There is strength in numbers, as every politician knows. Canberra can be a sad place for a solo traveller. So some of the Senate's lone wolves have decided to overlook their differences and band together.

Australian Conservatives leader Cory Bernardi, Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm and One Nation defector Fraser Anning have formed an alliance - one they hope will stop them being overlooked.

"We don’t even find out about things quite often, because the government has decided we’re irrelevant," Senator Leyonhjelm bemoaned on Tuesday. "We got sick of being called by the government last, quite frankly."

Cory Bernardi , David Leyonhjelm, and Fraser Anning, pictured in the Senate on Tuesday, have formed a voting alliance. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

It's a function of the numbers. When the government needs to pass legislation opposed by Labor and the Greens, it needs to secure nine of 11 Senate crossbench votes. It must deal with the Nick Xenophon Team's trio, as well as One Nation's triptych of senators - only then does it start groping around the remainder of the crossbench.