Unlike the teal independents in the lower house who have, to a certain extent, been sidelined by Labor's achievement of a slim majority in its own right, there will be occasions when Senator-elect Pocock will determine the fate of government legislation.

He, along with the record number of 12 Greens senators, have enough votes between them to block any attempt by Coalition and far-right wing senators voting as a bloc to derail socially progressive or environmentally responsible legislation.

While the Jacquie Lambie network has gained a second senator, who will likely follow their eponymous - and frequently unpredictable - leader in all things, the two One Nation senators and the United Australia Party senator who are hostages to their own ideological convictions are to all intents and purposes, irrelevant.

They will, at best, serve as gadflies by using the chamber to rant against the Albanese government's ongoing attempts to deal with the pandemic, to rebuild the economy, to encourage national unity in diversity, to set up an ICAC, and to restore relations with friends in the Pacific and elsewhere.

All of these initiatives would have been in doubt if, after the protracted and hard-fought election campaign, the Coalition and the far-right wing senators had had the numbers to block government legislation at will.

That would have been potentially disastrous for the nation given that in the face of an ongoing tsunami of crises including the energy emergency, the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates and fears inflation may get out of hand, this government will have to think and act on its feet.

The former Morrison government learned the hard way problems have to be nipped in the bud, not swept under the carpet and allowed to fester into full-blown catastrophes.

That said, it is to be hoped the Greens will be able to work with the government on climate change and not against it.

So, while much recent comment has focused on what the new ACT senator will be able to do for Canberra thanks to the significant power he wields, the most important outcome of his election is his potential to serve the whole country.

However, many Canberrans would be rightly surprised and disappointed if Senator Pocock does not go into bat for a constituency that has been neglected and ignored by the outgoing government, and one of its own former senators, for far too long.

The need for a convention centre and a stadium, the waiving of historic public housing debt, the need for investment in social housing, and territory rights should all be high on his agenda.

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One would assume he is in a unique position to work closely with the ACT's other senator, Katy Gallagher, to achieve some of these goals.

Given Senator Gallagher has already expressed a willingness to respect, and work with, all senators, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was the key fixer who made it possible for the Gillard minority government to function for almost a full term, this parliament may have a very different character to the one that preceded it.

If so it will be a big win for all Australians who have been forced to live with the politics of acrimony and division for far too long. An excellent place to start reforming parliamentary behaviour would be question time.

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