Australia Votes: David Pocock ahead in ACT Senate Race

Former rugby union player David Pocock is on track to become the ACT’s first independent senator. We take a look at how this would change territory politics.

Following a strong campaign, former Wallabies captain David Pocock looks poised to take ACT’s second senate seat.

As of Wednesday Liberal Senator Zed Seselja has 25.1 per cent of the vote and David Pocock has 21.2 per cent of the vote with over 70 per cent of ballots counted

With preferences from Greens and Kim4Canberra, at 9.9 and 4.3 per cent of the vote respectively, expected to flow towards Pocock it is expected the former rugby union star will be the ACT’s first independent Senator.

We take a look at what made David Pocock’s campaign so successful and what Zed Seselja’s potential defeat might mean for the Canberra Liberals.

What made David Pocock’s campaign so successful

If you have visited Canberra in the last few months it would have been impossible to avoid seeing multiple campaign advertisements for David Pocock.

Despite smear campaigns run by conservative lobby Advance Australia which portrayed Pocock as a secret Greens candidate due to his environmental activism, the former rugby star’s campaign lacked the baggage of a left-wing campaign.

Compared to Greens, Pocock had the ability to court voters across the left-right divide.

His campaign has been compared to that of the ‘teal’ independents, but that characterisation doesn’t quite fit.

As he told Sky News on Monday “my campaign colours are like a navy blue”.

“Obviously running in the Senate, so it is different,” he said.

“I think the results from the weekend show that there are a lot of Australians out there who are frustrated with politics.”

Former Wallabies captain and environmental activist David Pocock is on track to become ACT’s first independent senator. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

While the teal independents focused on the middle class, professional, “doctors’ wives” demographic of voters, Pocock’s campaign targeted a broader demographic of Canberrans.

And while having similar policies on territory rights and integrity with fellow independent Kim Rubenstein, unlike Rubenstein Pocock was able to communicate policies on complex issues simply to voters.

To put it bluntly: Pocock is a nerd in jock’s clothing and his success is a testament to both brains and brawn.

Yet despite the electoral success in his own right ,Pocock will likely need to rely on Greens and Kim4Canberra preferences get over the line.

This means the independent benefits from a strong multi-party campaign against Seselja.

What would Zed Seselja’s loss mean for the Canberra Liberals.

Hard right Liberal Senator Zed Seselja has been a stalwart of conservative politics in the ACT for over 15 years at both the territory and federal level.

He was first elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly in 2004 and served an opposition leader in 2007 to 2013.

Seselja left ACT politics in 2013 and was ultimately elected into the senate, where he has remained after both the 2016 and 2019 elections.

If Seselja is booted out, this is another blow to the once-powerful conservative faction of the Canberra Liberals.

Zed Seselja is at risk of losing his senate seat. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Since their defeat in the 2020 ACT Election and since the resignation pf their socially-conservative leader Alistair Coe in 2021, the Canberra Liberals sharply steered themselves towards the moderate centre.

Under the stewardship of Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee the Canberra Liberals have undergone something of a makeover to appeal to socially progressive Canberrans.

Another nail in the coffin of the Canberra Liberal’s conservative faction is the announcement of the resignation of MLA for Murrumbidgee and former deputy leader Giulia Jones.

Jones, who previously worked as a staffer for Sophie Mirabella and Tony Abbott, was a powerful conservative figure in the Assembly.

For some time it has been clear the Canberra Liberals, who were often derided by opponents as being “the most conservative Liberal branch in the country”, needed to shift moderate if they wanted to be anything other the perpetual opposition party.

Understandably the loss of Seselja would be a tough loss for the Canberra Liberals to mourn.

On the other hand losing Seselja could assist in expediting the Canberra Liberal’s shift to the centre which might improve their chances of electoral success.