WA Senate hopefuls silent on big issues
They are the WA Senate hopefuls thrust from obscurity to the political stage but voters still know little about Wayne Dropulich and Zhenya "Dio" Wang, including where they stand on some of the country's biggest issues.
In the two months since the election the men have given little away on their voting intentions when it comes to issues such as Tony Abbott's paid parental leave scheme, the carbon tax, gay marriage and the mining tax.
Either man could still be in with a chance for a seat in Federal Parliament if WA is forced to return to the polls.
Palmer United Party candidate Mr Wang won a seat in the first count but lost in the subsequent recount, while the Australian Sports Party's Mr Dropulich lost in the first count and won in the recount amid controversy after 1375 votes went missing.
Mr Dropulich has made no secret of the fact he has yet to formulate a non-sporting policy, vowing if elected to spend the subsequent months "trying to get myself as aware as I can".
"I don't doubt that it's going to go to the courts and if the court decides it goes back to an election I'll put my hand up for it and I'd expect or hope that I'd do well with the higher profile we have now," he said.
The 42-year-old mining engineer and Westside Steelers gridiron player grew up in Perth, attending Duncraig Senior High School and studying engineering at Curtin University before working for contractors on mining projects, including Rio Tinto's high-profile Cape Lambert expansion. However, he has publicly played down the assumption that his mining background meant he would automatically favour scrapping the carbon and mining taxes.
Mr Dropulich, who has said he hopes to promote and increase sporting participation in the community, said he owed his passion to a childhood growing up in Perth's northern suburbs with two keen sportsmen brothers and - more recently - the birth of his two children.
"Having two young kids, you see all the stories of obesity and health issues," is how he puts it. "So having kids myself is probably a bit of an impetus myself to get me a little bit more involved."
The Chinese-born Mr Wang is also a latecomer to politics, admitting he never had much interest in it and put his hand up as a candidate for the PUP only weeks before the election was called.
Raised in Nanjing, Mr Wang trained as an engineer in Melbourne before moving to Perth to take up a job with Australasian Resources, which is 70 per cent owned by Clive Palmer.
Mr Wang, who earns about $200,000 a year as chief executive of Australasian, said he first met Mr Palmer in March 2007 when he was brought in to help the mining boss in sensitive negotiations to encourage a Chinese steel mill to invest in the company. He has dismissed concerns he would face conflicts of interest despite his long relationship with Mr Palmer.
Mr Wang said he approached Mr Palmer to represent his party in July after becoming alarmed at the impact of Labor's carbon tax on the mining industry.
But despite his stated deep fears about the price on carbon, Mr Wang couldn't say how he would vote on Mr Abbott's promised Bill to kill off the tax. He said he would need to see the details of the legislation.
The would-be senator said that he would not be a one-issue politician should he make it to Canberra.
He said he had a deep interest in agricultural issues and would like to see Australia become more self-sufficient in food production.
Asked about the issue of same-sex marriage, Mr Wang refused to commit to a position.
I'd expect or hope that I'd do well. " Wayne Dropulich
