While results in Calare weren't the strongest for The Greens in last month's Federal Election, the party's record performance elsewhere has 2022 candidate Kay Nankervis hopeful the party's policies are starting to resonate with more voters.
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The Greens won a record three seats in the House of Representatives, all in metropolitan Brisbane, and is likely to pick up six Senate seats, including former NSW Member of the Legislative Council [MLC] David Shoebridge.
Mr Shoebridge visited Calare during the election campaign to touch on a number of The Greens' policies.
Ms Nankervis said the strong primary vote for The Greens in the Senate [11.38 per cent] across the state saw Mr Shoebridge elected.
"My objective for running was very much to build a greater understanding around The Greens' policies and put forth the fact we have a clear agenda for dealing with social problems in the electorate," she said.
The Greens is now, quite clearly, the third major party in Australian parliament.
- Kay Nankervis
"It was always going to be a tough task to unseat Andrew Gee, and in a grassroots rural seat, you can never underestimate the power of the incumbent."
Ms Nankervis attested the strong Greens vote elsewhere to a growing consciousness of climate change and social justice.
"The Greens is now, quite clearly, the third major party in Australian parliament," she said.
"We now have more upper and lower house seats than the Australian Democrats ever had, and have held more senate seats than the Nationals have ever managed.
"What it says is that people want to vote for a party with strong climate change credentials and a strong agenda on social justice."
If she were to run for The Greens again, whether that be at a federal or state level, Ms Nankervis said she'd bring more attention towards issues specific to each town in the electorate.
"The Greens need a more specific strategy for the bush," she said.
"The party would certainly benefit from working closely with farmers to construct policies in relation to sustainable agriculture."
Ms Nankervis said she'd consider running again for The Greens.
The Greens received 4766 first preference votes in Calare, nearly 2000 less than the 2019 election.
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