WHEN the new Federal Senate sat for the first time, there were few as engaged as Castlemaine's Hans Paas.
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He watched on as the Palmer United Party senators negotiated a number of key policy measures as part of the balance of power.
Mr Paas, a former Victorian Greens candidate, was impressed with the fledgling party.
So impressed, he decided to submit an application to run for the PUP in the 2014 Victorian Election.
He is now the PUP's top candidate in Northern Victoria.
"The senators blocked the $7 GP co-payment plan, they blocked the deregulated of tertiary education fees," Mr Paas said.
"They are the reason why we're back on track towards an emissions trading scheme. If the Greens had been open to negotiation, we could have a functioning ETS by now.
"They just don't negotiate though."
Mr Paas, a former national secretary of the Democrats, wanted to highlight the plight of regional Victoria during his three week election campaign.
He said there was still a perception that development ended at Melbourne's boundaries.
"Politicians from both sides are always keen to run around and announce things, launch different initiatives, but what I still hear from people is a tale of neglect," Mr Paas said.
"We might get large projects, but what we see are very long lead times."
Clive Palmer announced 19 candidates for the Victorian Election during an event in Melbourne on Sunday.
Owen Lysaght was the party's second candidate for Northern Victoria.
Mr Paas said Clive Palmer was taking the election seriously, having met with him a number of times in the last month.
"I've been blown away by the amount of effort he's putting in," he said.
