The bigger Legislative Assembly now has to deliver results. Twenty-five members must do better than 17. The increase in size was introduced not just to reflect a larger population but to enable better executive government, parliamentary processes and representation. That is the challenge facing the members of the new Assembly.
We won't know the exact composition of this Assembly but unless there is a complete surprise we already know enough. The precise final composition does matter however. Whether the Greens win one or two seats will have an impact both on executive government and parliamentary processes. Whether the Sex Party manages to win a seat will impact on Parliament and representation. Whether a previous minister or another newcomer wins for Labor may impact on executive government.
We are all still guessing why we got the result we did. Should either or both major parties take a new direction? Winners tend not to change course because they are triumphant. The temptation is to reject criticism but now is the chance for Labor to learn some lessons. The newly elected members must bring fresh thinking into the caucus.
Losers, like the Liberals, are often forced to take a new direction, such as a change of leader, but new directions are not easy if the current course reflects the composition and inclinations of the party membership. A leader who doesn't reflect his party, but is installed just for public relations, is in for a rough time. Furthermore if each election defeat is followed by a change of leader, especially in a small parliament, then a party soon runs out of decent choices and begins elevating people before their time.
Better executive government should follow a larger number of members on the government benches. This should mean not just more talent to choose from but a full suite of ministers who are able to share the ministerial load equitably and not have some ministers grossly overloaded to camouflage the weaknesses or inexperience of others. It is a truism that state and territory ministries have a long tail as the talent pool is shallower than in federal politics. ACT Labor now has the chance to prove that adage wrong.
A larger government party room makes the choice of good ministers easier. But remember two factors. As the Chief Minister has already noted many of these 12 will now be new and need time to settle in. Andrew Barr may look to a temporary arrangement followed by a ministerial reshuffle in 18 months. But even that is not long for a new member to learn the ropes.
Secondly, whether or not the Greens join the government or sit on the crossbench will make a huge difference. There is a conundrum. Good executive government means Shane Rattenbury should stay in the government as he is an experienced and competent minister. He is easily among the top four ministers and public personalities in the Labor-Green government. If he stays it will mean a stronger ministry and that will also enable Barr to ease one or two of his newcomers slowly into the government.
However, a good parliament might be better served if there were two Greens on the crossbench. That would keep the Labor government on its toes, make for better committee work and make it easier for the Greens and the Liberals to reach out to one another, which would be a plus. The Greens will do what is best for them and what their members want, but the whole community has a stake in what is decided.
The bigger Assembly also should mean a better Opposition for much the same reasons. The Opposition Leader now has more to choose from for his shadow ministry. He faces some difficult choices because now should be the time for generational change. Several of the more experienced Opposition members will probably not participate in a future Liberal government. They will move on after the next election. So newcomers must be promoted, but to do so immediately would be to throw them in the deep end.
Both government and opposition will now have bigger party rooms. This is important in two ways. The committee system should be strengthened with more MLAs to share the load. New MLAs can earn their stripes by demonstrating their skills on committees. There will be a genuine waiting list for ministerial positions. Like any sporting team it is always a good thing if the A team has to play well to keep its spot.
A bigger backbench can also keep the ministry and shadow ministry on their toes. Little is achieved if the executive can always outvote the whole party room whenever it chooses as has always been the case in the past. Give me a bolshie rather than compliant backbench anytime.
Better representation has several aspects. One follows the composition of the parliament. This new Parliament certainly leads the way in gender equality as there will probably be a 13/12 split either way between women and men depending on the final count. On multiculturalism and Indigenous representation the score is mixed. We have gained Elizabeth Lee but may lose Chris Bourke, our only Indigenous member, while other non-Anglo-Celtic background candidates were unsuccessful.
The failure of independent candidates and the likely failure of smaller minor parties also leaves unrepresented about 15 per cent of the community who wanted someone other than the three big parties. The challenge for the whole Assembly is to reach out to these voters not just with words but with actions. This is a test not just for executive members but for backbenchers.
John Warhurst is an emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University.John.Warhurst@anu.edu.au