The distribution of third-place preferences will be fundamental in this weekend’s Farrer by-election. Whoever wins, be assured that the voters will have Australia’s best interests in mind when they cast their vote.

Much has been written about the 9 May Farrer by-election, mostly from a distance. Here’s an Albury perspective, starting from the events following former Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s resignation, when the campaign proper began. The resignation was surprising only in the sense that Ley’s tenure as opposition leader was terminated shy of an ungenerous 12 months.

With lessons learned from the Coalition’s recent federal election defeat, an already-established Milthorpe and her team had the jump. That jump was boosted by early endorsements of Milthorpe from two sitting Members of Parliament: Australia’s most popular politician, David Pocock, with his city-centric edges smoothed on the right flank by cross-border Independent Helen Haines.

One Nation’s 7 March campaign launch and candidate announcement featured Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce, accompanied by a hype machine full of gluttony and febrility that seemed to overawe the characteristically stolid PHON........

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