Media personality and likely Victorian Senator Derryn Hinch is willing to go to the high court if he is relegated to a three-year, half-Senate term, saying he deserves to serve a full six years.



Under normal circumstances all state senators are elected for six years, with their elections staggered so that half contest their seat every three years. Because of the double-dissolution election, all senators had to contest their position at once. It means the Senate must now decide who will serve a three-year term in order to maintain the balance of the staggered system.

Under the “top six” method, which favours parties who get full quotas on primary votes, Hinch would serve a three-year term. Under the “countback” method, considered fairer under Australia’s proportional voting system but which is more complicated to predict as it depends on how preferences flow, it is more likely, but still not certain, that Hinch would be awarded a six-year term.

Hinch told Guardian Australia he was worried the major parties were conspiring against him to keep his term down to three years, but added: “I’m just reading up on how it all works now”.

“I haven’t been to Senate school yet,” he said.

“But in Victoria, the Liberal/Nationals have the most votes in the Senate, followed by Labor in second and the Greens third. I have fourth spot, and I have got just over half of what the Greens have got. Surely in a fair system, the number of votes you get should determine the term you serve.”

“Yes, I would consider going to the high court if I’m given a three-year term. I think it’s unfair. But I will wait and see how it’s going.”

It is unclear on what basis Hinch would issue a legal challenge, given the Constitution does not dictate how the terms should be allocated, giving that power to the Senate.

However, he did say he was “humbled” to have been elected at all, and to have received a message of support and a vote from the mother of the deceased man he received a donor liver from. The operation saved Hinch’s life. Wednesday will mark five years since the transplant, and Hinch will celebrate by having lunch with his surgeon.

Hinch said he would make the most of his Senate term by pushing for a public national sex offender register that pinpoints the location of offenders on a map; by seeking to reform the organ donor register so family members could not overrule a deceased person’s wishes; and by advocating for a parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage.

Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act was too restrictive of free speech, he added, saying he had already spoken to the attorney-general, George Brandis, about having it amended. Prior to the election he met with South Australia’s Family First Senator Bob Day, who asked Hinch to co-sponsor a bill to change 18C should Hinch be elected to the Senate. However, Day’s Senate position is now in doubt.

Hinch admitted to some confusion as to when his Senate term would begin. All Senators will have their terms backdated to 1 July after being sworn in, but initially believed he might be able to begin “mid-August”.



“I’ve booked a holiday for Hawaii in a couple of weeks, and I’m not cancelling it,” he said.

“Malcolm Turnbull already owes me money, because I booked the trip originally for the end of May, but then he called an election and I had to move it so we could campaign. My airfare went up by $700, my rental car went up by $300 and accommodation went up by a few hundred as well.”

Hinch also took aim at Queensland right-wing Senator Pauline Hanson, who has called for CCTV cameras to be installed in mosques and for a royal commission into Islam.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “Can you imagine if we put cameras into every Catholic church?”

While he described her as “divisive,” he said the pair did share some common-ground.

“We’ve both been to jail, and we’ve both been on ‘Dancing with the Stars’,” he said.

“That’s the secret to getting elected.”