Challenges loom in a tough Assembly. But there are opportunities, too
The ACT government was left hanging by a thread last week, with Labor clinging on to minority rule despite no longer having formal agreements in place to show they can govern in a minority.
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While it seems the government will not be imminently toppled, the Greens' decision to walk away from talks to renew its supply-and-confidence agreement raises a series of questions for the second half of the parliamentary term.
Can Labor stay in power? Will the Greens flex their crossbench muscle to shape the remainder of the term to their liking? Will the Liberals seize the chance now presented to them to shape themselves into something that resembles a government-in-waiting in time for the election set for October 2028?
The level of community frustration with the government is palpable. While the most recent polling shows Andrew Barr is still the front runner as Canberrans' preferred chief minister, he faces an electorate growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as the failure of government to get things done and make meaningful changes in their community.
Labor is positioning itself as the party of getting on with what it promised at the election, using the state of the budget - widely agreed to be perilous - as justification for doing little extra or little else.
And this wide agreement on the state of the budget has painted the Greens and Liberals into a difficult corner. They led the charge late last year on calling out the fiscal........
