The Liberals’ Ed Cocks, Independent for Canberra’s Dr Vanessa Picker, Labor’s Yvette Berry and the Greens’ Rebecca Vassarotti will lock horns in the final election debate. Image: Region.
The final of three Canberra Decides election debates will focus on the issue on everyone’s lips – cost of living.
The event will again take place at the Lonsdale St Studio and be broadcast live on Riotact’s Facebook page from 6 pm on Wednesday, 25 September.
ACT Labor says it has a track record of helping those who need it most. The Liberals say Labor has made things worse by increasing rates and registration costs. The Greens claim more free public services will take the pressure off individuals, while the Independents for Canberra are pushing for long-term structural reform.
Our interactive forum gives you the chance to grill representatives of the four major political forces on their cost-of-living solutions by asking them questions, assessing their debate performance or sharing your voting intentions. This can be done by downloading the Slido app or going to slido.com. A Slido code will be provided at the start of the forum coverage.
Independents for Canberra candidate in Brindabella Dr Vanessa Picker, ACT Greens Deputy Leader and Kurrajong candidate Rebecca Vassarotti, Liberals Murrumbidgee MLA Ed Cocks and Deputy Chief Minister and Ginninderra MLA Yvette Berry will take part in the forum to be moderated by former Region Group Editor and now Hands Across Canberra CEO Genevieve Jacobs.
An expert panel has also been assembled to question the debate participants – Canberra Business Chamber Board Chair Archie Tsirimokos, University of Canberra director of the Centre for a Better Canberra Chris Wallace and ACT Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS) CEO Dr Devin Bowles.
ACTCOSS put cost of living in the spotlight with a report released last month that showed the capital has experienced above-inflation increases in prices for basics like housing (22.8 per cent), transport (22.3 per cent) and food (20.0 per cent) over the past five years.
“There are thousands of Canberrans who saved for a rainy day, only to have it rain for years,” Dr Bowles said.
Ms Berry says ACT Labor has always supported those in our community who need it most and will continue to do so.
“Free Chromebooks, equity fund, free preschool, $500 to support tradies, energy bill support and the list goes on,” she said.
“A re-elected Labor Government will continue delivering progressive and practical policy that helps Canberrans live happy and healthy lives.”
The second Canberra Decides debate featured party leaders Shane Rattenbury, Elizabeth Lee, Thomas Emerson and Andrew Barr. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Ms Vassarotti says a Greens-led government will address the issue with far more radical reforms.
“It’s become clear this cost-of-living crisis is driving a deepening inequality that will not be fixed by tinkering at the edges. Instead, to make it more affordable for people to live – we need to invest in essential services,” she said.
“By properly investing in the foundational building blocks that lead to a good life, like public housing, free healthcare and public education, we can tackle this crisis.
“I’m looking forward to the contest of ideas in this debate and looking forward to communicating with Canberrans about how our grassroots team can deliver real policies to take Canberra further and faster towards a fairer future.”
The Canberra Liberals, though, claim the Labor-Greens government has made the cost-of-living crisis worse by increasing rates, vehicle registration and licence costs.
Dr Vanessa Picker says the independents will tackle the crisis differently.
“The cost-of-living crisis is often framed as temporary, but it’s a deeper, systemic issue that requires long-term solutions, not short-term band-aids,” she said.
“Our Future Generations Act, building on the approach taken in Wales, is designed to ensure all policy decisions are made through a long-term lens, including addressing root causes of severe cost-of-living pressures now and into the future.
“For far too long, we’ve seen the recycling of inefficient and ineffective ideas, coupled with a lack of new ones. As independents, we can call out bad policy and push for more wide-ranging reforms that go to the heart of the challenges we face.”
You can register your intention to watch the election forum on Facebook. The first two debates are available to watch on Region’s YouTube channel, where today’s final forum will be posted once completed.
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