The new seating plan for the house of representatives has been published and as expected, it is mostly Labor as far as the eye can see. There are more women on Labor’s front bench than the entire Liberal party. Good times.

Also worth noting, Ali France, who toppled Peter Dutton, has been given the prime TV space behind the despatch box. That is a place of honour for MPs, because it is one of the most visible slots. Petrie MP Emma Comer joins France in the prime position. The Coalition liked to crowd their few women backbenchers around the despatch box to try and make it look like they had more women then they did. Labor liked to do it to prove to the Coalition that they had more women.

At this point of the game though, it is about reward. France and Comer have been anointed.

Former minister Ed Husic gets a spot on the benches immediately behind the front bench, but he has been relegated to near where the Hansard sits. That’s still in front of the press gallery, but well away from the main action. Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus is a few rows back, but more in the centre.

Seating plans are ALWAYS political, so none of this just ‘happened’.

Sussan Ley has Anne Webster and Zoe McKenzie behind her, so she is keeping up the Coalition tradition of crowding women around where the cameras will spot them, but it is slim pickings. Barnaby Joyce is out in the sticks.

The crossbench are closer to Labor. Bob Katter, Rebekha Sharkie and Andrew Wilkie have been given the prime spots there, befitting their time in parliament.

You can see where everyone ended up, here.