The ACT Greens and Labor are negotiating a new agreement to keep Chief Minister Andrew Barr’s minority government in office for the remaining two years of the parliamentary term.

Greens leader Jo Clay has approached Mr Barr to replace the confidence-and-supply agreement her predecessor, Shane Rattenbury, negotiated after the 2024 election. That agreement expired when Mr Rattenbury retired from politics earlier this year.

Labor and the Greens had governed together in the 2020-2024 term, but Labor won 10 of the Assembly’s 25 seats at the 2024 election, leaving it dependent on support from the four Greens or other crossbench MLAs to govern. The Greens lost two seats and moved to the crossbench. Mr Rattenbury signed a confidence-and-supply agreement supporting Mr Barr’s government in exchange for commitments on Greens policies.

Earlier this year, Mr Rattenbury and Liberal leader Mark Parton explored an unprecedented Greens–Liberals power-sharing arrangement that could have ended Labor’s 24 years in government. Greens members rejected the proposal, and Mr Rattenbury announced his retirement several weeks later.

Under Ms Clay’s proposed deal, the Greens would continue to support Mr Barr as Chief Minister and guarantee confidence and supply in exchange for a series of published policy commitments from Labor.

“Canberrans deserve published, enforceable commitments from the ACT Labor Government, not two years of good intentions,” Ms Clay said.

Both parties say discussions have begun constructively, and Mr Barr hopes to reach an agreement before the Legislative Assembly next sits in September.

Government integrity and accountability head the list of Greens demands.

“Given that this agreement is being negotiated in the shadow of Operation Kingfisher, our first asks are real integrity outcomes to restore confidence in government,” Ms Clay said.

The ACT Integrity Commission’s Operation Kingfisher report found that two former ACT government officials engaged in serious corrupt conduct during the procurement process for the Campbell Primary School modernisation project, leading former deputy chief minister Yvette Berry to resign from Cabinet.

Other Greens priorities include stronger renters’ rights and more public and community housing; protection of Canberra’s western edge; recycling and waste reforms; more free GP appointments; support for people affected by proposed NDIS cuts; commitments to public schools; free public transport for concession-card holders; libraries opening on weekends; and First Nations justice.

“The Greens are negotiating in good faith, and we want this agreement to succeed, because Canberrans are the ones who benefit when it does,” Ms Clay said. “But community confidence must be earned, item by item.”

Ms Clay said that the community was concerned about the government’s performance.

“This isn’t one bad headline. It’s a public housing waitlist that keeps growing, essential services like libraries being cut, projects being continually delayed, public school teachers and waste collection workers pushed to strike. The warning signs are flashing. Canberrans can see this pattern, and they expect better. That’s why we’re at the table: to work with the Labor Government to get our city back on track, deliver outcomes, and provide the stable government Canberrans need.” 

Mr Barr said he welcomed the “early collaborative discussions” with the Greens, and that Labor and the Greens had a responsibility to provide stable government reflecting Canberra’s progressive values.

“While we will not agree on every issue, we share a commitment to improving the lives of Canberrans and will continue discussions with a view to reaching agreement before the next sitting of the Legislative Assembly,” he said.

However, Mr Barr emphasised that any agreement would need to preserve “fiscal sustainability and achievable economic outcomes”, and said that housing pressures, workforce shortages, inflation, and rising construction costs had made this term challenging.

“Despite these challenges, Labor has remained focused on delivering the commitments we took to the 2024 election and investing in the services and infrastructure our growing city needs.”