The abolition of the Northern Territory's second seat in the determination was controversial.[60] Labor Party senators Malarndirri McCarthy and Don Farrell put forward a private senator's bill which would guarantee the Northern Territory a minimum two seats in the House of Representatives, with the bill referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.[2] In July 2020, election analyst Antony Green proposed to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters that the "harmonic mean method" be used to calculate the electoral representation entitlements for the territories.[62] Green also blogged on the history of representation and its applications to states and territories in light of the 2020 redistribution[63][64][65] and his advocacy proved persuasive.[61] In October 2020, deputy prime minister Michael McCormack gave an assurance that the government and opposition would combine to overrule the AEC and maintain the Northern Territory's level of representation. The mechanism by which this would be used to achieved was unclear,[66] however, with Senator Mathias Cormann stating that a two-seat minimum for the territories would be legislated.[67] Mandating a minimum number of seats for the Northern Territory but not the Australian Capital Territory was seen as potentially inequitable, though the ACT's level of representation was not under threat.[61] A 2003 report had also recommended against adopting mandatory minimum entitlements to seats in the House of Representatives for either of the territories.[68]