The state is attracting fly-in-fly-out federal election candidates, with two would-be senators for Tasmania coming from the mainland.
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It follows criticism from interstate media that Liberal Braddon MHR Brett Whiteley and Lyons MHR Eric Hutchinson do not live in their electorates.
Mr Hutchinson lives in Bass, and Mr Whiteley lives at Squeaking Point which is in Lyons.
Christian Democratic Party candidate Silvana Nero-Nile arrived in Tasmania last week from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and is renting a house in Launceston during the campaign.
The party is founded by Mrs Nero-Nile’s husband, the well-known conservative MP Reverend Fred Nile, and has described Tasmanian cultural icon MONA as “contravening human decency, good values and morals”.
Mrs Nero-Nile said she fell in love with Tasmania during a recent visit, and would move permanently if elected.
She missed out on the party’s top Senate spot in New South Wales earlier this year.
“I’ve set up home and office here,” she said.
“I’ve found people have been very receptive.”
Mrs Nero-Nile said she wanted to ensure the voices of mainstream Tasmanian conservatives was heard.
“It’s time that the Christian voice comes to the forefront,” she said.
She said the Liberals and Labor had “moved to the middle left”.
Mrs Nero-Nile said she was looking for a Senate running mate who is Tasmanian-based.
Defence Veterans Party candidate David Penman has also never lived in Tasmania.
Mr Penman is running for the Senate out of Tasmania, but said he had enough knowledge about Tasmania and corporate experience to represent the state in the Federal Parliament.
Australian Electoral Commission acting state manager David Molnar said candidates did not have to live in the electorate they were running for, nor the state itself.
Mr Molnar said candidates must be more than 18 years old, be an Australian citizen and be entitled to be on the electoral roll.
“There’s no requirement for them to actually be on the electoral roll within the area they are nominating for,” Mr Molnar said.
“But it means they obviously can’t vote for themselves if they’re not.”
In the 2013 federal election the mayor of Campbelltown in Sydney ran as a Liberal Democrat in Tasmania, receiving about 8000 votes.
