As the ACT election results were announced just over a year ago, the mood in the Belconnen Labor Club was euphoric. Labor stalwarts broke out repeatedly into chants of "Four more years!" and "Build the tram!" when it became clear that Andrew Barr had led the party to another victory.
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It was a remarkable win in some ways. Leading up to the ballot, many critics had lined up to attack the Barr government, particularly over the costs of light rail and perceptions that conflicts of interest were influencing development decisions. The Liberals had their best chance to take office in 15 years. Somehow, they lost ground.
Nonetheless, Labor's victory was imperfect, especially in that it revealed a city more divided than ever. While the party's stocks rose in the north, where light rail and a new hospital are being built, resentment grew in the south. The city-wide primary vote for Labor and its coalition partner, the Greens, actually fell, even though they were able to retain power. The large vote for minor parties and independents indicated a growing frustration among some Canberrans with the long-serving Labor government.
A year later, it's difficult to judge how well Mr Barr has governed since his first election win as Chief Minister. He clearly wants to be the leader who pulls the ACT public sector back into surplus, but that's a poor measure of a government. In recent years, the ACT's fiscal position was undone, to a large extent, by factors outside the government's control: first, the need to buy and demolish more than 1000 asbestos-affected houses and, second, the economic downturn caused by the Abbott government's first budget.
Insofar as ACT Treasury budget forecasts can be relied on, Mr Barr will soon deliver that surplus. It will be an important step forward for the city – if the government invests it in the right infrastructure and if it manages that infrastructure well.
Some of Mr Barr's challenges are straightforward. On that Saturday in Belconnen a year ago, he said: "Tonight, we can confidently say that Canberra has voted for light rail." Yet stage one – Gungahlin to Civic – is far from enough. To retain Canberrans' confidence, he must outline quickly his plans to expand this into a genuine, city-wide network that realises the full benefits of a modern public transport system.
He must invest in the ACT's dilapidated public school network, especially its high schools, which lost the confidence of many parents years ago. The ACT has by far Australia's lowest rate of public school enrolment at high school level. Overcrowding on some campuses doesn't help.
He must take seriously the perceptions of patronage that plagued the now-defunct Land Development Agency. It is not enough to dismiss conflicts of interest as inevitable in a small city; that is a dangerously permissive attitude he must address.
And Mr Barr must consult – without using consultation as an excuse to dither.
"Canberrans have voted for a positive vision for our city," he said upon his re-election. Yet we have heard little of this vision in the past 12 months. Remind us, Mr Barr. Lead the way.
