Important discussions are taking place within the government and before the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters about increasing the size of the federal parliament.

A repost from 30 September 2025

I support increasing the size of the Senate representation of the states to 14 each, with consequential changes to the size of the House of Representatives.

Such a large increase is caused by the nexus provision in the constitution which requires the House to be twice the size of the state Senate representation.

This remains one of the most counter-productive clauses in the Constitution, but that is an issue for another day.

However, any increased size of state Senate representation will have potential consequences for subsequent elections as it will significantly reduce the quota of votes required to elect a Senator.

It should make it easier for the Greens, One Nation and Jacquie Lambie to maintain their seats, although it will not necessarily enhance their chances of increasing their Senate numbers.

Given the upsurge in House votes for the Teals (that is, candidates supported by Climate 200) in every state, it raises the question of the Senate prospects of similar candidates.

The data shows that if the Teals make the right decisions and commit some resources, it is possible, even likely, that the they could win several Senate........

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