While the Bronwyn Bishop saga has almost definitely killed any remote chance of an early election this year, both Labor and the Greens are in the process of getting candidates ready for the 2016 election. Carl Katter, the gay younger brother of independent MP Bob Katter, who has earned a name for himself over the past few years for criticising his sibling’s stance on same-sex marriage, and the apparent absence of gay people in his far north Queensland electorate , is now trying his own hand in federal politics. We have heard that Carl is now confirmed as the Labor candidate for the seat of Higgins.

The seat of former treasurer Peter Costello is currently held by up-and-coming Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer,  who retained the seat at the 2013 election with a two-party preferred vote of 59.9%.

It looks to be a three-way contest with the Greens, too. We have heard that Jason Ball, the young gay AFL player known for tackling homophobia in a sport without tackling, is the likely candidate. Despite numerous attempts over the past two weeks to confirm the Greens candidate for Higgins, the Victorian Greens seem to have gone to ground, so unless the secret squirrels in the Greens reveal something soon, we won’t know until the Greens officially make the announcement.

While O’Dwyer has a strong margin in the lead-up to the next election, given the Greens’ upset victory in Prahran in the last Victorian state election over popular Lib Clem Newton-Brown, both Labor and the Greens will be looking to win over the more progressive sections of the Higgins electorate.

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