Julia Gillard makes rare appearance to back Katy Gallagher as Labor fears David Pocock upset

For the past 50 years, the two ACT Senate spots have been held by the Labor and Liberal parties but in 2022, two high-profile progressive independents, Pocock, a former rugby union star player, and constitutional law professor Kim Rubenstein are vying to replace the Liberal incumbent, Zed Seselja.

The high-profile independent, who has received funding from the Climate 200 group, has been the target of a negative advertising campaign run by the rightwing advocacy group, Advance Australia, centring on his record of environmental activism.

A recent Redbridge robo-phone survey of voting intentions which was funded by the Pocock campaign had Labor at 27%, followed by the Liberals at 24% and Pocock at 21%.