Opposition Leader Leanne Castley says grandiose visions have left Canberrans poorer. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
More affordable housing, easing the cost of living and better public services will be the three pillars of the Canberra Liberals’ path back to government.
Opposition Leader Leanne Castley told the Legislative Assembly in her Budget Reply on Thursday (26 June) those three priorities would restore the Territory’s finances and rebuild faith with the community.
In a speech short on detail and more of an election manifesto, Ms Castley indicated the Canberra Liberals would take government back to meeting people’s basic needs and cast doubt on the viability of the Barr Government’s big infrastructure projects, in particular light rail.
She said this week’s ACT Budget, with its record deficit and debt, was the culmination of a failed Labor agenda that had focused on grand projects at the expense of everyday Canberrans.
Ms Castley said Labor’s reckless spending had only brought higher debt and taxes, depleted services and failed businesses.
“Labor has spent more and more to deliver less and less – the very antithesis of the productivity growth it claimed to be pursuing,” Ms Castley said.
“The ACT is now worse off than if we never had Labor’s economic agenda.”
Ms Castley said the size of the debt meant interest payments would consume one in every four dollars that people paid in local taxes next year, leaving not enough money to properly fund schools, hospitals and police.
She said Labor was irresponsible to maintain this grand agenda when COVID hit and during the inflationary aftermath, leading to the spiralling cost of government debt.
She said high tax and regulation meant empty shopfronts, deserted local shopping districts and businesses leaving Canberra, while unaffordable housing was also forcing Canberrans across the border or further afield.
“The exodus of small businesses from Canberra means the public sector will soon account for more than 60 per cent of the local economy, leaving us more dependent than ever on Commonwealth spending,” she said.
“Labor’s plans for infrastructure investment remain more of a fantasy than a reality, with light rail years behind schedule and their other promises more likely to inspire derision than awe.”
Ms Castley said Labor had lost its way and the likely successors to Chief Minister Andrew Barr offered no vision for the future.
She said most people wanted a more affordable city, where public services were accessible and reliable, with safe streets, clean parks, good schools and fast help when it’s needed.
“This is not just their vision of a better Canberra, it’s mine too.”
Ms Castley’s plan for the next three years was to focus on the three things that she believed would make the biggest difference for people and families – affordable, accessible housing, cost of living and better services.
“There are no silver bullets to fix these problems and they cannot be solved overnight. But our team is developing the reforms that will put us on a pathway to delivering our vision for a better Canberra,” she said.
“Over the next three years, we will progressively release components of this agenda so Canberrans can see these are more than just aspirations or election commitments, but a true foundation for government and a foundation for change.”
Ms Castley said she would continue to rebuild trust with the community by genuinely listening to the community and responding to their concerns and their priorities.
“As a Territory, we can’t go on like this. We must change,” she said.
“And while the opportunity for that change – the next ACT election – is still more than three years away, we must use every minute we can between now and then to build the plans and the policies for that future.
“We have no time to waste.”
