It took just a few minutes for the High Court to officially announce Labor's David Smith as the ACT's new senator yesterday, and just a few hours for him to gain the keys to his new office in parliament house.
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The former ACT director of Professionals Australia said on Wednesday the day had been "a bit of a blur," dealing with the bureaucracy of starting a new job, even though he won't be sworn in as a senator until June 18.
The High Court, acting as the Court of Disputed Returns, made the announcement on Wednesday morning exactly two weeks after it ruled Katy Gallagher ineligible to serve as a senator because she was a dual citizen at the 2016 election.
Mr Smith's three children were excited by the prospect of his new job. "They've been really good and really supportive," he said.
Mr Smith said he had already spoken to his fellow Labor senators Kim Carr and Don Farrell in the corridors on Wednesday and was in the process of setting up meetings with party figures as part of starting the new job, as well as looking at employing staff.
Former Labor Senate candidate Chris Sant will be Mr Smith's chief of staff.
Mr Smith said advocating for the public service would be an area of particular interest for him.
"There are a couple of areas that I have particular interest in, particularly science and engineering and how we can support that, public service integrity, which is obviously a fairly large one but it's a classic Canberra one, looking at rebuilding the capabilities of the public service given what's happened with the contracting in the past four to five years."
It's still unclear just how long Mr Smith will be a senator. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull maintains the next federal election will not be held before it is due in the first half of 2019, but speculation persists that it could be held earlier. It's not certain Mr Smith will be preselected for a winnable Senate position by his party, as former senator Katy Gallagher is yet to indicate if she will seek to return to politics, and if she would do that in the Senate or the lower house.
"Whatever length of time it is it’s an opportunity and a privilege and it's really important, if it's six months or 12 months, that that time is used well," Mr Smith said.
"ACT Labor will make a decision at some point, but I'd love to be part of the federal team."
The Canberra Times has requested an interview with former senator Katy Gallagher.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said David Smith was national secretary at the Australian Services Union, he is not.
