Greens secure three ministers in new Parliamentary Agreement

The Greens will have three ministers in the new ACT Cabinet after winning a record six seats at this year’s election and agreeing to form a coalition government with Labor.

Zero-emission vehicle subsidies and concessions, gambling reforms and more social and public housing investment were all agreed to in the new Parliamentary Agreement between the two parties.

The agreement sets out the government’s agenda for the next four years and guarantees Greens’ support for the passage of Appropriation Bills, stabilising Labor’s minority government.

Under the agreement, there will be no gas connections to future greenfield residential developments from 2021-22, and future developments in Jacka and Whitlam will be 100 per cent electric.

The government will also work towards having no new gas connections for infill developments from 2023 and will seek to develop the Molonglo Commercial Centre as all-electric.

All new ACT Government buildings and facilities will be fossil fuel and gas-free, including new leases, while retrofits of government buildings and facilities will aim to produce net-zero emissions after their fit-outs.

New zero-emission vehicles will receive free registration for two years and 50 more charging stations will be built around the capital.

The agreement also lays out plans for an additional 400 public houses by 2025, and a further 200 by 2025-26.

However, the Greens’ more ambitious target to phase out gas entirely by 2040 – five years earlier than the current plan – was left out in favour of a $50 million, five-year program to improve the energy efficiency of social and public housing.

The government will move to ban political donations from foreign sources, raise the minimum age of responsibility and mandate that large political donations be disclosed within seven days.

The Residential Tenancies Act will be amended to end no-cause evictions and consideration will be given to including the right to a healthy environment in the ACT Human Rights Act.

The Greens also managed to secure major gambling concessions that were rejected prior to the election in the new agreement.

There will be $5 bet limits and $100 load-up limits on poker machines while a Community Clubs Ministerial Advisory Council will be established with members from the government, industry and unions.

The number of gaming machines in the ACT will be reduced from 4000 this year to 3,500 by 1 July 2025.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said this term of government will set the direction of the Territory’s infrastructure plan for three-quarters of the next decade.

The agreement commits to building Light Rail Stage 2 to Woden, and assess the viability and benefits of extending light rail to Mawson as part of the Stage 2B business case.

“There is no extravagance here, what there is, is the effective use of existing provisions and resources to steer particular policy outcomes,” Mr Barr said.

Mr Barr will distribute portfolios to nine ministers tomorrow (3 November).

Mr Rattenbury has been touted as a potential replacement for Attorney-General after Gordon Ramsay lost his seat, while Suzanne Orr has reportedly been demoted in favour of promoting Tara Cheyne to Cabinet.

Mr Barr said a mathematical formula was applied to determine the split of ministers. Labor was reduced to 10 seats and the Greens increased their haul to six in the 25-seat Legislative Assembly.