13 June 2019

Is the ACT turning into a one-party state?

| Genevieve Jacobs
Join the conversation
67

Do nearly two decades of Labor incumbency mean that the ACT is now effectively a one-party state? File photo.

In many ways, the ACT is a blessed and comfortable community. We are the best educated, longest-lived citizens in the country with the highest median incomes. Politically, we’ve nailed our colours to the mast: there’s always been a Liberal vote, but this is emphatically a Labor town at every level. We’re on the cusp of two decades of Labor government at next year’s local elections.

So as years of incumbency creep on, has the ACT effectively turned into a one-party state? And if so, what are the consequences for politicians, ordinary Canberra voters and our participatory democracy?

In recent months I’ve had private conversations with several senior figures across the political spectrum. In measured, thoughtful analyses, they agree that the unchanging Labor government is not good for our political wellbeing.

On the Labor side, the argument is that the party is too busy with the everyday work of government to pause and reflect on their direction, to ask searching questions about whether they’re on the right track. There’s less opportunity to cut out the dead wood in the representative ranks or behind the scenes. The well-oiled machine rolls along. Networks become entrenched.

Of course, there are people within the current administration putting hard work into the ideas they’re developing. But wouldn’t it benefit everyone in government to have the time and space to have a good hard look at themselves and ask the tough questions about whether they’re on the right track? And while the Greens promote their separate policy initiatives, they are, fundamentally, part of the government mechanism and therefore the power structures.

For the Liberals, the problems are different but no less significant. There’s the same risk of laziness: nothing’s likely to change at the next election, so why put much effort into developing a thorough-going set of policies for an alternative government, a genuinely different vision? Much easier to simply oppose the current government about anything meaningful.

Long-running Labor incumbency means it’s been easy to get comfortable in Opposition without making decisions for which voters will praise or blame you. The arguments become internal, about who wins the party room rather than who wins the election. I’ve been told that there are those within the ACT Liberals for whom ideological purity matters more than victory. Surely that’s a perilous state of mind for any opposition?

A further consequence is that the political talent pool can be increasingly shallow once you get past the principal operatives. In a jurisdiction where it’s always “business as usual”, exceptional outside candidates have less incentive to nominate and party processes dominate pre-selections. That, in turn, can mean a dearth of inspiring politicians to fire the electorate’s imagination.

Business has problems too. Entrenched relationships with the same government, year after year, as a client or a grant provider have a stifling effect on the commercial community’s voice and influence. It’s understandable that business people don’t want to endanger those relationships, but nor do they have much alternative when there’s little chance of a new government on the horizon.

Problems flow through into planning and consultation too. With just one layer of government in the Territory, there’s little capacity to argue out decisions beyond an ACAT challenge or find a different avenue for change. The government has been making efforts to remedy its consultation issues, but in general, they’re only obliged to carry out the process, not implement the results.

Surely, then, the answer is to vote in strong independents in both the Legislative Assembly and in the Federal Parliament? Not so much: as the recent Federal election shows, it’s very very hard to take a seat, even for well resourced third parties like the Greens, much less an independent like Anthony Pesec. Next year’s ACT election is likely to deliver similar results to the last one.

Is there an obvious solution? Labor won’t easily give up local government and the Opposition doesn’t show much sign of mounting a strong challenge. In the end, it’s up to the voters of Canberra. If we’re all not willing to shake up the system, then it will indeed continue to be business as usual.

 

Join the conversation

67
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Sadly I think that it has. No matter what they do most will vote Labor/Greens. If the Liberals and Nationals ever got in they would need a couple of terms to learn how to govern and I don’t think they would be given the time.

Liberals and Nationals?? Nationals aren’t even aligned with the Canberra Liberals,

the complacency of incumbency set in long ago with this bunch. perhaps they might like to try, just for a change, doing something for the benefit of us 99%-ers.

Excellent article and analysis. ACT Labor are doing a good job for many residents and for many zones across Canberra. But ACT Labor have totally ignored some outer areas of Canberra and these residents are unfairly suffering through Mr Barr’s school closures, bus removals, tax hikes and lack of investment in updates and basic maintenance to their outer suburban facilities.

The key issue I see is that neither Greens or Liberal’s offer any clear improvements to the status quo. I bag Mr Barr, but Mr Coe doesn’t offer me a valid reason to vote for him. And Mr Barr knows this is the case across key electorates.

The Liberal’s Rates freeze for 4 years is just LAZY policy. They should be fully analysing the Stamp Duty to Rates shift and designing a fairer system for residents whether they live way out in Richardson or In central Braddon. Not just implementing unfocused policy on rates freezes.

Mike of Canberra3:12 pm 17 Jun 19

I agree with what you say the Libs should be doing. However, I don’t see the rates freeze as an end in itself and therefore am not as critical of it as you seem to be. Rather, I see it as a way for Canberrans to catch up in income terms with the very high cost of living imposed on them by Barr and company in the name of “tax reform” over a number of years. I don’t see any problem with the Libs both implementing the freeze and doing what you suggest in terms of much deeper and more cohesive policy reform.

If the Canberra community want more dodgy landsales; poor, and inconsistent, planning; congested roads; longer hospital waiting times; declining educational standards; higher rates; a public transport system that only provides a service to the inner north and Gungahlin; violence in schools and at public housing sites – then continue to vote Labor.
If the community wants something better, then there are alternatives. Not the Greens who are as much to blame for the current state of the ACT as Barr and his cronies.

The ACT has degenerated to a one party state, the GreLabs, no difference between them.

Phil Andrews9:09 pm 13 Jun 19

The system of Government is broken. With no house of review and an ineffective opposition, Hare-Clarke doesn’t produce true representative government in the ACT. After 20 odd years of self-govt that has seen the ACT regress as the nations capital, as a city and our home, it’s time there was a review into the system of governance in the ACT with a view to identifying a more suitable model that delivers good governance, good government and doesn’t cost the earth. As it is we have half of our elected reps being paid, but not in a position to hold the government to account or provide a viable alternate government. Genevieve is right, we have a lazy government that has become complacent, a lazy opposition that has no expertise or prospect of governing, a lazy public service that is expensive, inefficient and ineffective that benefits from the current state of laziness compounded by a lazy electorate that complains about but maintains the status-quo.

Hare-Clarke is fine. We just need the whole ACT to be one electorate. This might get a better representation for the ACT. The smaller electorates are to suit the major two parties.

That’s a very interesting point you’ve made. Why indeed do we need more than one electorate?

Capital Retro7:46 pm 13 Jun 19

“I’m actually starting to think that the libs should give Mark Parton a shot at leadership”

That would keep them in the wilderness for another 20 years.

Andrew Wall, who has more parliamentary experience and comes from the private sector is the person to lead the Liberals.

HiddenDragon6:51 pm 13 Jun 19

The voters of any part of Australia other than Canberra would have given the government the boot after the 2003 fires. In Canberra, the outcome was a re-elected government with a majority in its own right. Likewise in 2012 – very difficult to imagine that voters anywhere else in Australia would have swallowed the reassurances about minimal impacts of a move to replace substantial property conveyancing revenues with annual property taxes – and even if it had slipped through, the baseball bats would have been well and truly out at the next election. But not in Canberra because, “oh look, a shiny new tram system – now we’re a real city”.

Self-government for the ACT, combining state and municipal functions, in a very geographically compact jurisdiction, provided unique opportunities for positive innovation which have largely gone begging. Instead, we seem to have the worst of both worlds – the airs and graces and out of touch condescension which might be expected from a big, old state government and the “she’ll be right”, and make-it-up-as-you-go-along style of the archetypal local council. A few changes of government over the years might, at least, have helped to stave off some of this complacency.

liberalsocialist6:12 pm 13 Jun 19

“… ideological purity matters more than victory. Surely that’s a perilous state of mind for any opposition”

Not at all. What’s the alternative? The current federal situation where we have people putting the party and the victory before doing something for individual electorates? I’d rather have the ideological split which brings a choice thanks. It’s this all-for-the-party mentality that has votes being chased against good policy. If there are no votes in it, it won’t be put forward – regardless of if the policy is needed.

For example – negative gearing. I make no assertion on it as a policy at all either way – but it was shot down in the last election due to scare mongering and pandering to a high percentage of pensioners (by calling it a tax, when it’s not – it’s taking a concession away) and scaring them.

If it’s not a good policy – how about a reasoned debate? But that won’t win votes, short-term scaring will. And both sides are guilty of it, and have become more so in the past 15 years (since the Children overboard is my memory). The last time a good policy was taken forward that was not a massive vote-winner was when the Liberals took the GST to the vote.

I agree with the general thrust of this liberalsocialist, but I think you’re confusing the negative gearing reforms with the franking credits reforms.

I think we are in danger of turning into a one party state. We had the opportunity of finally having lower house representation in the House of Reps in the recent election. We had an extra electorate in the ACT based on Tuggeranong and south Woden/Weston Creek, areas which have elected Liberal representatives in the past (John Haslem, Brendan Smyth). But everybody voted Labor. Yet again. A large percentage of Canberrans effectively disenfranchised with no representation.

I think it is a tragedy. A terrible indictment of the “Canberra Bubble”. And then everybody complains about Canberra bashing by LNP governments. Well, what do you expect? As ye sow, ye shall reap.

Peter Kelley2:48 pm 13 Jun 19

I am considering voting Liberal in the upcoming election for the first time in my life. The mismanagement of both educational standards and violence in ACT schools just has to stop. The unwillingness of the education directorate to even acknowledge that there is a problem and a lack of will to do something about it is a problem that just needs to be fixed. I’ll vote for anyone who has a plan to do something.

So what is the Liberal’s plan?

The ACT should be a no-party state. It is essentially a town council and maintaining the apparatus of jurisdictional government including ‘regional’ electorates is farcical. A 20 minute drive is not a region. Not having your own lake is not regional disadvantage.

I would go for direct election of x number of councilors, the appointment of technical commissioners for urban services – transport, waste etc – rather than Minister and centralize all policy in the Mayor’s office. An town of 420 000 than needs a full cabinet process is a bit top heavy – weekly Yum Cha dining would be easily as effective.

Certainly unless the Libs decide to run something other than electorally poisonous extreme right candidates in what is a Labour stronghold, and where lots of people know the Federal Government a bit to well up close to boot, structural reform appropriate to a micro-state or free-city model is the only way out of malaise from a political class than is administratively incompetent and far too comfortable.

Mike of Canberra3:45 pm 13 Jun 19

Can you define “extreme right wing” (ie is it the same as “conservative” in your mind)? Who are the Liberals in the current Assembly that meet this description?

Change for the sake of change will have us running a term or two with a government of people who never had any intention of forming government.

People who want change should be the change they want to see: form a new party with clear ideology and policies, and be sure to support other parties policies that mirror your own rather than burying your policy and actively campaigning against it just because someone else was in government to implement it.

It will also help the Liberal Party to get rid of their current candidates and start fresh with people interested in forming government rather than engaging in the day to day high school politics the current mob of jokers seem incapable of rising above.

Seek root causes before trying to apportion blame. Seek to improve future attempts rather than endlessly performing post mitten on the one time someone tried and didn’t succeed.

Show some leadership and selflessness.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.