ACT Senate race: Kim Rubenstein ready to fight for doubling territory's representation

The constitutional expert and author has had a long-standing view that the territory's two seats is an unfair allocation for the size of the capital and has told The Canberra Times making that change will be her first legislative priority if elected to sit on the crossbench in May.

Professor Rubenstein denied increasing the ACT's seats was about self-interest, saying it was about the betterment of Canberra and strengthening the case for territory rights. She also issued an open challenge to whoever is elected next month to push for greater territory representation.

"I would call on any person who is elected to represent the Senate," she said.

"I hope I'm the person who is on the ground running this ... I really am ready to roll."

Running under the official party banner of "Kim for Canberra", Prof Rubenstein is vying for one of just two Senate seats which have been returned to either the Labor or Liberal parties since 1975.

In seeking to unseat either Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher or Liberal minister Zed Seselja, she needs to be the main challenger in a grouping with independent candidate and former Wallabies captain David Pocock and Greens candidate Tjanara Goreng Goreng.

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She said Canberra, with its population of nearly 500,000, deserved more clout in the Senate. She believed only an independent representative could deliver that greater voice.

"I really think it's important for Canberrans to know that their representative right from the start is going to act in Canberrans' interests," she told The Canberra Times.

"And this is a very clear way of being able to ensure real change for the long-term."

As a constitutional scholar, Prof Rubenstein said increasing the number of seats representing the ACT would not involve changes to the constitution, as section 122 made it clear the federal government can make any law for the territories, including territorial representation in the Senate.

But she said now was the time for more ACT senators. It was a different story back in 1975 when then-prime minister Gough Whitlam decided two senators would mean no party would dominate, although Prof Rubenstein believed "the parties themselves have become dominant".

"We were half the size [in 1975] that we are now," she said.

"So I think two at the time was a fair starting point but in that whole period we have doubled in size and during that same period, as the state's size grew, they increased the number of state representatives.

"So in the same period, it's gone from 10 to 12, but we've seen no change here in the territory. So there is no question that it's a fair and appropriate move democratically for the ACT to have four senators."

Both Prof Rubenstein and Mr Pocock have official party status at the May election to secure favourable above-the-line positions on the Senate ballot, but it still won't be an easy task to topple the incumbents. She expected, with the voting system of proportional representation, doubling the number of seats would enable more diversity in the ACT's elected representation.

"It's hard to predict, but I think the general sentiment and certainly the motivation for me running as an independent is that so many Canberrans are dissatisfied with the major parties in the way they are governing," she said.

"And this is a real opportunity and doubling the number of senators just then gives voice for those individuals."

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