A very high percentage of ACT voters remain undecided just a couple of days out from the election, according to the latest Canberra Times-Datacol opinion poll. It indicates that many will need to do some serious thinking today and early tomorrow about who they want to govern this territory after Saturday.
Unlike the House of Representatives election, the ACT have multi-member electorates. It means all voters should decide which or the major parties they prefer; which candidates within each party they prefer and which of the minor parties or independents they prefer. To get the best value out of a vote therefore a voter should express preferences right to the end, not just five or seven. It is often the case that the last seat is a tussle between minor parties and independents can be decided by preferences flowing from voters who have voted for a major party first and marked preferences to the end.
Despite constant criticism – which is fine in a democracy – both the Liberals and the Labor Party are capable of governing. The Liberals have been careful with the finances on the large scale, but have squandered on frivolities on the smaller scale. Under Kate Carnell they were particularly fond of PR stunts and funding bonanza events. Chief Minister Gary Humphries has fortunately be disinclined to follow suit, but the baggage is there, particularly on the poor processes on Bruce Stadium. The Liberal Government’s budgetary position has also been helped by additional Federal grants.
On the Labor side, Jon Stanhope picked up a shattered unelectable party in 1998 and turned it into an electable force. He has not been inspiring, but he has been steady and diligent. With his deputy Ted Quinlan in the treasury role, Labor has turned away from the spendthrift days of the Follett Government. Mr Stanhope has made education and health his priorities which match those of the electorate. Labor has been right to promise to abandon the free buses and to use the money directly on education. The ACT Government would be safe in his hands, provided he can be measured about his priorities and resist the temptation to overspend in these areas.
Labor has also gone some way to meeting concerns expressed by many Canberrans about the nature of the city – its bush and garden nature. The Liberals have allowed development to be largely developer driven and lacked and overall planning vision. They have also failed to strike the right balance between public transport, freeways and the environment.
Since the departure of Kate Carnell from the Liberal leadership and the departure of Wayne Berry from the Labor leadership, governance has been less colourful in the ACT and that has been a good thing.
This campaign may have been dull but there has been a fair concentration on issues. It has been overshadowed by a national election and international events, but the people of the ACT – if they have had their eyes and ears open – have had every opportunity to make an assessment of candidates. There has been a maturing of ACT politics in the past year.
As to the minor parties and independents, there is not a huge amount on offer. The Democrats have presented a campaign based around their federal leader, Natasha Stott-Despoja, who is not a candidate in the ACT. Paul Osborne and Dave Rugendyke have presented a conservative social agenda that has not been especially helpful in solving some of the problems facing the ACT. The Greens have worked hard in the past three years beyond environment issues into social justice, education and health issues, but there remains a lingering doubt about how economically responsible they would be if they could hold a minority Labor Government to ransom.