election 2012 / comment
Not too late for a little ‘kiss and tell’! With an election pending, it’s a shame ACT politics does not have a Tanner-like kiss and tell to air the dirty linen of the parties, writes MICHAEL MOORE JUST as former Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner exposed the shenanigans behind the removal of Kevin Rudd in his recent book of essays, it would be great to have an insight into the rise and rise of Katy Gallagher, Zed Seselja and Meredith Hunter. The transition from Jon Stanhope to Katy Gallagher was seamless enough. However, as constantly as Andrew Barr and Simon Corbell reinforce their support for her as Chief Minister, observers would note that both of these Ministers always had at least a reasonable claim to the top job. Corbell was first elected in 1997 and is the longest-serving Labor MLA in the Assembly. Andrew Barr has served competently as a Minister over two terms of the Assembly and, although he represents the right wing of the Labor Party, has always effectively managed to cross the factional boundaries. For an outsider looking in, the Labor Party seems in harmony. The leadership is without question and there are no indications of the same internal rancour that has been exposed federally by Tanner. The ACT jurisdiction has the advantage of being much smaller and all elected members and candidates understand that divisiveness within the party is a sure formula for losing an election. Some of the candidates also have a clear insight into the level of scheming and any dirty laundry. Angie Drake, one of the Labor candidates in Molonglo, was working for Katy Gallagher before her ascendancy to Chief Minister. She is already running an effective campaign, but has her work cut out to compete with Corbell and Barr for the third seat in Molonglo. Even harder for Drake will be to wrestle the fourth seat from the Greens or the Liberals! The other interesting candidate with understanding of conspiracy is Mick Gentleman, who’s running in Brindabella. Gentleman served one term in the Assembly before narrowly missing out retaining his seat at the last election. This time he does not have to compete with John Hargreaves, a popular Labor member in the electorate, who is retiring. The Liberals are not without their own internal factions. When Seselja came to power as Leader of the Opposition, it is certainly true
that Brendan Smyth had much more experience. Smyth was elected to the Assembly in 1998 after serving in the Federal Parliament as Member for Canberra in 1995 and 1996. Although the longest serving Liberal MLA, and the only one to have Ministerial experience, he serves as a loyal deputy. Jeremy Hanson sits in the wings wearing the cloak of the pretender to the throne. It is his first term and he knows better than to disrupt party unity by any whiff of a leadership challenge this close to an election. However, there is not much doubt that Hanson will move on the leadership if Seselja is not successful in bringing the party to power. It might not be in the first few weeks after the election – but it is inevitable. The Greens supposedly have no leader. Meredith Hunter was elected “Parliamentary Convenor” at the start of the current Assembly when the Greens won four seats with all first-term MLAs. The surprise was that the role did not go to Shane Rattenbury, who had been the outstanding candidate in the election campaign. Since that time, Rattenbury has performed well as Speaker. However, he was in a role that effectively prevented him from challenging for the leadership. The machinations that went on to elevate Hunter and contain Rattenbury would make interesting reading to an outsider. Was it a decision that was taken on a gender basis? Caroline Le Couteur is the highest-risk candidate for the Greens as she holds their second seat in Molonglo, but all indications are that she is no more a kiss and tell party member than Amanda Bresnan in Brindabella. It is not too late. Surely someone with a party-political background is feeling jaded enough to point the finger. It does not have to be a full book – but a small exposé would certainly add interest to the election and provide an insight into the personalities of those who lead the three main parties and who are looking for voters to support them. Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health.
Who’s got the best prescription for health? Page 15
letter Burden shifts in rates ‘tsunami’ THE Greens supported a Labor policy change that shifts the entire burden of conveyancing stamp duty to annual payments by householders. Of the policy options offered this was the most extreme. Perhaps people are waking up to that, that it is not a fear campaign. The disingenuous arguments of the small increases are only based on the first year; there are 20 years of these increases. The extended phase in period is a clue as to the impact. Similarly, Katy Gallagher claiming there are winners, they can disappear as quickly as a minor change in percentages or exemptions, just as this whole change was made. If you tweak the rates someone is going to pay more. I have been involved in tax, public finance and distributional analysis. Clearly, as the Quinlan report 6 CityNews October 4-10
noted, replacing $358.3m of revenue will cost each household an average extra $2076 (year 10). The fatal flaw is an assumption that property value and household income is linked, clearly this breaks down for retirees and pensioners and others. The average rate was proposed to be $3867 pa in 10 years (it is $1294 now). For pensioners, for example, their rates are more than 1.3% of their income and unless their land value is more than $390,000 they are not eligible for rates deferral either. The cute graphic in the Quinlan report looks like a breaking wave, for many it might seem like a rates tsunami which will arrive each year, and it will be getting bigger each year.
Martin Gordon, Flynn