Chief Minister Andrew Barr says a Liberal Party advertisement which implied he does not give a "rat's arse" about increasing rents and hospital wait times has set a very low tone for the election campaign.
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Mr Barr said the advertisement would fall foul of new truth in political advertising laws if they were in effect, but negative campaign tactics rebound badly.
"It was a pretty egregious misrepresentation and set a very low tone for the campaign. I'm pleased to see the public reaction to that fairly grubby effort has been overwhelmingly negative for the Liberal Party. Hopefully that's the last of that sort of complete misrepresentation," Mr Barr said.
Mr Barr said the laws needed to change but he had no regrets about not moving sooner to enact them, saying the electoral commission needed time to prepare.
"People are smart. They see through that sort of stuff. It tends to rebound pretty badly on those who try it on. All I will say in conclusion is that there does appear to be a little bit of history from the campaign director of the Liberal Party. It's not the first time, I suspect it may not be the last," he said.
The video advertisement, which was authorised by Liberal campaign director Josh Manuatu, used the comment Mr Barr made in relation to former chief minister Jon Stanhope's Labor membership to suggest Mr Barr had no concern for rising rents.
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Mr Barr on Saturday announced the Labor Party would again commit to keeping ACT public services in public hands, a move welcomed by the Community and Public Sector Union.
"Our commitment in 2020 is exactly as it was in 2016, that these essential services will remain in public hands so that we can continue to deliver high-quality public services to Canberrans," he said.
Mr Barr said the Liberal Party's track record in the ACT and in other jurisdictions showed it could not be trusted to keep public services in public ownership, pointing to the Liberals' decision to sell 50 per cent of ACT Electricity and Water the last time they were in power.
Community and Public Sector Union deputy national president Brooke Muscat said the commitment secured more than 23,000 public sector jobs in the ACT.
"When public services are not in public hands, the focus always turns from community to profit," Ms Muscat said.
ACT Labor also announced on Saturday it would build a new community centre in the heart of Gungahlin if re-elected, with a feasibility study for the project already under way.
Mr Barr said the centre would cost between $15 million and $20 million, depending on its site and scope.
Community Services Minister Suzanne Orr said a location for the proposed centre had not been finalised.
"We want to have that conversation with the community as to where the locations are," Ms Orr said.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
