Special Minister of State Don Farrell says the govt should consider expanding parliament, including more ACT senators

Speaking to the National Press Club, Senator Farrell said the nation had added 10 million people since the last significant expansion in the number of MPs in 1984 and he would closely examine the recommendations of a parliamentary committee currently reviewing the 2022 federal election.

After raising a laugh by saying "you can never have enough politicians, the minister said the interim report from the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters was "very close" to being released.

"We are in this situation, of course, where since the last time the numbers were reviewed across the country in 1984, [there are] 10 million more Australians," he said.

"So, we have had a very significant increase in population with no increase in the number of members of Parliament.

"It's an issue we need to address and give consideration to."

The interim report is expected to focus on electoral integrity issues including donation reform and truth in advertising laws. More hearings are expected this year before the committee hands down its final report.

The South Australia-based politician also weighed in on the ACT government's takeover of Calvary Hospital, urging the government and Calvary Health Care ACT to discuss the issue rather than resorting to legal action.

Calvary Health Care ACT has begun legal proceedings against the territory government and is seeking an injunction to stop its compulsory acquisition of the Bruce public hospital.

Lawyers representing both parties appeared before the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday.

Senator Farrell declined to comment specifically on the ACT government but called for efforts to resolve the dispute through talks than legal action.

"The only advice I would give the parties is look, if there's a way of sorting this out by discussion rather than disputation," he said.

"It's much better to resolve your issues by discussion and negotiation rather than the ending up in the court. So I would encourage the parties to do that, if that's possible at this stage."

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Meanwhile, there have been increasing calls to expand the size of the Parliament to ensure MPs and Senators are better able to represent and serve their electorates.

There are currently 151 seats in the House of Representatives, and the number per electorate has soared to 170,000, compared to just 105,000 following the Hawke government reforms. The ACT and NT have two senators each and the Liberal party lost federal representation in the Senate for the first time at the May 2022 election.

Following the last election, as after all elections, Senator Farrell asked the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to, among other things, look at measures to increase electoral participation and malapportionment, which has meant Senate votes in some states and territories count more than in others.

Addressing the latter issue could lead giving the ACT and the Northern Territory more senators.

The minister declined to endorse any change, but he told the National Press Club he understood the issue.

"[The] ACT is growing very strongly. [The] Northern Territory is growing very strongly," he said, joking that, "you can never have enough politicians, can you, in this country".

Senator Farrell said report from the parliamentary committee was "almost about to be released [and] I don't want to preempt the outcome of the inquiry".