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The first time I became aware of Penny Allman-Payne<\/a> was from a flyer on the Coochiemudlo Island Progress Association noticeboard at the jetty on my way to the mainland. This teacher, lawyer, and Greens candidate for Bowman was coming to my island.<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t make it to that meeting, but Penny agreed to meet me recently at a cafe in her home town of Cleveland, where she quickly identified a specific challenge faced by candidates in the smaller parties: being visible to voters.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re not an incumbent with access to large sections of the electorate in a range of ways, or you\u2019re not an ex state member who has more time to get out into the electorate, then I think it\u2019s much harder to access people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen your time is limited, which mine is by virtue of working full time, you start looking very carefully about how you can access the most people, and the way to do that is to go into the centre of that community.\u201d<\/p>\n Since moving to the Redlands in south-east Queensland (the same geographical area as the division of Bowman<\/a>), I have wondered exactly where its centre is. The region is spilt geographically by the southern section of Moreton Bay, which separates an archipelago from the townships scattered across the seaboard.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the council wards are quite self contained, which I don\u2019t think is a bad thing – people can choose to live in the areas that suit them,\u201d Penny explains. \u201cI think it started that way because we\u2019ve come from a more rural background, and you tend to find in rural communities that you have these little hubs and villages that people tend to gather around\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Wellington Point, the twilight markets happen in the town centre, people are out at night and everyone gathers in one place. You could say a similar thing about Cleveland and the Raby Bay twilight market, but if you go down to Capalaba, there\u2019s no heart,\u201d Penny says. \u201cIt\u2019s really two big shopping centres, and when you look at ways to access that community, it\u2019s really hard to find places where people tend to gather.”<\/p>\n So, considering Bowman is made-up of islands, and townships that are a little like \u2018islands unto themselves\u2019, I ask if there\u2019s any tradition of \u2018meet the candidates\u2019 sessions in this division?<\/p>\n Penny is uniquely positioned to answer, since she was the Greens candidate for the state seat of Capalaba<\/a> in 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the last state election there was one candidate forum run by the Australian Christian Lobby,\u201d Penny recalls. \u201cThere would have been 30 to 40 people at that meeting. I also went to the Birkdale Progress Association meeting, and other than that there were few ways and means of accessing the community.”<\/p>\n It\u2019s Penny who brings-up what sounds like a local election tradition – displaying \u2018coreflutes\u2019 (campaign signs, named for the lightweight, hollow, fluted plastic sheets) on the busy main road in and out of the Redlands, at Chandler.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the state election I had people say to me, as they came out of the booth, \u2018I would have voted for you, but I didn\u2019t see you anywhere\u2019, and I have to say as a candidate, one of the things that causes me angst is that I really think standing on the side of the road waving at people is not the best use of a candidate\u2019s time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually think there\u2019s a culture that\u2019s been created, certainly in this electorate, that if you\u2019re not out on the side of the road out by Chandler at some point in your campaign, then you\u2019re not serious about running.\u201d<\/p>\n So, will Penny be out on the road?<\/p>\n \u201cI will be by the roadside at Chandler,\u201d she confirms. \u201cI\u2019ll put up my signs, but I\u2019ll probably sit down and have a cuppa with my husband, and that will be our opportunity to catch up for the week\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI took the opportunity in the first week of the holidays, so people knew I was running. I think that\u2019s the purpose. If you need to be on the side of the road to enable the coreflutes to be there, then I\u2019m going to let the coreflutes be there.<\/p>\n Sounds like there are strict rules about campaign signs in the Redlands<\/a>. Penny explains.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are always some candidates who put out more than the limit, and then just wait to be fined, or asked to take them down,\u201d Penny says. \u201cIt makes an impact. I\u2019ve only got one lot of signs up at the moment, and the number of signs on that fence was determined by the resident of that property. I went into the hairdresser\u2019s on Saturday, and people said to me: \u2018You\u2019re everywhere\u2019, but I\u2019m on one fence on one house in one suburb.”<\/p>\n At the 2010 federal election, the division of Bowman saw a swing of 4.5 per cent of the primary vote to the Greens<\/a>. I ask Penny where this impact was felt.<\/p>\n \u201cOur highest Greens vote in 2010 was around Alexandra Hills and Capalaba, and out on the Islands. We are being seen as a party that is not just about the environment but also as a party that cares about people, and we\u2019re the only party who is really concerned about Newstart and single parents. No-one else is talking about that.<\/p>\n \u201cI doubt there\u2019s many voters who will have come into contact with all the candidates, so I do think the person who can make contact with the most voters is probably still at a significant advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want someone to vote Green,\u201d Penny concludes, \u201cyou have to ask them to do something they haven\u2019t done before. If they\u2019ve never met you, that\u2019s much less likely.\u201d<\/p>\n Next up: Blocked at the ballot? Bowman\u2019s <\/i>Fernando Alba<\/i><\/a> and the 21st Century Australia Party’s ongoing battle with the AEC.<\/i><\/p>\n Last week: <\/i>Briskey\u2019s back in Bowman<\/i><\/a>, ALP candidate Darryl Briskey.<\/i><\/p>\n The week before: <\/i>Interview with Palmer United Party candidate<\/i><\/a> and Straddie Oyster farmer, John Wayne.<\/i><\/p>\n