Former opposition leader Jeremy Hanson has returned to the political spotlight as deputy leader of the Canberra Liberals, following Giulia Jones’ resignation from the position yesterday.

“I’m very humbled; I love our Liberal party; I love Canberra,” Mr Hanson said.

The Liberal party room unanimously elected Mr Hanson as deputy leader this morning.

Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee said that Mr Hanson’s experience as former leader, his 14 years in the Legislative Assembly, and his support for Ms Lee and Mrs Jones made him “an ideal deputy leader to take on the role that Giulia leaves behind”.

One of the longest-serving members of the Assembly, Mr Hanson entered politics in 2008 as Liberal MLA for Murrumbidgee, and served as opposition leader from 2013 to 2016.

Nevertheless, Mr Hanson does not seem to nurse higher ambitions.

“We’ve got a good leader,” he said. “I’d be happy to contribute in any role, and my colleagues have chosen that I’m the right fit for deputy. I’m very happy to fill that role. … It’s a good fit.”

Holding the government to account

As deputy leader, Mr Hanson considered his priorities to be making sure Canberrans understood the Liberal agenda, and holding Chief Minister Andrew Barr’s Labor-Greens government to account.

“There’s no doubt that this is a bad government,” he said.

“Right now, because of COVID, they are getting away with a lot of things. You look at the health system – the problems there in terms of elective surgery, emergency departments, failure to build the hospital that they promised a decade ago. When it comes to education, we have got a crisis in the number of teachers; we’ve got school infrastructure that’s at capacity and falling apart in many cases. The lowest number of police in Australia and lowest satisfaction rates; Indigenous incarceration at historically high levels; a jail that is dysfunctional. I could probably go on and on.

“As we come out of COVID and address the issues that affect people’s day-to-day lives, it’s very important for us to make sure that the public understand where this government’s going wrong, and what it needs to do to get the ACT back on track.”

Mr Hanson was “a very strong performer,” Ms Lee said. “This term alone, he has tirelessly fought for our frontline police, calling out this government’s failures when it comes to police numbers. He released a comprehensive education strategy to make sure we leave no child behind in the ACT.

“Jeremy and I will work with our colleagues in the Canberra Liberals to make sure that we put our best foot forward as the alternate government for 2024.”

Giulia Jones departs

Giulia Jones announced yesterday that she would step down as deputy leader. “As the mother of a large family” – six children – she wanted to “provide them with the support they need and deserve,” she said.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr claimed, however, that Mrs Jones had resigned because she and Ms Lee fell out. Ms Lee and Mr Hanson are both considered members of the Canberra Liberals’ moderate faction, while Mrs Jones is seen as a conservative.

Ms Lee paid tribute to her former deputy leader, Mrs Jones, and denied Mr Barr’s allegations.

“Giulia and I were a very good team as the first all-female leadership team in the ACT, and I’m very proud of everything that we achieved in our time. I applaud Giulia for her courage in making the very, very difficult decision to step down from the deputy leadership.”

Ms Lee called the Chief Minister’s remarks “unministerial” and “extremely disappointing”; he did not understand the “enormous toll … [and] challenges” Canberra families faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mrs Jones, “a very hard-working mother of six children”, went through “a hugely challenging time dealing with the pandemic as the health spokesperson for the opposition”.

“We are talking about a woman leader who has made an extraordinarily difficult decision, and for the Chief Minister to start making jibes on matters that he has no idea about is frankly unbecoming of a leader.”

His comments “do not help working mothers to make that really difficult decision to step down and cite that, because we know that it can be a cliché, and we know the stigma that’s attached to it.”

Mr Hanson would not be drawn on whether the Liberals had taken a more moderate line, but emphasised that while they might hold different views, they were more united than divided.

“At the end of the day, as a team of nine members, we’re all Liberals; we’re all committed to Canberra; we’re all committed to making this a better city.”

For his part, Mr Hanson said, he and Giulia were “good mates”, who had worked together “very co-operatively” in the Murrumbidgee electorate for a long time.

On Facebook, Mrs Jones posted relaxed, smiling photos of herself and Mr Hanson as they listened to constituents at Cooleman Court.

“Congratulations to my colleague and fellow member for Murrumbidgee Jeremy Hanson MLA for his election as deputy leader today,” she wrote. “I’m sure he will serve with total commitment and energy for our cause.”

Shadow Cabinet reshuffle

Following Mrs Jones’ resignation as deputy leader, there has been a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle.

Ms Lee has taken on Energy and Emissions Reduction from Leanne Castley, and passed the Shadow Attorney-General’s portfolio to Peter Cain, former president of the ACT Law Society.

Mr Hanson retains Education and Higher Education, Police, and Veterans Affairs.

Mrs Jones has taken on Early Childhood Education from Mr Hanson, and retains Multicultural Affairs. She loses her portfolio of Health, Mental Health, and Wellbeing, which passes to Ms Castley.

The ‘massive’ Health portfolio took a heavy toll on Mrs Jones and her family in the last two years, Ms Lee said. “With Giulia’s desire to spend more time with her family … I thought it was only fair that I didn’t continue to leave it with her.”

Nicole Lawder becomes Opposition Whip, and takes on Environment, Heritage and Water from Ms Castley.

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