A seat for humanity
The 77th senate seat
Representing the planet and future generations
In a world facing challenges that transcend borders - climate change, pandemics, AI governance, and nuclear/bioweapon risks - Australia has the opportunity to lead with a bold idea: creating a 77th Senate seat dedicated to representing the interests of the humanity and the planet. A new globally focused seat in the senate that represents Australia's role in global citizenship and acknowledges that Australia’s future is inseparable from the future of humanity as a whole. Whilst this is currently done tacitly by some political parties and our involvement with external entities like the UN, I believe it is in Australia’s best interest to formally embed this into our decision-making.
What is the Senate?
Australia's Senate is composed of 76 seats, with 12 senators representing each state and 2 representing each territory. These seats are designed to ensure regional representation in Parliament, balancing the power of larger and smaller states. All existing seats focus exclusively on representing domestic interests. The Senators debate, amend, and vote on proposed laws (bills). They scrutinise legislation to ensure it aligns with public interest and is consistent with the Constitution. They also participate in parliamentary committees that examine issues, legislation, or government activities. Committees conduct inquiries, gather evidence, and make recommendations on a wide range of topics.
Why does a 77th senate seat matter?
Global challenges need global solutions: No individual country can solve or survive the global exposures facing humanity. For example, carbon roams freely around the planet, elevating global warming.
Domestic challenges also need global solutions: the cost of so many of our goods is affected by wars - including trade wars thousands of miles away. Electricity costs are affected by climate change and global grid innovation. Whilst your privacy rights and financial security is consistently at risk to overseas bad actors and the rising sophistication of AI in the wrong hands.
Inspiring leadership: This initiative says that Australia is serious about the global issues that affect our citizens. A seat focussed on international cooperation. Australia has strong ties to both the East and West. This seat will provide a unique bridging positioning between nations.
We know we need systemic change
The proposed 77th Senate seat would be unprecedented, both constitutionally but also ideologically - and serve to grow the maturity of the conversation that directly impacts every human on Earth. Unlike the existing 76 seats, this role would address global priorities like climate action, pandemic preparedness, AI safety regulation and international peacebuilding, ensuring that Australia's policies reflect its interconnected future.
This is our opportunity to take a guiding role in international cooperation and pilot this global concept in our Parliament.
My action plan
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Public consultation: All Australians are invited to provide their thoughts via the below form on my website and social media channels. Additionally, we are directly interviewing and holding focus groups to engage with a cross section of Australian society to include their insights into shaping the role and responsibilities of this Seat. Civic data will be analysed and findings shared with the public.
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Political engagement: I’ll engage with my fellow independents and other parties to build reciprocity and non-partisan support.
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Constitutional reform: In order to establish the 77th Senate, it needs to be added to the constitution which requires a national referendum. Firstly, to be successful, the Bill for a referendum needs to be proposed to parliament and receive over 50% of all members' votes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. If this is achieved, a referendum question would then be put to Australians asking if they would like this representation.
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Dedicated representation: Establish the 77th Senate seat to focus on global challenges, from climate action, pandemic preparedness to AI safety.
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Global collaboration: Work with the UN and global think tanks to ensure Australian policies align with non-partisan planetary priorities.
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Future-focused governance: Use this seat to champion long-term planning (beyond typical election cycles) for Australia, and the world.
C’mon Australia – let’s lead the way.
Let’s work together
Get in touch so we can start working together.
