What more could the voters want?
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Free parking at weekends; free public transport; $200 vouchers to kids who play sport.
Everything except free beer is on offer if the Belco Party wins in this election.
Candidates from the party were out making their populist pitch at the Kippax Centre in Belconnen on Friday.
Alan Tutt and Angela Lount stood in front of the party's "Keep the Bastards Honest" placard, just down from the busker and from the young, gaunt, toothless beggar crouched on the pavement.
The free transport, parking and money for sporty youngsters were all promised if they win power - though they haven't spelled out where the money would come from.
"How will you pay for the free transport?"
Mr Tutt replied: "That's a good question."
"How will you pay for the free parking at weekends?"
Mr Tutt repeated: "That's a good question."
But the detail behind the big promises remained unsaid.
Mr Tutt suggested the Belco Party might find money by halting the further stages of the tram system.
And then accepted: "I would have to look at the books."
Beyond the specific promises, the Belco Party's broad pitch was that it was time for a change because the ACT government had forgotten ordinary people.
Mr Tutt felt public funds should be redirected in Belconnen's direction.
"It's about time all Canberra residents got something back for their astronomical rates. This policy could save public transport users up to $2500 a year," Ms Lount said.
There was scepticism from passers-by. One person who passed the stall agreed Labor catered for "rich moguls" but then added the Belco Party wasn't going to win.
Both Ms Mount and Mr Tutt grew up in Canberra. "I've seen the city grow and how Belconnen has been forgotten," she said.
He added: "I feel as though Canberra has lost its heart. It's become a concrete jungle and not the Bush Capital I grew up in."
They painted a picture of disillusion, saying voters should vote for them because the Labor government had not delivered - particularly to the more economically-challenged parts of the ACT.
"I've been a Labor voter all my life," Ms Lount said, adding times were hard for many Canberrans. She has found it economically tough since COVID-19 badly hit her mobile catering trade.
Ordinary people were priced out of the housing market, she felt, saying: "I know that my son can't afford to buy a home here in Canberra."
Some people did stop and listen.
Grant Sullivan paused with his Woolworths trolley packed with goods on the way to the car.
"So far I like what I see," he said. "But I'll have to have a better look when I get home. She's just been telling me about how they want to make transport free. They want to help people."
Did he think the promise was credible? "I hope so," he said.
The party also had a policy on bus shelters. "The Belco Party would ensure old and unused bus shelters are removed."
All the while, the blue-haired busker played on.
What did he make of it all? "I don't know much about it," Kurt Thompson said.
He doesn't follow the news or read a newspaper.
He was unexcited by the election.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
