ACT politics is in flux as Kingfisher claims another scalp | Region Canberra
Chief Minister Andrew Barr delivers the news that he had accepted Yvette Berry’s resignation from cabinet. Photo: Ian Bushnell. Would Yvette Berry have gone so easily if Labor had commanded or been able to. . .
Chief Minister Andrew Barr delivers the news that he had accepted Yvette Berry’s resignation from cabinet. Photo: Ian Bushnell. Would Yvette Berry have gone so easily if Labor had commanded or been able to muster a majority in the Legislative Assembly?TheACT Integrity Commission made no finding of wrongdoingagainst her, and in recent times the quaint Westminster notion of ministerial responsibility has been given short shrift in other places, leaving public servants alone to carry the can. Ms Berry was Deputy Chief Minister, like her father before her, had senior portfolios and was a key figure on the left of the party. Chief Minister Andrew Barr even said she had been badly let down. So why should she be sacrificed, and reduced to being a backbencher?Mr Barr said she had no choice given the explicit language of the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Opposition Leader Mark Parton kindly read out Mr Barr’s own words from 2015 when then minister Joy Burch had to resign. Interestingly, the CFMEU was involved then, too. Ms Berry did the right thing, and she would have been preparing for that fateful day for some time, given draft copies of the Integrity Commission’s report had already been distributed. Of course, the reality was that Ms Berry’s position in the Legislative Assembly was untenable, with the numbers ranged against her, and the potential for the corruption issue to bring down the government. The crossbench and Opposition wanted her gone, and if she refused, and Mr Barr would not sack her, then he would have been in the firing line. Kingfisher has been hanging over the government’s head for years. This way, at least for Labor there can be a clear separation between Kingfisher and what it represents and the run-up to what looks like being an unpredictable 2028 election. Kingfisher was one of the motivations for former Green leader Shane Rattenbury’s abortive approach to the Canberra Liberals for an emergency coalition government. It could be argued that Kingfisher has claimed two party leaders and a deputy leader – the Liberals’ Elizabeth Lee, who countenanced an alliance with the Greens, Mr Rattenbury for “betraying” the Green base in even contemplating a coalition with the Liberals, and now Ms Berry. Could there be more casualties, including a government that has been in power way too long, according to its critics?Kingfisher is a gift for Opposition Leader Mark Parton. Can he make the most of it?Mr Barr used his press conference on Thursday afternoon (23 July) to lay out the narrative that Labor will take into the coming years. No finding of wrongdoing by a member of his government, no official links to the CFMEU, and the corruption was the work of two rogue individuals, not symptomatic of any systemic problem within the government. In fact, his government had cleaned up the procurement issues and he would be reinforcing the message to ministers, staffers and public servants that actions like those involved in the Campbell school upgrade project would receive zero tolerance. Yet, even more trouble might be on the way for the government from the Integrity Commission with an investigation underway into the Phillip pool lease change. Kingfisher is a gift for Mr Parton, and his job will be to pore through the report and continue to prosecute the case that the Barr Government is stale and complacent, and whose members believe they can act with impunity. He will argue that this is no one-off anomaly; this is about culture and the way it does business, with union influence running deep. Mr Parton is going after the Secure Local Jobs Code and wants all Cabinet Ministers, including Michael Pettersson, and ministerial staff to relinquish their CFMEU membership. He will be hoping that a negative Phillip pool finding arrives in time for the election campaign. Today will bring renewal to the government in the form of a new Deputy Chief Minister and a new minister, although if Ms Berry decides to run again, don’t rule out a return to cabinet after serving her time. By 2028, there could even be a new Chief Minister. But given the events of last week, Mr Barr, who is sticking to his position of serving out the term and making a decision on his future as leader closer to the election, may be forgiven for reassessing the state of the government and staying on as Chief Minister. Indeed, given his popularity as Chief Minister, backed by last week’spollthat found a clear preference for him over Mr Parton, some in the party might plead with him to stay at the helm. Yet, Mr Barr knows all too well the risk of hanging on, and appears ready for a new challenge. “No one is irreplaceable, in politics, and no chief ministership is forever,” he said at his press conference. “No stint in parliament is forever; there must be periods of transition and change. ”Change is something that voters seem ready to serve up. The poll indicated that 2028 could deliver more independents, One Nation in some form, and fewer Liberals to the Assembly. If Labor’s primary vote can hold up after this crisis, it will have to deal with an uncertain mix of Green (accepting they won’t talk to anybody else) and independent MLAs to retain government. Mr Barr said Ms Berry’s departure from cabinet was the end of an era. At present, the only constant seems to be change.