Canberra Liberals Leader Elizabeth Lee today launched her election campaign for 2024. Here is the speech she gave at the National Press Club.

In one year, we have the opportunity to set a new direction for the future of our city.

In one year, we have a choice between a fresh, energetic Liberal team that I lead and an arrogant, out of touch Labor-Greens government.

In one year, we have a say on who will have the privilege of leading the nation’s capital from the city that it is to the city that we know it can be.

In one year, we all have the chance to vote for a better Canberra.

Setting the scene for change

By October 2024, Labor will have been in government for 23 years. Almost 275 months. Nearly 1,200 weeks. And over 8,300 days.

For many young Canberrans, their entire lifetime. And for others – what seems like their entire lifetime.

Labor and the Greens have had over two decades:

• to build a world class health system;
• to create a nation-leading education system;
• to make housing affordable and accessible;
• to equip our police, paramedics and firefighters with the resources they need on the frontline;
• to invest in and support our local businesses;
• to set up our economy to support jobs and skills for the future;
• to make Canberra a city that is befitting of the capital of the best country in the world.

But what do we see today?

We have a health system in crisis with the worst emergency department wait times in the country.

Our teachers are not supported to prepare our children with the academic foundations for a brighter future.

Our police, paramedics and firefighters do not have the resources they need on the frontline.

We have the highest rates of long-term homelessness in Australia.

We have a government that does not support or respect small business.

Thousands of Canberrans doing it tough because Andrew Barr has mismanaged the ACT’s budget for over a decade.

And a long-term government that has become so arrogant it believes it is not accountable to the Canberra community.

Imagine the arrogance; the culture of secrecy; the hubris if Labor and the Greens were given another term.

Imagine what Canberra will look like if Labor and the Greens were given another four years.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

It can’t be that way.

We can set a new direction for the Canberra of tomorrow.

Vision for a better Canberra

In one year, we have the opportunity to say enough is enough; that things must change.

An opportunity to say that after over two decades in government, Labor and the Greens have failed Canberrans.

An opportunity to vote for a better Canberra under a government that I lead.

My vision for the Canberra of tomorrow is a city:

• where we have a health system that meets the needs of all Canberrans;
• where we have a nation-leading education system;
• where everyone has the opportunity to own their own home if that is their wish;
• where the community feels safe in their streets and in their own backyards;
• where we take pride in our neighbourhoods.

My vision for the Canberra of tomorrow is a capital:

• where we lead the country in tertiary education and vocational training;
• where we support small businesses to thrive and celebrate innovation;
• where we protect and look after our green spaces, waterways, woodlands and wild life;
• where Canberrans can create a home because it’s the best place in the country to raise a family.

My vision for the Canberra of tomorrow is a place – a “meeting place”:

• where we respect and value our First Nations people and history;
• where we celebrate the vibrant cultures of our new Australians from all around the world.

My vision for the Canberra of tomorrow is a place so many of us call “home” in which every Canberran has the opportunity to fulfil their goals. A “home” where every Canberran can reach their full potential. A “home” where every Canberran can realise their aspirations.

We deserve a government that will govern for all Canberrans. A government that trusts individuals to make decisions that are best for them and their families. A government that values hard work and supports our most vulnerable. A government that restores Canberra to its rightful place as a city befitting of the nation’s capital.

And I have a plan to make this happen. A plan that focuses on core government services. A plan that prioritises the needs of our community. A plan that directs government resources to what matters to Canberrans.

Plan for a better Canberra

We will invest in our people because when Canberrans are empowered we can achieve extraordinary things.

We will unashamedly support our nurses, junior doctors, teachers, police, paramedics and firefighters. The Canberrans on the frontline who have stepped up for the community time and time again. We will put them first because they have always put us first.

We will boost support for our apprentices and skills that our local businesses need. Long-term underfunding for apprenticeships and vocational training has contributed to a major skills shortage in our building and construction, hospitality and retail sectors. These are the Canberrans that keep the heart beating in our local economy, and we will value them.

We will support the thousands of Canberrans facing a cost-of-living crisis because we will be a government that genuinely cares when the people we serve are struggling the most.

We also know that we won’t be able to attract the best talent to our city if they can’t afford to live here.

We will overhaul the broken government procurement system that has seen literally hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on dodgy contracts and abandoned projects.

Instead, we will invest in our people; in the Canberrans that contribute to making our city what it is today and what it can be tomorrow.

We will create a world-class health system by valuing our GPs who are at the frontline of primary healthcare. We will abolish Andrew Barr’s GP tax because we respect our GPs and the service they provide to our community. We will stamp out the toxic workplace culture that has driven away so many health professionals from the frontline in our hospitals.

We will not divert hundreds of millions of promised funding to politically motivated infrastructure projects.

And we will have a Royal Commission into health because Canberrans deserve greater transparency and accountability when it comes to the delivery of healthcare in the capital.

We will set our children up for success in the future with a nation-leading education system. We will recruit more teachers and lift the burden of unnecessary paperwork so they can do what they do best – teach. We will work with teachers to support evidence-based methods to improve literacy and numeracy. And we will make sure that our learning spaces are fit for purpose and free from hazardous materials because our children deserve the very best spaces to learn.

We will boost private investment, celebrate innovation, and support local business because we know Canberrans are clever, and their ideas bring enormous benefit to our city.

We want to see our next generation of entrepreneurs and business owners become our next Canberra Data Centres, Aspen Medical or Seeing Machines taking to the world stage.

And we will support the local businesses that start out in the garages and backyards of our suburbs; the small businesses that want to stay small because they want to remain local. Canberra businesses have told us that they want a fairer system of rates and charges and we have listened. Canberra businesses have told us that they want to focus on growing their business, not be burdened by red tape, and we have listened. We will work with them as genuine partners to create an environment in which they are supported to do what they do best – grow their business, contribute to our economy and to give back to our community.

We will make sure that Canberrans feel safe on our streets and in our homes. In addition to boosting our police force, we will make sure that our laws reflect community expectations when it comes to bail and sentencing.

We will repeal the drug decriminalisation laws that Labor and the Greens brought in by stealth to bypass government scrutiny and accountability. These are the laws keeping parents awake at night; that have police worried; and that have businesses feeling vulnerable about what they may have to deal with.

We will work to bring world-class events here because Canberrans deserve to be able to see the best artists, athletes and leaders right here in our home city. We will work with our tourism leaders to boost investment in the events that we know will draw people from across Canberra, across Australia, and across the globe.

We will strive to put Canberra on the map because people from around the world should also be able to see what a great city we are.

We will keep our city moving by adopting a public transport agenda that will get people where they want to go, when they want to get there.

And we will do this without spending billions of dollars on a tram that will serve a fraction of Canberrans and take longer than the existing bus.

Our public transport policy will be based on serving the travel needs of our community, not based on a politically motivated deal between Labor and the Greens, using outdated technology.

We will look after our environment because Canberrans love the best our bush capital has to offer. Our green spaces, our woodlands, our waterways, and our wild life are all a major part of what Canberrans love about where we live. Looking after our environment isn’t just the right thing to do; it is the economically responsible thing to do. We will explore innovation and new technology in clean energy, and we will play our part in making our world healthier and more sustainable for our next generation.

We will create genuine opportunities for young Canberrans to own their own home if that is their wish. Labor and the Greens have thrown in the towel when it comes to home ownership, but I haven’t and I won’t. A local government can’t fix the housing crisis alone, but Labor and the Greens have failed – at every turn – to use the policy levers that they do have within their control to take any real and meaningful action. Land release, planning laws, investment in the right skills, and tax reform are all local government policies that must be looked at to give young Canberrans hope that home ownership may one day be within their reach.

We will get the basics right and restore pride in our city. Labor and the Greens do not care about the core local amenities that should be bread and butter of any local government – the cracks in our footpaths, the potholes in our roads, the unmown grass in our green spaces, the playgrounds that are not maintained.

Five years on from the release of the government’s ”Better Suburbs” strategy, we know that there are playgrounds that are still not built. We know that there are basic amenities that are still neglected.

What is abundantly clear is that this is a government that does not care about the basic local services that Canberrans should and deserve to expect. That this is a government that does not prioritise the suburbs.

But we care and we will focus on getting this right. We believe that the rates you pay should be invested back in your suburb; for your community; for your family.

My family migrated to Australia from Korea when I was seven years old, and we moved in with my uncle who was renting a self-contained flat in the back of the main house where the landlord lived.

We were there for over a year, and I have happy memories there. We had a backyard for the first time, and dad taught us how to do cartwheels, and we had great neighbours who would walk to the local school with us.

Dad worked as an excavator and worked hard to save up enough money, and it was a proud moment when mum and dad bought their first home in Australia.

It cost $60,000, and we moved in on Boxing Day in 1987. Mum was heavily pregnant with my youngest sister and the house wasn’t much – a simple fibro cottage with a flat roof – but it was ours.

The sense of pride; the sense of belonging; the sense of community in moving into our own home was when we knew we belonged in this new country.

Australia was now truly home.

36 years later, and my parents still live in the same neighbourhood; in the community that they set down their roots all those years ago as new Australians.

And it is this dream that I want for my daughters and for their generation.

Growing up, my parents instilled in us the strong sense of belonging; of community.

A community which fosters what all parents want for their children – to see them fulfilled and happy; to see them succeed in their chosen field; and to see them make a positive contribution to society.

Our suburbs are where we live; where we play; where we raise our families; where we go to school; and where we gather together.

And it’s in our suburbs – the heart of our community – where I start building my vision for a better Canberra. And that is why today, I announce the “Putting Your Suburb First” Policy that will invest $100 million back into our suburbs and neighbourhoods.

Under this initiative, every single suburb in Canberra will be eligible for funding for local projects that will directly benefit local residents, local communities, and the local environment.

Each suburb will get access to funding based on the rateable dwellings of that suburb, and the local residents who live in those suburbs will have a direct say in which projects are funded and built.

This policy is about the much-needed local initiatives that start as fresh ideas from the voices in our community.

These are the much-needed local initiatives that have been at the bottom of the list for this Labor-Greens government for too long.

Each Canberra suburb is unique, and this policy will put the choice firmly in the hands of the community on what they want to see in their own neighbourhood.

It’s about investing your rates back into your suburb.

Pathway to 2024

I know we have what it takes to change the government in October 2024.

The Canberra Liberals team that I lead is dynamic, fresh, and brings a wealth of life experience that is unmatched by the arrogant, tired Labor-Greens government.

Many have – and will continue – to tell me that it’s not possible in Canberra.

But I am inspired.

I am inspired because back in 2012, when I took my first tentative steps in Australian politics, no one had seen an Asian-Australian leader of a major party.

But today, I stand before you as a proud, confident Liberal woman, leader of the Canberra Liberals and a working mother of two beautiful girls.

And they deserve the very best future that I can provide for them.

We all do.

I am confident because I believe in the strength of our democracy. I believe in my team. And I believe in the vision for the future of Canberra that I have outlined for you today.

The Canberra that I know and love deserves a government that does not take you for granted. A government that will genuinely listen and govern in the best interests of our community.

And we cannot do this alone. It takes the collective efforts of each and every one of us who knows that after two decades of Labor and the Greens, enough is enough.

When the collective no longer accepts the status quo; when we want and deserve to strive for so much more than what we’re getting; when we know that this is a government that has turned its back on us.

We know it’s time for a change.

In her inaugural speech, Dame Enid Lyons said she hoped to “never forget that everything that takes place in this chamber goes out somewhere to strike a human heart, to influence the life of some fellow being”.

And this, for me, is a reminder – that everything we do; everything we fight for – is about making a difference to the people of Canberra; to the people we serve.

And this, for me, is something we can never forget. In one year, we all have the opportunity to have our say.

In one year, I ask all Canberrans – do not just wish for a better Canberra.

Vote for one.