Chief Minister Andrew Barr is relaxed and comfortable in the job. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The Chief is back.
The factions and pretenders may be jostling for position, but Andrew Barr’s return to the spotlight last week just emphasised the gulf between him and his wanna be successors.
Mr Barr has admittedly had a quiet year – focusing on the wonk work of reorganising the public service and giving his ministers space to show their stuff.
However, after Transport Minister Chris Steel’s train-crash press conference, when he couldn’t bring himself to apologise for the botched MyWay+ rollout, it was left to Mr Barr to reassert the government’s and his authority and clean up the mess.
He gave a half-hour State of the Territory speech at a Canberra Business Chamber lunch, answered questions for the next half hour, then fronted journalists afterwards, where he had no qualms saying what Mr Steel couldn’t, even as he backed the beleaguered minister, saying he got bad advice.
The next morning, he attended a press conference with Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King and local MPs David Smith and Andrew Leigh at Canberra Railway Station.
An announcement of federal funding for planning the Railway Precinct and a new station as part of the East Lake urban renewal project was a ready-made stage for Mr Steel, who is also the Planning Minister, but he was absent.
All we heard from him was a statement apologising for MyWay+. It was too little, too late.
The experience showed a lack of political smarts and damaged his leadership aspirations.
Love him or loathe him, Mr Barr is not only always across the detail and articulate, but can think on his feet and is politically savvy.
Last week, he displayed no signs of disengagement, boredom, or lack of enthusiasm for the top job, despite having served more than a decade as Chief Minister.
One has to think that talk of him stepping down to let someone else lead Labor is premature.
The only one of the possible successors to fit the bill of generational change is Mr Steel, who is 39. Mr Barr, 52, is younger than both Rachel Stephen-Smith and his deputy, Yvette Berry.
No other minister is senior or experienced enough to come into calculations, although Attorney-General Tara Cheyne might harbour ambitions.
There are still plenty of hi-viz moments left for Andrew Barr.
But all the main rivals carry baggage.
Ms Stephen-Smith is responsible for cash-strapped Health, which only last year had to be bailed out and continues to suffer bad ED and elective surgery numbers, although there appear to be green shoots in the EDs.
She did deliver the Critical Services Building at Canberra Hospital, and the Northside hospital will be next, but like elsewhere, Canberra’s health sector is dogged by staff and service shortages. She is also a details person but serves up the occasional word salad.
Ms Berry finally acted to stop the rot in the ACT’s public schools, but she took way too long to do so, needing an inquiry to convince her what was obvious to many for years. Parents wonder about their children’s missed opportunities and are looking at a lengthy recovery period.
Mr Steel has time to make good, but he was given the chance to prove himself by delivering MyWay+ and will have to wear the disappointment. One wonders if taking on Treasury as well as Planning and Transport is too much.
Of course, as Chief Minister, the buck stops with him, but Teflon Barr can rise above the fray, and whether you agree with him or not, argue the Labor cause with the conviction needed to win over voters and keep the Opposition (and the Greens) firmly in their place.
Despite factional talk of Mr Barr stepping back in late 2027, he insists he will be around for the full term. He has talked about making a decision late in the term, but it sounds more and more like Mr Barr isn’t going anywhere.
Unless a Senate seat becomes available courtesy of an unlikely retirement by Katy Gallagher, or there is increased representation for the ACT (not high on Albo’s agenda), or a plum job is on offer, there is no reason for Mr Barr to move on.
He is still a relatively young man for politics, and has the energy, vision and, more importantly, the institutional memory to keep doing the job.
There is also plenty of unfinished business: the Convention and Entertainment Centre, light rail, UNSW Canberra’s new city campus and diversifying the ACT’s economy.
And, of course, the stadium.
That final piece of infrastructure is not going to happen without federal assistance.
Mr Barr has been present at federal cabinet and ministerial meetings long enough to effectively present the ACT’s case for Commonwealth funding, not just for a stadium but also for other amenities and services, particularly Health.
The ACT needs Mr Barr in its corner.
The Opposition would love to see Mr Barr depart. But he should deny it that opportunity.
Against any other Opposition, Andrew Barr by now would probably not be Chief Minister, but in the small pond that is the ACT, he remains the biggest fish.
Given the Canberra Liberals’ latest woes, if Mr Barr wants another term at the top, it’s there for the taking.
