"It is unthinkable in progressive Canberra that a significant and identifiable group of residents has been left behind and feel totally alienated. What an outrageous suggestion!" say JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED.
Jon Stanhope
Jon Stanhope was Chief Minister from 2001 to 2011 and represented Ginninderra for the Labor Party from 1998. He is the only Chief Minister to have governed with a majority in the Assembly.
"The notions of 'conservative' and 'progressive' are nebulous… in effect, little more than pejorative labels and marketing monikers without much relevance or reference to actual policy," write JON STANHOPE and KHALID AHMED.
"Red flag after red flag has been raised in warning of the inexorable decline of the AMC and its current status as almost certainly the worst performing prison in Australia," writes columnist JON STANHOPE.
"Norfolk Island was unceremoniously plonked into the ACT for federal electoral purposes. It seems, therefore, reasonable to me that we Canberrans step up in support of our Pacific Island fellow constituents," writes columnist JON STANHOPE.
"Andrew Barr's unbroken string of 12 deficits as Treasurer, is not only a record for any Australian jurisdiction, but also for a single treasurer." JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED summarise 12 years of Labor-Greens government. It's not pretty.
"The ACT has dropped from one of the top performing jurisdictions in Australia to the worst." JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED find little comfort and lots of debt in the ACT Treasury's Pre Election Budget Update.
"The Supreme Court decision, we believe, will highlight the heartlessness of the ACT government’s seemingly relentless war against the poor." JON STANHOPE and KHALID AHMED look at Minister Berry's bizarre management of public housing.
"Adoption of the term 'missing middle' in the context of Canberra is lazy and opportunistic. What has been missing is the supply of stand-alone dwelling sites. JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED call out the nonsense that is the "missing middle".
"If the government is not willing to adjust land prices downwards, the budget forecasts of land supply are little more than wishful thinking." JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED say revenue estimates for land supply make no sense.
"Housing ministers Yvette Berry and Rebecca Vassarotti have engineered a housing policy that any dedicated right-wing neoliberal would be proud to claim." JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED unbutton the government's housing shame.
JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED take a deep dive into the budget looking for the millions and millions of Labor's election promises to fix its own health mess. But they come up empty; there's nothing in the budget to support the spin.
"With debt at $90,000 for every household and taxes rising at 6.6%, it's far too much to accept the government’s claim it's supporting the wellbeing of Canberrans." JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED say government spending is crushing Canberra.
