It's hard Labor as crossbench and Liberals play numbers game in Assembly

How far will the crossbench in the Legislative Assembly go?

The shift to minority government has certainly changed the dynamics in the Assembly, with Labor actually having to deal with private business motions and legislation rather than just using their numbers, with Greens support, to sideline the Liberals.

So far this year, the independents, the Greens and the Liberals have managed to gang up on Labor over a number of issues, such as the closure of the Burrangiri respite aged care in Rivett and light rail stage 2B costings.

It’s an effort to ventilate these issues in the Assembly and hold the government accountable, but it also aims to bend the government to the Assembly’s will.

The strategy may put more pressure on Labor but a resolution in the Assembly does not mean the government will obey.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has ignored the Assembly’s calls for Burrangiri to stay open until alternative services are located and remains committed to closing the service at the end of the financial year.

Transport Minister Chris Steel will still only provide publicly available information on light rail, and anything deemed commercially sensitive will stay secret.

Chief Minister Barr noted in the Assembly debate on the light rail costings motion from the Opposition that this year, the use of standing order 213A to obtain documents has surged.

He said that while this is a vehicle open to the Opposition, executive privilege can still be claimed to withhold documents.

Mr Barr warned that the ACT did not have an army of public servants available to meet Assembly orders for information and that overuse of S213A will only tie up the public service and become costly if a judge has to adjudicate executive privilege.

Mr Barr said freedom of information avenues and question time were more cost-effective ways for the Opposition to seek information to hold the government to account.

“This does seem to be making a political point for the sake of it,” he said.

Of course, Mr Barr himself, perhaps irritated by the extra scrutiny that the changed numbers in the Assembly have brought, is making a political point.

He can’t blame the crossbench and the Opposition for working together to put the government on the spot.

However, an Assembly vote on a motion is not a ‘plebiscite’ on government policy or decisions of the executive. The wheels of government cannot grind to a halt unless, of course, the Greens and independent Thomas Emerson withdraw their support on supply.

But the new dynamic doesn’t stop there.

Last week, Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury introduced a Bill to overturn a decision of the Territory Planning Authority for the approval of a phone tower in Ainslie in support of the Friends of Ainslie Volcanic Grassland, who have been restoring the land.

Whatever the merits of conserving this patch of land and the work that has been done, Mr Steel, as Planning Minister, is right to say that if passed, the Bill would undermine the planning system and create unacceptable uncertainty for proponents.

The Liberals have not revealed their hand, but one would hope that they would agree on maintaining the integrity of the planning system rather than play politics with such an important principle.

It could open the floodgates to attempts to resolve all kinds of sectional issues by individual legislation.

With a minority government it is perfectly legitimate to leverage the numbers and make Labor work harder and get the best outcomes for the community.

The Assembly should be able to ensure that legislation is the best it can be. Even combining to make a political point is fair game.

But just because you can doesn’t mean you should. It might be better for the crossbench and Liberals to pick their battles.

Don’t expect Labor to kowtow. It remains in government, has a guarantee of confidence and supply, and hopes to implement its agenda.

Just how long the Greens and Mr Emerson will tolerate Labor ignoring them or, for that matter, Labor putting up with constant demands in the Assembly because they are outnumbered is an open question.

Could there be a deal breaker that brings this minority government to an end?

It’s a long way until 2028.