The ACT Greens are best known for their sustainability agenda, says party leader Shane Rattenbury, but they believe government has a central responsibility to look after those in the community who need support.

And in 2021, “a tough year”, the Greens focused on getting the community through, and supporting the most vulnerable: people who lost their jobs, the elderly, those with disability, and those struggling with mental health.

“Those are the people who needed the most help in 2021, and that’s where we focused our efforts.”

As the waves of the pandemic rolled through, Mr Rattenbury said, he and the two new Greens ministers, Emma Davidson (Disability, Justice Health, Mental Health) and Rebecca Vassarotti (Homelessness and Housing Services, among other portfolios), put in place protections for Canberrans with mental illness, homeless people, and residential tenants.

Entering politics as brand-new members of the Legislative Assembly, and going straight into a ministerial portfolio, during a pandemic was a “baptism of fire” for Mses Davidson and Vassarotti, Mr Rattenbury said, but they took to it like “ducks to water”.

“They’re across their briefs; they’re active; both having come out of the community sector, they’ve got a really clear picture of who in the community needs support. … It’s why they wanted to come here.”

This year, Mr Rattenbury said, the Greens will continue to focus on the needs of those vulnerable groups – particularly as the Federal and NSW Governments focus on the economy, “at all costs”. In the rush to get back to normal, Mr Rattenbury feared they had lost sight of the fact that, for many people, their lives were a long way from being back to normal.

“The focus on people has receded into second or third place,” he said. “There’s a real risk that the ‘let it rip’ approach will leave those people in a particularly vulnerable position.

“The big challenge of 2022 is making sure that here in the ACT, we do our best to counteract that … We need to make sure that the ACT Government is a bulwark against that, and that we don’t lose sight of those who really need our support.”

The Greens listen to the community leaders, service providers, and volunteers, Mr Rattenbury said. “They know what’s going on the ground; they see it every single day. That keeps us grounded in making sure that we bring in those perspectives into the parliament every day that we’re here.”

Greens’ agenda for 2022

While the pandemic dominated 2021, the Greens members had a lot else going on, too, Mr Rattenbury said.

Besides the community recovery portfolio, Ms Davidson is developing the ACT disability strategy and an eating disorder service, “which the ACT sorely needs”. Ms Vassarotti is working on an agriculture strategy that Mr Rattenbury believes will ensure more local produce, improve food security, and create more jobs in the Territory.

The Greens backbenchers are busy, too. Andrew Braddock and Johnathan Davis want to lower the voting age to 16.

“Young people have obviously a very significant stake in the future,” Mr Rattenbury said. “That feels like a cliché to say that, but that is the core of why it matters.”

Some commentators – including the Canberra Liberals and Canberra Daily’s Bill Stefaniak – have criticised the Greens’ proposal, but Mr Rattenbury is confident young people are mature enough to vote. As former Education Minister, he said he was “blown away” by the way young people engaged in issues of the day, and thought about solutions.

“I find young people very thoughtful and, frankly, very articulate. They have strong views, and they should be entitled to express them.

“People who say, ‘Oh, they’re not mature enough to vote’, really need to go and talk some teenagers around town, and ask them about some of the big global issues. They’ve got big ideas, and they’ve got good ideas on how to fix them.”

Jo Clay is tackling the transport emissions that make up 60 per cent of the ACT’s greenhouse emissions. The uptake of electric vehicles in the ACT has been “phenomenal” in the last year, Mr Rattenbury said, since the government introduced incentives; the ACT rate of ownership is double the national average.

Phase two of light rail to Woden will roll out – “a big physical change” in the city, with “some disruption attached to it”, he acknowledged, but a necessary short-term sacrifice.

“Having a strong spine of light rail down the city, and pollution-free electric buses heading off into the suburbs, makes for a really effective, environmentally friendly and comprehensive public transport network, which is what we need. We need to give people a good alternative to driving everywhere, otherwise we’re spending a lot of money expanding our roads, let alone the pollution that goes with it, because we’re not going to have everybody in an EV in the short term.”

At first, Mr Rattenbury said, there was a lot of opposition to light rail, and the Canberra Liberals promised to tear up the contract in the 2016 election.

“But we built it, and it’s exceeded expectations in terms of popularity. I’ve met quite a few people who were opposed, but now that it’s been built, they’ve used it; they see the point; [they think] it’s a fantastic form of public transport. There’s simply less resistance to this stage than there was to the first stage, and I think a lot more people understand the value of light rail to the city now.”

The Greens will also deliver a strategy on how to phase out fossil fuel gas by 2040. Gas is a key source of heating and cooking in homes, Mr Rattenbury said, but it is becoming more expensive, and it is not the ‘clean and green’ alternative people thought it was; in fact, it’s responsible for 20 per cent of the ACT’s emissions.

“We want to move to being an all-electric city,” Mr Rattenbury said. “To make sure it’s a smooth and orderly transition, we need to start planning that now, so that it’s not a shock for people. As their old gas devices break down, we make sure they’re ready to replace it with an all-electric alternative.”

As Attorney-General, Mr Rattenbury intends to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility, and reform the sexual assault and family violence laws.

The Greens are also committed to reducing gambling harm in the ACT. “It’s insidious; it has a terrible impact on not just those that have a problem with gambling, but also their families, their loved ones, and even their workmates, at times.”

A more progressive Federal government

At a national level, Mr Rattenbury believes this year’s federal elections will result in a minority parliament.

“There’s real potential for a combination of Greens, Labor, and independents to form a much more progressive parliament, and a much more progressive government in Australia.”

He said Canberrans understand Senator Zed Seselja’s position on climate change; and the Greens have a strong voter base, and have campaigned for longer.

Tim Hollo will contest the federal seat of Canberra (currently held by Labor’s Alicia Payne), which the Greens have identified as one of the most vulnerable, priority seats in the country.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has said Labor is not prepared to form a minority government, but Mr Rattenbury does not consider this a sustainable position.

“Anthony Albanese will do everything he can to end up in the office of Prime Minister. And if post-election, there is not a minority government, then he will have to talk to people on the crossbench, including the Greens.”

Look after yourself this year

The Greens have a new office at 2/18 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, near the rainbow roundabout, and the public is welcome to visit.

“Come in and talk to us, hold us to account, give us your ideas, let us know what’s going on,” Mr Rattenbury said.

Finally, he wished everyone well for 2022, and asked them to take care of themselves.

“We’ve still got a bit of a way to go to get through the pandemic, and everyone just needs to keep looking after themselves and their families, volunteering where they can to help the vulnerable in the community, and we will get through this.

“It probably doesn’t quite feel like it at the moment. People are disappointed that we saw the [omicron] wave over Christmas, but as a community, we’ve dealt with it really well. And if we keep doing that, we’ll get through 2022 just fine.”

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