Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, has intervened in the tight ACT Senate race, writing a personal letter to Canberrans endorsing Katy Gallagher and asking them not to risk losing one of the ALP's "best, brightest and strongest women in the Senate".
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Ms Gillard's endorsement, which also comes with a video "shout-out", is a rare post-prime-ministerial involvement in politics for the former leader, and a further sign of Labor's concern about Senator Gallagher's chances of retaining her seat in 2022 against a surge of support for independent candidate David Pocock.
Senior Labor sources told The Canberra Times last week that Mr Pocock's run for an ACT Senate seat appears to have "cannibalised the progressive vote" in the territory, and they are wargaming a worst-case scenario in which the former Wallabies captain and Liberal senator Zed Seselja are elected.
The letter, which is due to start hitting letterboxes from Monday, appears to remind voters that the election of two men on May 21 would be at the expense of a strong female politician.
"What our Federal Parliament needs is more strong, experienced women. And that's why I believe the choice you face this election matters so much," Ms Gillard wrote.
"As a voter living in the ACT, you have the opportunity to make sure we keep one of our best, brightest and strongest women in the Senate."
Further in the video message, Ms Gillard describes Senator Gallagher as an "incredible representative" and if Labor is elected, as she "very much hopes", the former ACT chief minister will do an "amazing job" as Labor's finance minister.
The letter describes Senator Gallagher as a "good friend" to Ms Gillard, as well as pushing her climate and integrity credentials.
"When she was chief minister, Canberra became the first city in the country to commit to 100 per cent renewables," Ms Gillard wrote.
"As your federal Labor senator, she has led the fight for a federal anti-corruption commission. And if Labor wins the election, and Katy wins her place in the Senate, she will be Australia's finance minister."
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While it is not expected to be the most likely outcome, the most recent Redbridge poll showed Senators Seselja and Gallagher each below the required quota level of 33.3 per cent, at 25 and 27 per cent respectively, while Mr Pocock is not far off the incumbents, polling 21 per cent. Preferences will be crucial to the outcome.
It is understood Labor polling undertaken last week in the territory asked if voters would change their vote if they knew Senator Gallagher was at risk of losing her seat.
The Labor-loss scenario, although unlikely, runs counter to the widely held view that Mr Pocock is targeting Senator Seselja's seat and appealing to wavering Liberal voters.
Ms Gillard reminds voters they have their choice on who to vote for, but asks them to consider the risk of losing Senator Gallagher.
"That's why I would encourage you to ask yourself this question before you cast your vote - can I really risk losing someone like Katy from the Senate?" she asks.
"To me, the answer is clear. And that's why I'm asking you to put Katy Gallagher number 1 on the Senate ballot paper."
Reminiscent of Josh Frydenberg's recent Kooyong campaign slogan change to the entreating "Keep Josh", the messaging has changed for Senator Gallagher in the past week to "Keep Katy".
The political advertising spend on Facebook and Instagram for Senator Gallagher has significantly stepped up over the past week.
The Facebook Ad Library shows her campaign has spent $1889 over the past seven days, after only spending about $100 a week earlier in the campaign.
ACT Labor secretary Ash van Dijk has also written to Labor members asking them not to take Senator Gallagher's position for granted.