“Our one-party government has built an empire protecting the interests of Labor as a higher priority than the good of Canberra.” MICHAEL MOORE assumes the frustrated persona of our city, looking at what’s needed to end its downward spiral.

I am the City of Canberra. As a city-state I have serious concerns about the future of my citizens.

For 2026, therefore, I am making some New Year’s resolutions in order to see some bold new actions to improve the lives of my people.

My first resolution sees an end to what has effectively been a one-party government for a quarter of a century. Labor has been in power since late 2001. It is too long for any political party, of whatever colour, to be governing. It is not an election year – but change is not beyond imagination.

This is not the first time I have faced this sort of political dilemma. A similar situation was resolved in 1998 when the principle of cabinet solidarity was modified and, for the first time in Australia, an independent was appointed as a minister. The experiment proved successful and has been copied in other jurisdictions.

Often attributed to Albert Einstein is the comment: “insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results”. My resolve is to have a new government that finds creative ways to deploy the talents of a majority of MLAs in my Legislative Assembly.

Our one-party government has effectively built an empire on protecting the interests of the Labor Party as a higher priority than their commitment to the good of my people.

Although there have been a range of different styles of governments, the Legislative Assembly has rarely been used to its full capacity.

The Canberra Liberals have been so involved in their own self-interest and in-fighting, they have not been able to find a way to share power. 

It is now a little over a year since the last election. It has become clear that the two independents are exercising significant power in holding the government to account.

Enemy of my enemy is my friend 

The Greens have stepped away from the previous government where they were largely contained by a Labor chief minister and his colleagues. After a tough campaign, and a year on the cross benches, they ought to have realised that Labor considers them a more significant political threat than the Liberals.

The truism from ancient Rome, “amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei” applies today. In loose translation, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. 

As the City of Canberra, my next New Year’s resolution is to call for the Greens, the Liberals and the independents in my Legislative Assembly to consider this concept more closely and to look for imaginative and productive ways to govern.

The committee system in the Legislative Assembly has, over time, largely illustrated how a non-partisan approach to decision making is possible. Recommendations based on evidence, rather than party-political interests have regularly marked the outcomes of the Legislative Assembly committees. The recommendations are invariably made in the interest of my citizens.

Keep in mind that not one of the Labor MLAs has ever been in opposition. They have not experienced the discipline of going page by page through Estimates Committees, the annual reports or the budget papers looking to question the bureaucracy on the how and why of decision making.

Consultation has been a joke. As just one example, community demands for a swimming pool with a diving tower to replace my Civic Pool have been dismissed. Not only does the loss of a diving tower destroy Olympic hopefuls, it is the only pool currently operating where teenagers can just have fun. In the new leisure centres, they are not able to play in the kiddies part of the pools and need a place other than swimming lanes – just to have fun in the water.

As a city, I want all the people to be able to have fun.

My next resolution is to find creative ways to form a government that is in the interest of all of the community. The Greens and Liberals were able to put aside ideological differences and unite to establish a Financial Review Committee towards the end of last year. However, they also had many more ideological differences expressed on the floor of the Assembly.

It is time to distinguish between those ideological differences and look for commonality on administrative matters. It is surely possible for an executive focused on ensuring appropriate administration of the territory to manage ideological differences on the floor of the Assembly. This is how the second Carnell government managed from 1998 to 2001.

The executive government, however formed, should revert to ministries rather than directorates. In the directorate system, the heads of the departments have a dual reporting responsibility to their minister on the one hand and to the head of the chief minister’s department on the other. Heads of departments should report directly to the minister and the minister, in turn, is accountable to the chief minister.

When introduced in 2011 it was argued in CityNews that directorates “mean a loss of accountability; it transfers authority from the Assembly, takes responsibility away from ministers and distances decisions from the people. The danger of the key recommendations is that they simply concentrate power in the hands of the chief minister and his chief mandarin”.

Complacent government’s bloated public service

The Legislative Assembly has not been able to rein in the spending of the Labor government. It is financially embarrassing that the government has twice been downgraded by Standard and Poor’s. The only possible outcome is an increase in different forms of taxation for the people of my city.

A complacent government has facilitated a bloated public service. One of the greatest increases is expenditure has been on an oversized public service. It suits the unions. It suits Labor to have more public servants not wanting to put their jobs at risk when they go to the ballot box. But it is at a cost to the community!

Change is needed. It is frustrating to see reports on finance, health and education, as just three examples, that find the ACT on a consistent downward spiral. Instead of being an Australian leader as was the case prior to Labor coming to power, the territory is regularly found to be performing amongst the lowest levels compared to other jurisdictions. 

The focus of all MLAs should be based around the best possible government for the people of the ACT. This should mean a healthier, better educated, more active society where people feel safe, have access to the best possible education, adequate food and shelter and live in a socially just community.

As a city state, my people deserve a government that facilitates personal freedom, independence and dignity.

My final resolution is to call for a coalition of the willing. It is needed to form an effective power sharing government that will act in the best interest of the people. Surely, it cannot be beyond the intellectual power of the majority of our MLAs

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with CityNews since 2006.