Craig Garland
Despite being a political newcomer, his self-funded grassroots campaign attracted sufficient attention that ABC news reported that it seemed that both the Labor and Liberal candidates were treating him as their main opposition.His decision to direct preferences on his how-to-vote cards to the ALP candidate Justine Keay ahead of the Liberal Party's Brett Whitely saw his attract the ire of then federal senator for Tasmania Eric Abetz, who held a press conference to highlight that Garland had pleaded guilty to an assault charge in Victoria in 1994.Garland responded that the charge related to an incident where he had stepped in to help a group of friends who were being bashed, stating "I've got nothing to hide whatsoever.After distribution of preferences, this rose to 11.1%, enough for him to secure the seventh seat in this electorate ahead of the fourth Liberal Party candidate."[8] Garland is a fisherman and long-term campaigner against industrial salmon farming in the waters off Tasmania's north-west coast.