Labor has committed to boosting the number of Senate seats in the ACT and the Northern Territory as well as promising to respect the jurisdictions' autonomy at its national conference on Friday.
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The proposals brought forward by NT Attorney-General Chansey Paech and Canberra-based CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith will now form part of the party's policy platform.
Mr Smith told The Canberra Times increasing the number of senators in the ACT and the NT would address "the historical under-representation in both territories".
Both currently have two seats in the senate while the states each have 12. An earlier version of the motion called for territory seats to tripled but the resolution adopted on Friday doesn't stipulate a number.
It comes amid ongoing debate about how many representatives the jurisdictions should have.
Mr Smith said he would keep pushing for six representatives.
"If it's a number less than that initially, that means that we'll just keep continuing to push until it's six," he said.
The resolution passed on Friday is binding but will need to be legislated.
Mr Smith said the party hasn't committed to a timeframe to act on the resolution but he would be pushing to legislate the policy before the next election.
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Special Minister of State Don Farrell has previously said the government is actively considering a significant expansion of parliament, including more senate seats for the ACT and the NT, to address population changes.
Senator Farrell has asked the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which is conducting review of the 2022 federal election, to look at measures to increase electoral participation, previously stating he will wait for the final report from the review before taking the matter further.
On Friday, Labor delegates also agreed to respects territories' rights to make their own laws without federal interference.
"Labor respects the right of self-governing territories to make their own laws, in their own interests, free from interference by the federal government. Labor will follow a policy of non-intervention in decision-making of the self-governing territories, and will oppose any interventions by other political parties," the motion stated.
Mr Smith said both proposals have received much support from the community.
"I think people in the ACT and the Northern Territory recognise that there has been historic under-representation in both territories and also they know that they don't have the same rights as other citizens, when the Federal Parliament can step in and override decisions of the democratically-elected governments," he said.
ACT independent senator David Pocock, who had campaigned for greater territory representation at the last election, welcomed Labor's commitment to increase the number of Senate seats and protect territory rights.
"I look forward to the government acting on this ahead of the next election," he said.
"For too long the ACT has suffered from under-representation and external interference. Now is the time to change that."
Natalie Vikhrov
Natalie Vikhrov reports on federal politics and public service for The Canberra Times. Prior to this, she spent several years covering human rights in Eastern Europe, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Get in touch via natalie.vikhrov@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Natalie Vikhrov reports on federal politics and public service for The Canberra Times. Prior to this, she spent several years covering human rights in Eastern Europe, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Get in touch via natalie.vikhrov@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
