There were more empty seats than people on Thursday night at a forum for minor parties contesting the ACT election - and it was not just the tyranny of social distance which kept the room sparsely populated.
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There was still an audience, though: a mix'n'match bunch of party faithful and local journalists. About 50 people were said to have registered for the event, but the Sunday Canberra Times counted about 25 attendees including members of the press.
Contending with small budgets, negligible volunteer bases and an intentional lack of well-oiled party machinery, the candidates face what some see as a Sisyphean task. And that's before the effects of a global pandemic are added to the bargain.
So why bother running at all when an independent has not been elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly this side of the millennium?
The Canberra Progressives, who organised the forum, were joined by David Pollard, who has established a party in his own name to run as an independent, the Australian Climate Change Justice Party, the Belco Party, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and the Community Action Party. Independent Fiona Carrick also spoke.
Although the parties varied widely on issues economic and social, drifting right across old notions of the left and right wings, some clear similarities quickly emerged.
They all think ACT Labor is tired but the Liberal Party does not offer a credible alternative. They all think Canberrans are no longer listened to - either political correctness or tick-a-box community consultations keep regular voters' voices out - and they all think getting an independent into the assembly would be a chance to shake things up.
David Pollard, a progressive who is running in Yerrabi, which takes in the Gungahlin suburbs along with Giralang and Kaleen, said campaigning in the ACT election meant straddling big state issues and the prevalence of potholes.
"I get invited into people's homes to come and talk to them. The people who are engaged like to look at the alternatives," Mr Pollard said.
Mr Pollard said the issues people raise go from macro to micro. "Environment is regularly mentioned, cost of living is regularly mentioned. But after that it really does get down to the local issues for a lot of people," he said.
Peta Swarbrick, a Canberra Progressives candidate for Kurrajong, told the forum she had been prompted to run because she could not see people like her among the leaders of the ACT's major parties.
"I don't see me in the leadership in Canberra and I've seen the effects of that," Ms Swarbrick told the forum.
"The other thing is lived experience. I want to break this big party duopoly. Preselection issues, faction issues, same people at the table. Three meat pies, slightly different flavour. That's why I gravitated towards the Progressives."
Bill Stefaniak, who, as a former Liberal Opposition leader, has a high personal profile, is open in evoking Don Chipp in trying to keep the bastards honest.
"I think that's absolutely essential for an independent party," Mr Stefaniak said at the forum.
"Some of you may know I'm an ex-Liberal minister. I'm not terribly impressed with any of the major parties in the ACT. In the last few years, I've become simply unimpressed with what's been happening to the ACT."
Plenty of ideas were thrown around on Thursday night that the minor parties said would help fix the problem. It's a curious mix of big-picture thinking and single-issue problem solving.
The Canberra Progressives want to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to the Legislative Assembly. They also want $50 annual prepaid MyWay cards for the city's public transport system.
The Belco Party wants Canberrans to pay the lowest vehicle registration fees in the country, and eradicate homelessness in the territory.
The Community Action Party, whose candidate is Alvin Hopper, wants to see the West Basin development stopped and ministerial call-in powers abandoned.
Given some broad thematic consistency - though the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party has very different priorities to the Canberra Progressives - what would happen if they could all get together to get at least one candidate elected?
Preference whispering in the territory's Hare-Clark system would require the minor parties to tell their supporters to vote for anyone but the major parties. But can they attract enough voters and then have an influence on their later preferences?
That's the question which will follow them all the way to the ballot box.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
