I once thought, for purely selfish reasons, that the ACT should have six senators as such a number would always guarantee two Labor and two Liberal senators and that I could get one of the two Liberal spots and, with luck, end up Minister for Defence.

However, now I’m not so sure it’s really necessary. For a number of decades, we had a senate of 36, comprised of six per state, and when the number was increased to 12 per state in 1975, we also got two per Territory.

It is now federal Labor policy to increase the number of senators for the ACT and NT. No number is specified but it will be either four or six. It’s also not clear if this will be in time for the next federal election. Now is probably as good a time as any for all parties to look at how big the senate should be. One possibility might be to decrease the size of the senate and go back to six senators per state, keeping the two each for the Territories. Do we really need 12 senators per state? 

I doubt that would get up, but let’s look at the scenario of four or six for the ACT and NT. The NT would probably elect two each from Labor and Liberal or three each if there were six, with the possibility of three from one major party, two from the other, and one independent or minor party. 

If the ACT went to four for the next election, I think Katy Gallagher and David Pocock would be returned with one Liberal and either a second Labor or a Green (probably a second Labor). If it was six senators, there would be Pocock, two Labor, two Liberal, and a Green or third Labor. 

If it does not change and we still have only two senators at the next election, I think Gallagher and Pocock would keep their seats. Whilst he has made a few errors and has started to cheese off a few people, the majority of people I speak to still regard him as a breath of fresh air and see him as a diligent local senator working (largely) for the ACT. The 17 per cent of Liberal voters who abandoned Zed in 2022 would need to return to vote Liberal in 2024/25. Recent reports that Zed is eyeing a comeback are interesting, but in my view that would be premature and probably end in tears for Zed. Even if the Liberals preselected a fresh new candidate, it would still be hard to shift Pocock at this stage.

He is high profile and very active in the community. Unfortunately, he missed one event (and it’s a big one) the Parliamentary World Cup being played in France, where (so my old friend and former Australian Women’s rep, Vicki Fisher tells me) France has just beaten Australia 8-7. David, if you were there, we would probably go through the tournament undefeated and reclaim the cup from those “Black Benchers” from New Zealand.