Canberra's hopes of a new stadium and convention centre have been given a boost with David Pocock emerging as a key powerbroker in the new Senate.
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The rugby great told The Canberra Times he was committed to being an honest broker in negotiations after Monday's finalised Senate makeup catapulted him into the balance of power alongside the Greens' bolstered ranks.
"I will absolutely use my position to advocate for the things Canberrans have said they need - whether that's more social and affordable housing, or a fit-for-purpose convention centre and stadium," he said.
"I will examine each piece of legislation on its merits, assessing it against what is best for our community here in the ACT and the sort of future we want to build for Australia.
"I will also be pushing for the best possible outcome for the people I have been elected to represent."
He is seeking to right "historic injustices" such as restoring territory rights, which Labor has said will be a conscience vote, and addressing inequalities such as long-term under investment in Canberra's infrastructure.
"I'm here to do what I said I will do and stand up for our community."
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Federal Labor will need the votes from all 12 Greens senators and Senator Pocock to pass its agenda, or negotiate with a crossbench that it has far less vision in common.
The Liberal-National coalition under Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is expected to be obstructionist to the government's plans.
Key Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher said that the government was prepared to work with the crossbench and opposition too.
"The Albanese Government respects every senator and we will work with all of the senators that have been elected to sit in the 47th Parliament, including the opposition, to progress Labor's legislative agenda," she said.
The Electoral Commission published distribution of preferences on Monday for the final remaining three states - New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia - revealing the Liberal and National parties will be reduced to 32 senators while Labor remains unchanged on 26.
The new crossbench includes Senator Pocock and the two Greens for every state, along with three minor parties.
One Nation remains at two senators. The Jacqui Lambie Network picked up a second. The United Australia Party is back in the Senate with a single candidate elected.
The Albanese government will need 38 out of a possible 76 votes to block hostile actions in the Senate but a full majority of 39 votes to pass its own legislation. Labor can build a one-vote majority to pass progressive legislation in both chambers of Parliament with the support of the Greens and David Pocock.
The nail-biting final Senate election results were confirmed on Monday, with the sixth and final Senate spots in the NSW and Victorian distributions going to the Liberal's Jim Molan and the United Australia Party's Ralph Babet respectively.
In Western Australia, the final Senate spot went to Labor's Fatima Payman. It was the only state where Labor picked up three of the six spots contested in the 2022 election.
The list of defeated senators includes four Liberals including two ministers, Ben Small and Amanda Stoker, along with Eric Abetz and Greg Mirabella. Another Liberal senator, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, withdrew after losing her preselection battle to fellow conservative Jim Molan.
Centre Alliance's Stirling Griff and independent Rex Patrick were also unsuccessful.
Parliament is set to sit for eight weeks through the remainder of 2022 under a new draft sitting program released by the government on Monday. It allocates 30 days for the House of Representatives and 26 days for the Senate, along with six days for budget estimates.
Liberal spokesman Paul Fletcher accused the government of a "parliamentary go slow" citing the average sitting days in the previous three election years as 48, and not resuming the parliament until two days before the last possible day to return after the election.
"This is entirely at odds with Labor's claim that they do not want to waste a day," Mr Fletcher said
He accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of being "more interested in jetting around the world than getting on with the work of Parliament".
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Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
