The ACT crossbencher also wants to use his powerful position to lobby Labor to properly fund the cash-strapped national institutions and raise its ambition for combating the housing affordability and animal extinction crisis.

Senator Pocock set out his priorities for 2023 and reflected on his first seven months in politics in an end-of-year interview with The Canberra Times.

The former rugby superstar campaigned for a new rectangular stadium and convention centre in Civic during the election, and has continued to push the proposal even after ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr turned his back on it.

Mr Barr dealt another blow to hopes for a city stadium on Saturday, revealing plans for an 8000-seat music venue were now being considered for the Civic pool site once earmarked for a sporting arena.

But Senator Pocock has not been deterred.

With $750,000 already set aside to examine a new 4000-seat indoor venue at University of Canberra, Senator Pocock is understood to be concerned about using the prime pool site for a purpose duplicated elsewhere.

He is trying to get Mr Barr's federal Labor counterparts to support the more ambitious plan through an infrastructure investment deal for Canberra and the surrounding region.

The ACT is the only jurisdiction to miss out on a so-called "city deal", a Malcolm Turnbull-era initiative which channeled federal, state and local government funding into major projects.

As one example, the Townsville city deal helped fund a new 25,000-seat stadium.

Senator Pocock said there was a strong case for the new Labor government to support a capital region deal - with the "two big ticket items" as the centrepieces - after years of Commonwealth underinvestment in Canberra.

"The frustrating thing is that there's not a lot of recognition of the regional hub that we are," he said.

"Everyone talks about the 450,000 Canberrans, but there are one million-plus people coming into Canberra for healthcare, and some for schooling and sporting events."

Senator Pocock pointed to a Foo Fighters concert in Geelong earlier this year, which attracted a crowd of 30,000, as the type of event which a city-shaping infrastructure deal could help bring to Canberra.

"We know we need a new National Convention Centre, we know we need a new stadium that could also host large concerts as well as the big games we expect to see in Canberra," he said.

"We should start planning for these things now, rather than pursuing a piecemeal approach that doesn't deliver everything we need."

The crossbencher said he would push for funding ahead of the next federal budget in May.

"It is part of my job in [parliament] to push the federal government on behalf of the ACT and correct that under-investment [which has occurred] over many years," he said.

After unseating Liberal Zed Seselja in an historic federal election result, Senator Pocock has emerged as one of the most prominent figures of the new Parliament.

With Labor needing the support of the Greens and at least one crossbencher to pass legislation which the Coalition opposes in the upper house, Senator Pocock has become crucial to Anthony Albanese's progressive agenda.

He helped pass Labor's emissions targets and industrial relations bills, the latter after extracting an agreement from the government to create an independent panel to review welfare payments before each budget.

Senator Pocock said his background in sport and conservation had, for different, reasons, held him in good stead in the pressure-cooker environment of federal politics.

The skills required to succeed in professional rugby - a strong work-ethic, ability to perform under pressure and operate in a small team - all translated to politics, he said.

His work in conservation had taught him about the need to balance idealism with pragmatism.

"At the end of the day you have to be pragmatic and make things happen," he said.

"It is about negotiation and compromise and not everyone is going to like that. But my sense engaging with the people of the ACT this year is that most people do."

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In a early win in Parliament, Senator Pocock, alongside Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and her territory Labor colleagues, pushed successfully for the repeal of the bill which had banned the ACT and NT from legislating on voluntary assisted dying for the past 25 years.

In the year ahead, the crossbencher will push the federal government to boost spending on conservation as it starts drafting legislation to overhaul environmental protection laws.

Senator Pocock, who this month attended the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, said the government needed to back up its pledge to halt extinctions with firm funding commitments.

He said the government was spending just 15 per cent of the amount needed.