Two hundred and fifty Canberrans turned up on Friday for the “Save the Senate” forum organised by GetUp!.

If another band of Canberrans have their way, the ACT Senate election could be very interesting indeed.

Unlike their colleagues from the states, territory Senators are only elected for three year terms, and these run concurrently with the terms of Members of the House of Representatives.

A group of Labor activists is pushing a brave but controversial plan targeting ACT Liberal Gary Humphries that should bring the Coalition’s control over the Senate to a speedy end.

They want their party to register an above the line ticket where first preference votes go to ACT Labor Senator Kate Lundy but second preferences then go to the Greens, before the third preference returns to the ALP.

With only two Senators elected from the territories, the proponents of the plan say it would result in the election of Lundy and a Green, ending Coalition control of the Senate before any new Senators from the states take their seats on July 1 next year.

They face strong opposition from within the ALP, but say that as it’s likely an incoming Labor government will have to deal with a Greens controlling minority to get its legislation thought the Senate, their plan could build up important goodwill.

And that, they say, is what their proposal is all about – the capacity to move on legislation without a seven to eight month delay waiting for the new Senate to sit.