After consultation with their members, the ACT Greens will seek to form government with the Labor Party rather than sit on the crossbench, but they will expect more than one cabinet minister in any parliamentary agreement.
ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said after 300 party members had responded to a survey and expressed their priorities for the next parliamentary term, a zoom meeting of over 100 people was held last night, Wednesday 21 October.
He said the Greens now had โclear broad parametersโ to begin negotiations with ACT Labor over the next week.
โMembers have given us a mandate to negotiate that we participate in the Cabinet,โ Mr Rattenbury said.
โWe strive to do politics differently and to make sure our members are as involved as they can be in the political process.โ
He said it was โno surpriseโ members had prioritised climate change, social and community housing, urban planning, sustainable development, and biodiversity conservation.
But Mr Rattenbury conceded the division of portfolios required a โtwo-way conversationโ with Labor.
He said it was clear his members expected more than one Greens minister in Cabinet.
โWith the changing numbers and us having either five or six members, they do expect to see more than one.โ
Mr Rattenburyโs statement came after ACT Labor leader and Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced on Monday that he preferred another parliamentary agreement with the Greens than have them sit on the crossbench.
But Greensโ representation in the Cabinet has presented a clear division between the leaders, with Barr suggesting first-time MLAs did not yet have the experience for the role. Mr Rattenbury will be the only Greens MLA with experience in the Legislative Assembly.
โItโs a big ask for a brand-new MLA to come in and to be a minister a week later,โ Mr Barr said.
โMaybe spend your first year learning the ropes and then come into the Cabinet. That might be a sensible option.
โStanhope threw me in the deep end, and I had to close all those schools. Iโm not going to do that to someone.โ
Mr Rattenbury disagreed with Barrโs sentiment and said all his Members were โcapable of stepping upโ.
โWeโve got some really talented Members; weโve got a real depth of capability.
โTheyโve got great skills and if they are given the opportunity to be ministers, theyโll put their heart and souls into it and bring all that community connection to it and I think that will make them good ministers.โ
Responding to whether Mr Rattenbury would be considered for the role of Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Barr said on Monday he didnโt think it was feasible for โtwo blokesโ to lead the government in the positions of Chief Minister and Deputy.
But while Mr Rattenbury said his party was โvery consciousโ of a fair gender representation, he believed there was a series of factors to be weighed up in that decision.
He said the option of the crossbench was still on the table.
โThere does need to be a fair outcome; one that reflects the support weโve received during the election campaign,โ he said.
โWe built our policies with community discussions and we need to see that community ambition reflected in any parliamentary agreement.โ
