Although Field had long Labor Party and union connections, he was not an active politician and had never before sought to become one. Nevertheless, he made himself known to the Premier's office and offered his services. Although he would be technically a Labor senator, Field vowed never to vote for the Whitlam government. He was conservative and religious and was openly critical of what he saw as a range of "immoral" policies being advanced by Whitlam and his government. That was precisely the sort of person wanted by Bjelke-Petersen, who responded by nominating Field in the Parliament of Queensland as the new senator.