Stability versus good government

Comment by Jonathan Millar In issue 213 of Green Left Weekly, the question of the role of the Greens in politics was raised by James Vassilopoulos in an article about the ACT Greens entitled "Can the ACT Greens stop the Liberals' cuts?". The Greens have a partial balance of power in the Legislative Assembly in Canberra. They can vote with the government to pass or reject legislation, but to successfully vote against the government they need the support of the six Labor members plus one of the two independent members. It is for this reason that both independents and Greens need to work together to seek to secure the best outcomes for the people of the ACT. Vassilopoulos claimed that "without the Greens support the Liberals could not have formed government". This is factually incorrect, as Michael Moore and Paul Osborne, the two independent members, had guaranteed to support Kate Carnell as chief minister. The Greens decided to vote for Carnell based on three factors: first, the Liberals promised open and consultative government, which unfortunately has not been delivered; secondly, while in government Labor had eroded many essential services such as education and community health care; and thirdly, the Liberals attained a significantly larger vote in the elections. Since election day, the Greens have voted against the government on a series of major issues including the corporatisation of ACT Electricity and Water (ACTEW), the budget, the closure of health care centres and the privatisation of Kaleen Youth Shelter. Vassilopoulos' article took the view that the only way to achieve reform in the ACT is to mobilise community support for reformist agendas and "enter the parliament of the streets" since "neither the Greens nor any of [the other] groups are strong enough alone to fight the Liberals and win". Both Lucy Horodny and Kerrie Tucker have come from a background of community activism. Their decision to enter politics was based on the realisation that there must be representatives within the political system to fight for community concerns, both environmental and social. Obviously, two Green MLAs out of 17 MLAs are not going to be able to bring about dramatic change overnight. Michael Moore and Paul Osborne usually vote with the government on major issues, using the simplistic rhetoric of "governments should be allowed to govern". This attitude reduces the power of the crossbenches to the point where a minority government can act as if it was a majority government. In the case of the debate over the corporatisation of ACTEW, "allowing the government to govern" was more important to the two independents than working to create a better energy and water provider, while in the case of the last ACT budget, "stability" was more important than what would happen to education, libraries, hospitals etc. The independents sometimes argue that Labor would be no better. However, Labor's inadequacies in office should not determine how MLAs on the crossbenches vote on issues of serious concern. Rather, they should exert their authority and demonstrate that no matter who is in government, issues will be voted on according to their merits. The Greens are working to effect structural change. While they only have two members, they will possibly suffer more defeats than victories, as was the case with their attempts to stop the erosion of public transport and library services in the budget. However, there have been some successes, including ensuring executive contracts are open to public scrutiny, effectively supporting union activity against the Liberals' plan to initiate separate enterprise bargains and getting environmental and social indicators included in evaluation of government agencies. In the short time they have been in the parliament, they have managed to reach out to a wide range of community groups, including unions, service providers and community support groups, as well as many individuals. They have challenged the stereotype of politicians by giving up a car and knocking back pay rises. However, to effect lasting social and environmental change, it is essential the Greens increase their representation in parliament.
[Jonathan Millar is an adviser to Kerrie Tucker, ACT Greens member for Molonglo.]