Delivered to the 2nd Shed a Tier Congress,
Parliament House, Canberra,
Friday 21 September 2001
From the point of view of this Congress I think, in all modesty, it is entirely appropriate that the Chief Minister for the ACT is called upon to open proceedings.
With the organisation's aim of re-thinking existing governmental arrangements in Australia, the ACT Government represents to date the most striking departure from the norm.
The ACT is very much a hybrid model.
"Neither fish nor fowl" "Neither state nor municipality."
We are unique not only in the sense of combining both state and municipal functions, but in our commitment to experiment and evolution in just 12 years of self-government.
It is my hope that this process should continue.
It is a matter of historical record that far from clamouring for self-government, the ACT only reluctantly accepted it.
It was regarded by many as a dubious gift from the Commonwealth, and one that had twice been rejected by popular vote.
There has always been, and remains, a strong sentiment here that is opposed to the whole notion of the Territory as a mini-Westminster, a city-state with all the trappings and trimmings of other parliamentary systems and their adversarial politics.
There are, for example, strong feelings here about ACT Ministers being driven about in limousines – so we don't do it.
We do things differently here.
We have come a long way in 12 years and I would like to traverse some of that ground here today.
We have been, I think it is fair to say, in a constant state of evolution.
In the early days of self-government, the ACT operated under an unwieldy electoral system.
One of the early and most significant reforms was its replacement with the system we use now – the proportional Hare-Clark system.
In conjunction with the Hare-Clark system, a number of other arrangements were put in place after the 1995 referendum which adds further distinctive character to the ACT system:
- an odd number of members (minimum 5) to be returned from each electorate;
- the inability to vote "above the line" for a party ticket;
and
- the use of Robson rotation on ballot papers in which each name is rotated in its position on an equal number of papers.
An effective upshot of these features means that it is difficult for any party – or even a robust coalition of parties or interests – to obtain a majority in the Legislative Assembly.
Legislation, therefore, is thoroughly argued and debated, and the Assembly can, and does, frequently assert its independence of the Executive.
The system also allows for an active and influential role for assembly committees. The fact that they are not subject to control by the Government gives them considerable advisory and investigatory latitude, and their impact on policy is significant.
Decision making is therefore highly transparent, and a series of corresponding administrative, reporting and financial reforms has ensured that the ACT Government is at the forefront in accountability.
For example, in 1991, the ACT adopted the Government Finance Statistics accounting system that had been developed by the International Monetary Fund, and in 1996 the Financial Management Act blazed a trail in public sector reform by introducing a new accrual accounting and budgeting format.
The 1996 reforms, after the Liberal Government's election in 1995, were designed to address, among other things, a drastically reduced Commonwealth funding for the ACT, which from 1989-90 to 1998-99 represented in real terms a cut of 49 per cent in general purpose funding.
We set out to bring the budget into balance, to improve customer service delivery and to make the process of government more open and accountable.
To achieve this, we set about building a streamlined administration suited to a government which provides a combination of state-like and municipal-style functions, and to improve the responsiveness of the public sector to government and the ACT community.
I remind those of you who have come from outside the Territory that we servants of the public are very close to that public here in the ACT – we see them every day, we live among them, we socialise with them. There is little room for "them and us" and we quickly learn what it is people like and don't like.
Canberra, as English poet John Donne (pronounced DUNN) might have observed, is not an island. This is despite being completely surrounded by another State.
In this regard the ACT is different.
We have actively been building partnerships with others in our region. We have been pursuing this significant blurring of the old borders and boundaries in favour of a more mutual natural community of interest.
We are proud to be part of a diverse and vibrant region.
An economic development strategy for the region produced in 1997 represented a radical departure, contradicting long-held notions of state centralism, ACT separatism and local government parochialism.
It is clearly the way ahead for us.
Quite apart from its role as the national capital, Canberra is also an increasingly important regional capital.
Up to 20 per cent of ACT services in health, education and emergency services are used by people living outside the Territory.
What has become known as the Australian Capital Region comprises an area from Bateman's Bay and Eden in the east, to Tumut, Young and Tumbarumba in the west.
Our links with this region are growing, and they have been formalised through the Regional Leaders' Forum that brings the Mayors of 18 local councils together three times a year, with the ACT Chief Minister as Convenor, to discuss strategic development issues concerning the region.
ACT Government recently joined the Australian Local Government Association in order to strengthen our participation in the community of local governments in Australia and to learn from the experiences of local government elsewhere.
Historically, we have seen the failure of "New State" movements, even though their creation was envisaged and provided for in the Constitution.
And while the abolition of States may be most unlikely in the foreseeable future, I believe we will see a continuing evolution in the way things work.
There is already evidence of this in such things as competition policy as exemplified in the rail and energy sectors.
In so far as the ACT is concerned, I would like to see this process of evolution both intensified and accelerated.
My vision sees a continuing shift away from a state-government style of administration to a more municipal arrangement, involving people more closely in the decision-making process and engaging in a more consultative approach to public consideration.
Governments are elected to govern – not dictate.
We have a high level of consultation already here in the ACT, but we can go even further.
We have pioneered a very successful "Meet the Minister" program, and we will move to further enable public access to and consultation with ministers.
We have already pioneered the Budget Consultative Process whereby community consultation is enshrined – an Australian first.
I will go to the election next month on a platform of introducing community initiated referenda to allow the people to introduce legislation, not just Members of the Assembly.
I am also proposing a system of deliberative polling to help resolve community planning disputes, and I favour the direct election of a Chief Minister – a move that we intend to explore further.
A matter of regret is that the Australian people too often see politicians as self-serving, not an entirely undeserved label. They also see them as remote.
I think we have a duty as elected representatives to seek to remedy these perceptions.
Public policy and the approach to politics need to be invigorated not only to sustain a healthy participatory democracy, but also to re-focus on the idea of government as serving the people rather than ruling them.
The experiences of the ACT in just 12 years show that there is ample opportunity to innovate and to re-fashion existing structures to better serve changing needs and to exploit emerging opportunities.
I am proud that the Territory is at the forefront of such constructive change, and while its character is in many ways unique, I believe there are developments here that will be emulated by other governments.
I am pleased to Open this Congress, and I look forward to the ideas that its proceedings will generate.
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