Parliamentary Agreement scorecard: What the Labor-Greens deal has done for the ACT

Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry, Greens leader Shane Rattenbury, Chief Minister Andrew Barr, and Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur at the Legislative Assembly. Photo: Supplied.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Greens leader Shane Rattenbury have both hailed the progress of the Parliamentary Agreement between Labor and the Greens while releasing a report on its progress during the ninth Legislative Assembly.

With all but a small number of commitments completed, Mr Barr said that while there had to be compromises at times, the results showed there had been strong and collaborative government working across the parliament.

He said the agreement had contributed to a stable, progressive and inclusive government in an expanded Assembly.

“We’ve been getting on with the job of delivering the better Canberra we promised. Labor’s solid and productive partnership with the Greens has seen us make huge achievements in the first year of this term, including the new hospital that is nearly complete, school upgrades and improved public transport,” he said.

Mr Rattenbury said the Greens had wanted to put the community first and the Agreement reflected that ideal.

“We’ve hit the ground running in what has been a productive year, with significant work including the light rail, a summit on housing and homelessness, and a framework for an ACT Integrity Commission underway. With most items either completed or on track, this third Parliamentary Agreement is serving its purpose as a transparent and shared agenda that puts the needs of the community first and ensures we remain accountable to Canberrans,” he said.

But he also said the Greens’ stance in the Assembly also showed its support was not unconditional.

The status report coincides with the opening of the ACT’s first micro park (a Parliamentary Agreement initiative) in Garema Place. It says 96 percent of initiatives are either complete or on track.

According to the report, key areas of progress to date include:

• Planning and consultation is well-advanced for stage two of the light rail network, while construction is progressing well on the first stage;
• Flexible bus services have been extended across the ACT;
• Progress is underway to establish three new nurse-led walk-in centres in the Inner North, Gungahlin and Weston Creek, bringing the size of the network to five;
• Delivering a clean energy future, with the ACT on track for 100 percent renewable energy by 2020 and zero net emissions by 2050 at the latest;
• Ending funding for greyhound racing in the Territory, and providing options to transition workers out of the industry;
• Improved gambling harm reduction measures, including work to reduce the total number of poker machines in the Territory and legislation to include mandatory pre-commitment and $2 maximum bet limits in a redeveloped casino;
• Improved transparency and accountability, including the establishment of independent and diverse boards for the newly-established City Renewal Authority and Suburban Land Agency, and work towards the establishment of an integrity commission;
• A Housing Summit that brought together a broad range of stakeholders to develop a housing strategy to combat homelessness and improve housing access and affordability;
• Funding for ACT community legal centres, to ensure people get the representation they need.

Progress on the 122 initiatives in the Parliamentary Agreement:

Has the Labor-Greens Government delivered? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.