On one wall there is a photograph of Lazarus doing a victory lap after the Canberra Raiders' 1989 grand final win against the the Balmain Tigers. He has written on one corner ''Merry Christmas to the best family anyone could wish for''.

On another wall, above the couch, is a framed Kangaroos jersey from the the team's victorious 1992 rugby league world cup campaign, Lazarus among the rollcall that also included Meninga, Stuart, Fittler and Clyde.

Perhaps an official photograph of Senator Lazarus making his maiden speech to Parliament next July might soon be added to the wall in the house where the boys were all raised.

''I haven't thought about that,'' Mrs Lazarus said with a laugh.

Glenn Lazarus, the only player in the history of the NRL to have won three premierships at three different clubs - the Raiders, the Brisbane Broncos and the Melbourne Storm - has continued his winning streak, one of three senators-elect from the Palmer United Party to take their seat in the new Senate next July.

Mrs Lazarus, 72, says she's not a political person but she is proud of her son's latest career shift, saying he ''cares about people and cares about the country''. ''I think he'll be good. He's got some good ideas and he'll hopefully make a difference,'' she said. ''Before Glenn rang me and said he was going to run for the Clive Palmer party, I didn't know who I was going to vote for, I was that disillusioned with Labor and Liberal, I just did not know who I was going to vote for. So when he told me that, I thought, 'Oh well, I'll vote for the Clive Palmer party.' ''

She hopes her son will restore some trust in politicians. ''Because all they do is fight with each other, dig up dirt on each other. And they're still doing it. Why don't they get on with running the country? There must be some good ones in amongst them but you never hear about them.''

Lazarus is married to Tess and they have three children. He is the oldest of four boys, with Brett and David still living in Queanbeyan and Paul living on the Gold Coast. All four boys were born in the old Queanbeyan hospital. Their late father Pat, who died in 2011, just a couple of months before his and Judy's 50th wedding anniversary, was a shearer turned street cleaner. Mrs Lazarus worked in the old government printing office in Kingston in between raising her boys.

She says Glenn, who went to Queanbeyan South Primary School and Karabar High, was a very good swimmer and could have continued the sport seriously but rugby league won out.

And she's never minded his nickname the Brick with Eyes, bestowed by Triple J commentators Roy Slaven and H.G. Nelson. ''That was really funny,'' she said. ''He even did an ad for a brick company and they had these huge posters on the main roads around Brisbane with Glenn with nothing on and just the brick in front of him..''

Mrs Lazarus says she is looking forward to seeing more of Glenn when he returns to Canberra for Parliament, but he probably won't be getting his old bedroom back.

''I haven't got the room. I've got two boys back at the moment and it's only a three-bedroom house,'' she said.

And while she has a new political allegiance, Mrs Lazarus says sticking to a football team has proved more difficult. ''Before the Raiders, we were Parramatta supporters. Then, of course, Glenn started playing for the Raiders, so we changed to the Raiders. Then he went to the Broncos and we had to barrack for the Broncos, and then he went to Melbourne. There's still some teams I like more than others but I don't have a special team any more.''