Editing Canberra (section)

=== Federal representation ===
The ACT was given its first federal parliamentary representation in 1949 when it gained a seat in the House of Representatives, the [[Division of Australian Capital Territory]].{{sfn|Sparke|1988|p=289}}<ref name="1948act" /> However, until 1966, the ACT member could only vote on matters directly affecting the territory and did not count for purposes of forming government.<ref name="1948act">{{cite web |title=ACT Representation (House of Representatives) Act 1974 (Cth) |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-116.html |access-date=29 January 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216225427/https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-116.html |archive-date=16 December 2017}}</ref> In 1974, the ACT was allocated two Senate seats and the House of Representatives seat was divided into two.{{sfn|Sparke|1988|p=289}} A third was created in 1996, but was abolished in 1998 because of changes to the regional demographic distribution.<ref name="ABCelections2007" /> At the 2019 election, the third seat has been reintroduced as the [[Division of Bean]].

The House of Representatives seats have mostly been held by Labor and usually by comfortable margins.<ref name=ABCelections2007>{{cite web |title=Canberra |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/canb.htm |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=29 December 2007 |access-date=31 January 2010 |archive-date=9 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190309231931/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/canb.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=fras>{{cite web |title=Fraser |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/fras.htm |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=29 December 2007 |access-date=31 January 2010 |archive-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110165728/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/fras.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The Labor Party has polled at least seven percentage points more than the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] at every federal election since 1990 and their average lead since then has been 15 percentage points.<ref name=state_el>{{cite web |title=Past election results |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/act/2008/guide/pastelections.htm |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=31 January 2010 |archive-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110165751/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/act/2008/guide/pastelections.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The ALP and the Liberal Party held one Senate seat each until the [[2022 Australian federal election|2022 election]] when Independent candidate [[David Pocock]] unseated the Liberal candidate [[Zed Seselja]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-14/david-pocock-independent-wins-act-senate-unseats-zed-seselja/101149606 |title=ACT elects David Pocock as first independent senator, unseating Liberal Zed Seselja |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=7 July 2022 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702104341/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-14/david-pocock-independent-wins-act-senate-unseats-zed-seselja/101149606 |url-status=live}}</ref>