ACT Greens leader Jo Clay has announced that the party will end its confidence and supply agreement with ACT Labor for the remainder of the ACT parliamentary term. The agreement had helped the minority Labor government pass legislation through the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Clay said the decision followed what the Greens described as a breakdown in negotiations over priority issues. She said all four Greens MLAs and party members had been consulted, and that she had informed Chief Minister Andrew Barr earlier in the day.
The Greens said ending the formal relationship would allow them to hold the government more closely to account. Clay said the party had given Labor opportunities to deliver on commitments but believed it had failed to show sufficient progress on issues including public housing, renter protections, protection of the Western Edge and funding for community services such as libraries.
She also cited the cancelled ice rink in Tuggeranong, below-inflation pay offers for teachers and reduced library hours as examples of what she called good intentions without follow-through. A list provided by the Greens included other disputed priorities, such as gambling harm reduction, funding for the horse-racing industry, climate policy and a plan to phase out petrol and diesel transport.
Despite ending the agreement, Clay said the Greens would support passage of the upcoming budget. She said negotiations had secured concessions including no return of the health levy and an increase in community-sector funding, although she described the budget as imperfect.
Clay said the Greens were not considering forming a government with the Liberals. She said Labor would instead need to work carefully with every party in the Assembly on individual votes, leaving the minority government in a more uncertain position for the rest of the term.