Self-described “chick from Charny”, “hard-working ordinary family battler”, and country singer, Leanne Castley MLA, is the new leader of the Canberra Liberals — and the first to admit she is not a typical politician.
She did not study Pol. Sci. at ANU, organise unions, or work as a staffer. Instead, she was an IT project manager, dental assistant, cleaner, clerk, Tupperware seller, beautician, singing teacher, tuckshop lady, and mechanic’s trade assistant.
Ms Castley only stood for election because she was frustrated the government had not fixed the streetlights where she lived. The streetlights didn’t work; nor, she believes, does the current government — and she wants Canberra fixed, too.
Come 2028, Labor will have been in power, and the Liberals in opposition, for 27 years — “a long time”, Ms Castley says. But she has her sights set on becoming the next Chief Minister.
Ms Castley was chosen as party leader, succeeding Elizabeth Lee, after last year’s election and the Liberals’ seventh consecutive defeat since 2001.
“I’ve had the most wonderful eight months,” Ms Castley said. “It’s hard, difficult, fun, interesting — and a privilege. No one day is the same. We go from meeting vets who want to fix horses’ teeth to, disappointingly, a lady just in my office whose husband can’t get good cardiac care in the hospital. There are so many issues and so many things that Canberrans care about, and I love listening to every one of them.”
Ms Castley is aware, however, that the Liberals must work hard to persuade Canberrans that they are the right party to govern the ACT — not a long-term opposition, beset by in-fighting and conservative views that are on the nose for a ‘progressive’ jurisdiction, but “an effective opposition and a genuine alternative government”.
“Trust is everything,” Ms Castley said. “It’s easy to make promises, but it’s harder to deliver. You can say anything you want to, but until you actually deliver, people will see us with a bit of scepticism.”
A month into her leadership, Ms Castley began a listening tour of the ACT, talking to “hundreds of local people” about their concerns. The lack of affordable housing, she says, has forced many to move to NSW and commute, while sky-high rents leave tenants at risk of homelessness. The cost-of-living crisis hits ordinary Canberrans hard, worsened by regulatory burdens on small businesses, pushing up prices. And Canberra needs accessible and reliable public services; good frontline workers are enduring bad systems and poor morale. All, in her view, are caused by Labor’s preference for “grand plans and city-shaping projects” over what the community needs.
“We’ve had such a long reign of reckless spending and not enough delivery,” Ms Castley said. “We’ve had a reform agenda [based on tax reform, economic diversification, and infrastructure investment], and we’re no better off because of it. We’re in so much more debt than if they hadn’t even bothered having an agenda. It’s time that someone looked past winning an election to what we want Canberra to look like. I want that to be a place where my kids can get a home, my grandchildren can go to school and university, and live here without this massive looming debt that is only getting bigger.”
The Liberals will gradually reveal their vision for the ACT and their reform plans over the next three years. Ms Castley wants to “Be visible more in the front end of term, so that Canberra is used to seeing and hearing us talk about the great things that we want for Canberra, and what they want for Canberra is something we’ll fight for.”
The recent resignation of Peter Cain MLA from the shadow cabinet to the backbench was not, however, the sort of visibility a party leader wants in the front end of term. Mr Cain alleged he had “concerns regarding the direction of the current leadership team and processes through which key decisions have been made”. Ms Castley has said his decision surprised her, and reassured the public that the Liberals were a unified team.
“I’ve worked on unity with the party from the outset of becoming leader,” Ms Castley said. “Of course it’s a disappointment… Obviously, we have a way to go in making sure our communication is clear; if there’s a problem, that we’re all talking and working together. As I’ve said to Peter, my door is always open; I’m very happy to have a discussion when he’s ready — if he’s ready — to come back and take some portfolios on.”
In the meantime, Ms Castley has taken on Mr Cain’s former planning portfolio.
Mr Cain aside, the Liberals work brilliantly together, Ms Castley said, partly because their portfolios cross over.
“We are a small team. We have to work together, or it won’t work.”
In fact, Ms Castley said, the Liberals’ hard work — sometimes in collaboration with independent or Green MLAs — has resulted in their winning more motions than in any term since they were in government: forcing the ACT to release business cases for light rail, and to commit to coercive control legislation; inquiries into the health system and elective surgery waiting times, into how to improve the FixMy Street app, into stamp duty, and into lobbying; or keeping Lanyon dog park leash-free and the Burrangiri Aged Care Respite Centre open.
“I really want Canberrans to understand that we don’t want to just wait for an election to throw things out there and hope for a win,” Ms Castley said. “We actually want to make Canberra better. And if we can do that from opposition, we will.”
Some commentators suggest that independents could be the key to a Liberal victory in 2028; Ms Castley says that option is always on the table, but her goal is to win the maximum number of seats, and secure a Liberal victory.
“It’s a remarkable journey I’ve been on, and I hope to leave one day having done many great things to change the face of Canberra to be the Canberra that people like me want to see…
“Not a day goes by that I don’t just have to say: ‘Wow, Leanne, look at what life is like, and the opportunities you’ve got now!’ I’m just humbled and honoured.”
