It’s clear the two-party system is fracturing in Australia. It’s never been more important for us to show up, campaign and get noticed—even when we aren’t expected to win.

We did just that in three recent by-elections—Nepean in Victoria, Farrer in NSW and Stafford in Queensland. In all three seats, Legalise Cannabis turned up, stood out and finished in the pack rather than at the margins.

It was our first time running candidates in these areas, and we even outpolled the Greens in Farrer.

On paper, three fifth-place finishes don’t sound like a good result. But by-elections are not normal contests. They have short timeframes, are dominated by a few major contenders and involve a lot of ‘strategic voting’ when a major party sits it out.

For a newer party like us, with limited resources, simply getting noticed is a challenge.

With shoestring budgets, our campaigns didn’t rely on mail-outs, large volunteer armies or big ad spends. They were built the old-fashioned way—a handful of committed volunteers, creativity and a willingness to offer something different.

Our approach was simple: turn up, get noticed and keep it fun. At a time when voters are increasingly disillusioned with politics in general, that matters.

With each new campaign, we’re finding our voice. Our energy, humour and authenticity deliver far better bang-for-buck than sterile, message-tested pitches. Voters notice when a party looks like they’re enjoying themselves. It signals confidence. It signals belief. In Farrer, we even made a splash in the satirical masthead, The Betoota Advocate. All jokes aside, finishing ahead of parties like Shooters, Fishers and Farmers and Family First in new territory is a sign that voters of all stripes are willing to give us a hearing.

The fact we also leapfrogged the Greens with minimal resources suggests we should look closer at seats we’ve never considered before.

We can’t build support in places we don’t contest. We can’t expand our vote without giving voters the opportunity to choose us. These campaigns—short, scrappy and energetic—are laying the groundwork.

Every conversation at a booth, every corflute waved at a busy intersection, every volunteer interaction becomes part of a longer-term brand recognition.

Yes, we didn’t bring home the bacon in these contests, but we did something arguably more important at this stage of our development—we showed we can compete, attract new voters, and have fun while doing it.