Former Griffith candidate Bill Glasson says he will consider a tilt at the Liberal National Party's vacant Senate seat following Senator Brett Mason's retirement.
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Senator Mason announced to his party room in Canberra on Tuesday that he would leave the Senate before the expiration of his term, which was due to end on June 30, 2017.
Senator Mason's retirement would open the seat up, allowing the LNP to appoint a new senator without the need for a byelection.
Having learnt of Senator Mason's decision from Fairfax Media, Dr Glasson said he had some interest in throwing his hat in the ring.
"I'd certainly look at it and talk to the big boss, of course, my darling wife," he said.
"It has an appeal to it, no two ways about it.
"But I do love my work as an ophthalmologist. I feel I make a difference, especially in communities out west, so I suppose I would miss that.
"Having said that, it would be an honour to represent the people of Queensland at a Senate level."
Since the 2013 federal election and subsequent Griffith byelection, Dr Glasson has been working at the Terrace Eye Centre and at the Mater Hospital.
He has also worked in Timor-Leste and in remote communities in Australia.
Dr Glasson said he would find it difficult to walk away from that work, having already prepared himself for such a scenario twice in recent times.
"I don't know, I've found a good life I think," he said.
"But I'd probably look at it, I wouldn't write (a tilt for the Senate) off."
Dr Glasson was defeated by then-prime minister Kevin Rudd in the September 2013 federal election, despite a significant swing against the sitting PM.
Mr Rudd saw his 8.5 per cent margin shrink to 3.01 per cent – a 5.4 per cent swing to Dr Glasson, who won 42.22 per cent of the first preference vote for the LNP, compared to Mr Rudd's 40.36 per cent.
But Mr Rudd won the election with 53 per cent of the vote after the distribution of preferences.
Mr Rudd's retirement from politics in November that year later triggered a byelection in the seat of Griffith, which Labor candidate Terri Butler won in February, 2014.
Dr Glasson narrowed Labor's lead again, reducing the margin by a further 1.25 per cent, with Ms Butler winning the seat with 51.76 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.
While the LNP would not be required to field a Senate candidate in a byelection to fill the casual vacancy, it would need the Queensland Parliament to confirm the nomination.
That was the process by which Queensland LNP Senator Barry O'Sullivan was appointed to his role last year, as well as former foreign minister Bob Carr, the former New South Wales premier who was confirmed by that state's parliament.
LNP President Bruce McIver said Senator Mason had "conducted himself with integrity and distinction" during his 16-year Senate career.
"Senator Mason has been a strong supporter of the LNP since its formation and enjoys a fine reputation across the party and across Queensland for his commitment to the LNP, to Queensland and to good government," he said.
Mr McIver said the LNP would shortly begin the process to select a replacement for Senator Mason.
