At midnight, the ACT entered caretaker period. In five weeks from tomorrow, Canberrans will go to the polls to decide. Who will be the next Chief Minister of the ACT when the hurly-burly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won? Will it be incumbent Andrew Barr, opposition leader Elizabeth Lee, or Greens leader Shane Rattenbury?
Mr Barr said: “We have led a progressive government that has delivered on the commitments that we’ve taken to successive territory elections. Canberra is the second-best city in the world to live in. Let’s make it the first. That’s what we’re pushing towards. They’re the commitments that we’ll take to this election. Let’s make the Canberra we love even better. We’ve got a proven track record. We can deliver on it.
“Yes, I am experienced. I have performed in this role. People have seen me through COVID, through bushfires, through almost every possible context and issue that a Chief Minister needs to face. So I’ll put my track record up against the opposition leaders, or indeed anyone else who wants to be Chief Minister. It’s a difficult job. You can’t please everyone, but what you can do is lay out a plan for the future and deliver on it – and that’s what Labor is about in this election.”
This week, the ACT Government released the final report on ACT Labor and the ACT Greens’ Parliamentary and Governing Agreement for the 10th Legislative Assembly. It stated that the government had made significant progress in delivering projects; all initiatives were either ‘underway’ or ‘delivered’.
The government’s accomplishments, the report said, included leading the nation in both climate action by transitioning to an all-electric city and phasing out fossil fuel gas, and in the uptake of electric vehicles. The government was building the next stage of light rail; its Territory Plan would improve housing, including public housing; it would establish universal access to early learning for three-year-olds; and it would raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
Canberra Liberals
On the other hand, the Canberra Liberals represent “a fresh opportunity for Canberra”, Ms Lee says.
“There is a genuine sense that we need a desperate change,” Ms Lee said. “We’ve had a Labor-Greens government for 23 years now, and many Canberrans are starting to see the rot that has set in.”
The government’s “enormously problematic decisions” had, for instance, led to spending $78 million on a computer system that was not used.
Canberrans were concerned about the cost-of-living; housing; lack of investment in health, education, and community safety; and lack of maintenance in suburbs – all issues Ms Lee said the Liberals would prioritise.
Moreover, Ms Lee said that every Canberran who had talked to her about Mr Barr described him as “stale, arrogant, and no longer cares about delivering outcomes in the best interests of Canberrans”.
The makeup of the Canberra Liberals represented Canberra, Ms Lee said: they came from different ethnic backgrounds, and included new mothers, community leaders, people from the professional sphere, and small businesspeople.
“We have a diversity of life and professional experiences, and we genuinely speak on behalf of the Canberra community – in stark contrast to what we see from Labor and the Greens, where many of them have been in government for so long that they are completely and utterly out of touch,” Ms Lee said.
ACT Greens
Party leader Shane Rattenbury believes that progressive voters are looking for a change, and positioned the ACT Greens as a real alternative to either of the older parties. He announced today that the Greens would seek to lead government.
“We have more experience in government than the Liberals, and more courage and ambition than Labor,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“We don’t have vested interests holding us back – we’re a people-powered movement with a clear vision for the ACT.”
He argues that neither Labor nor the Liberals will adequately address problems facing Canberrans: the housing, climate, and cost-of-living crises.
“Canberra is the most progressive jurisdiction in the country, but our community is still hurting like everyone else. Nothing will change if every election is a contest between the two old parties that created this mess.”
Mr Rattenbury credits the Greens with ACT’s 100 per cent renewable electricity and phasing out fossil fuel gas – a policy that was implemented two years after the other parties said it was impossible.
Now, the ACT Greens will seek to build and buy 10,000 public homes; open four bulk-billing GP clinics; get light rail done faster and more frequent bus services; implement new planning rules; lead on climate action by transitioning to net-zero emissions, focusing on removing fossil fuel gas; and 18 hours of free preschool.
At the last election in 2020, the Greens received 13.5 per cent of the first preference vote, a 4 per cent change from 2016. Mr Rattenbury argues that if the Greens got two more seats, they would be on par with the other parties.
“At that point, anything is possible,” Mr Rattenbury said. “Things really open up in a way that offers a possibility to break the duopoly of Australian politics… More is possible than just the old Labor/Liberal option…
“Labor are, frankly, looking a little complacent. They’re pretty satisfied with where things are at. And Canberrans just don’t relate to the Liberal Party … This is a progressive community, and they don’t see that vision coming from the Liberal Party.”
Reactions
The prospect of Mr Rattenbury becoming Chief Minister was met with incredulity and even derision.
“I don’t think the last election, or indeed the ones before that, would provide evidence to suggest that the Greens party is in a position to form a government in their own right,” Mr Barr said. “So I think people will take that for what it is… There’ll be a lot of noise, a lot of bluff, a lot of bluster coming from all different parts of this campaign and this political debate.”
Elizabeth Lee said the idea of the Greens leading government was “delusional”, given they only received 13.5 per cent of the vote in the last election.
“Shane Rattenbury thinking that he has the chance or the clout to be Chief Minister is the most laughable statement that I’ve heard in ACT politics, and that is saying something,” Ms Lee said.
Half the Greens’ party room is in cabinet, Ms Lee noted – Mr Rattenbury is Attorney-General, and Greens are in charge of the environment, climate change, corrections, mental health.
“If you haven’t been able to do this as a member of cabinet and a member of the government’s expenditures review committee, then what assurances can he give the community that he’s going to be able to do it in another rôle?” Ms Lee asked.
“There is delusional and entitled, and then there’s the ACT Greens. At the end of the day, this is a clear signal that Shane Rattenbury, who has been Andrew Barr’s political partner for over a decade, has no confidence in Andrew Barr continuing to be Chief Minister.”
Mr Rattenbury has said that a Greens / independent government would be “interesting and dynamic”, but the independents are not keen on the idea.
Peter Strong (Strong Independents) said: “Having a Green MLA as the Chief Minister within a Labor-Greens coalition would change nothing except for the worse. It’d be like changing the captain on the Titanic just before it hit the iceberg – the ship would still sink but more quickly with greater loss.
“The better dream – just as unlikely but a possibility – is that after the next election we have eight independents in the Assembly. Then, maybe, Ann Bray, or another Independent female, would be Chief Minister heading up a government where ministers would be the best available, not a factional choice, where decisions would be made by the Assembly not by the unelected friends of the factions and parties, where transparency would rule and people would know what is going on, where real KPIs are published regularly in the government newsletter.
“The Greens have been part of the problem for a long time – they also have no credentials at all for responsible fiscal management.
“It doesn’t matter which political party rules. The focus would always be on forcing people to follow the rules of a small elite group who consult with mirrors and communicate with smoke.”
Tom Emerson (Independents for Canberra) said: “We’ve had Greens Ministers for 12 years, and the most vulnerable members of our community are being left behind.
“Our public housing stock has gone backwards under this Labor-Greens coalition. Women attempting to escape violence are being turned away by service providers because we don’t have a safe place for them to sleep.
“Almost 900 Canberran children are homeless and 9,000 are living below the poverty line.
“We have the highest rates of reoffending in the country and Australia’s largest Indigenous incarceration gap.
“Disadvantaged Canberran kids are four years behind their advantaged classmates when they reach Year 9.
“It’s hard to see how change can be brought about by more of the same. That’s why people who want to see real change are voting independent on October 19.”
Justice reform advocate Tom McLuckie, a strong critic of Mr Rattenbury’s tenure as Attorney-General, does not believe the Greens should be in power.
“This is as terrifying as it is delusional. The Greens constantly represent a small minority voice, never having more than 13.5 per cent of the vote, justifying and defending violent protests, harassment of others who do not agree with them, lawlessness and vandalism. They have long stopped being a party that addresses environmental concerns.
“How could anyone genuinely believe they are fit to lead Government when they believe it is acceptable to ignore the rule of law?
“Rattenbury and his party have been in Government in various roles since 2008, and have consistently shown they are unfit to govern, which has had terrible consequences for the people of Canberra – falling literacy, one of the worst performing health systems in Australia, a dysfunctional justice system, and years of delayed and failed infrastructure projects.”
A Greens spokesperson said: “We’re not focused on what roles different people would hold – what’s important is how much further, faster we could go toward being a fairer city if the community wanted to elect a fresh, new, progressive government in the ACT.
“The Greens vote would have to increase across the territory for this to become a reality and what we’re saying is: the big change the community wants on housing and climate is possible, if people vote for it.”
