from the No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics Party to broaden its appeal and because it says the carbon tax battle is won.
They were co-opted into the WA election after the botched result last year caused a re-run. Mr Ashby said last year's No.1 candidate was now "running around the world organising new mines" and the No.2 didn't want to run again.
Mr Ashby stood for the Senate in South Australia last year, where his party took 0.1 per cent of the vote, and where he has stronger links. He was brought up on a farm in Mount Gambier, and farmed there and in Queensland for some years until, he said, the government took away farmers' property rights, stopped them fencing some areas, prevented them from driving over bush in some areas and from lighting fires, all of which "made it very difficult to be flexible and manage a farm".
He sold the farm, went into politics, standing in the 2010 and 2013 elections, and 18 months ago moved to Canberra, following his adult children.
Mr Ashby, 54, has five children, all of whom live in Canberra and most of whom are employed at the crematorium. He also has a grandchild. He is a Pentecostal Christian and when we caught up with him on Sunday he was running his usual Sunday barbecue for the homeless and disadvantaged in the city centre.
He said the new Freedom and Prosperity Party had the same policies and principles as the former climate sceptics party, but was changing its emphasis a little. "We want to draw a line in the sand and not lose our freedoms any more, and we're looking towards policies that make Australians have more prosperity."
