After almost half a century of being ignored by the Coalition and taken for granted by the ALP, Canberra voters can make their Senate votes really count. The emergence of two strong independents alongside the continuing strong presence of the Greens, who will cut into both the Liberal and the ALP vote, means that for the first time since the ACT could elect senators in 1975, the Labor-Liberal duumvirate could be broken.
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If either David Pocock or Kim Rubenstein topples Zed Seselja or Katy Gallagher, Canberra will have a strong voice on the upper house crossbench for the first time.
This possibility has arisen as a result of the actions - and inaction - of the major parties; they have nobody but themselves to blame. The Liberals, whose primary local Senate vote has traditionally hovered in the low 30 percent range, have never had to break their backs to win hearts and minds. While in the minority here, there has always been enough support to secure the second Senate seat.
Given Labor's stranglehold on the top spot it was inevitable Canberra has had five Labor and four Liberal senators over the past 47 years. That has not been good for Canberra.
When Labor is in office it takes the local House of Representatives seats and the first Senate spot for granted. Although Labor held power from 2007 to 2013 it didn't inaugurate any significant "legacy" infrastructure projects in the capital.
That said, on the Liberal side of the ledger it's been far worse. There's a strong argument the last Liberal prime minister who cared about Canberra was Sir Robert Menzies. More recent Coalition governments have seen the ACT as a place to cut costs and, in the case of Barnaby Joyce, a source of booty to pork barrel LNP electorates.
Mr Morrison has just announced he will cut billions of dollars from the APS he so recently praised for its work in dealing with the pandemic as an exercise in budget repair. Who could have seen that coming?
The Coalition turned a deaf ear to the ACT's pleas for assistance with the Mr Fluffy buyback made necessary by events that pre-dated self government, and has allowed sporting facilities to deteriorate to the point where, in the case of the AIS Arena, they have become unusable.
An independent would likely have a crucial vote in the Senate, and they would be personally accountable at the next election for what they did or did not achieve for Canberra. Those yet to vote should reflect on Senator Jacqui Lambie's success in having the federal government write off Tasmania's historic social housing debt. When the ACT made a similar request it was refused.
Another point, and one that should rile every resident of this city, is Senator Seselja's refusal to back extending the right to legislate on issues such as voluntary assisted dying to the ACT Legislative Assembly of which he was once a member.
This, which has done much to fuel the "put Zed last" sentiment and helped launch the independents' campaigns, makes him the least worthy of the leading local Senate candidates given how out of step he is with the community he serves.
Senator Gallagher, a popular and successful chief minister, is a key player in federal Labor and has concentrated on macro economic issues. While commendable, and in the tradition of Senators Susan Ryan, Bob McMullan and Kate Lundy, it leaves room for a strong independent who will hold the next government, regardless of its composition, to account and to stick up for Canberra.
The ACT only has two senators. It would be in Canberra's best interests if one of them was independent.
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