Shunted to the sidelines of political debate during the summer fire season and large parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alistair Coe's Opposition has finally found time and space to sell a vision of a Canberra Liberals government.

It's timely, too, given October 17 is 30 days away.

The Liberals have capitalised on the opportunity to generate some real, meaningful momentum in their campaign to end 19 years on the opposition benches.

It started with Coe's clever plot to lure former Labor chief minister Jon Stanhope to his proposed poverty commission, a move which prompted Andrew Barr's "I don't give a rat's arse" outburst.

It continued with a week's worth of education policy announcement, which, though somewhat vague, presented daily opportunities to draw attention to what they see as one of the Barr government's weak points.

It has chugged along this week with policies to please motorists, cyclists and bus commuters.

There is a conspicuous lack of major infrastructure projects or other job-creating policies. Their equivocating on light rail has drawn the ire of the building lobby, which reminded the Liberals earlier this week that a promise to plant trees wouldn't create the thousands of jobs needed in Canberra's coronavirus recovery.

Nevertheless, there is a semblance of a plan, at the very least a rough sketch of what an ACT Liberal government would stand for and deliver in the next four years and beyond.

The Liberals say there is a "better way" and for the first time in 2020 the campaign slogan has some substance.

And yet there remains one very large question hanging over the Canberra Liberals, which will stalk them every day until October 17 unless they come clean on what Labor is positioning as their opponent's dirty secret.

How are the Liberals going to pay for it all?

How are the Liberals going to manage to retain freeze residential rates for four year, costing the budget hundreds of millions of dollars, without cutting public sector jobs or services, as they have promised, or running up large debts and deficits, as they appear reluctant to even canvass?

How does a government deliver, as the Liberals have promised, lower taxes and better services?

The same question is asked of Mr Coe at almost every media conference he attends.

Each time the question is posed a roundabout answer is provided. When the question is asked again (and again) he provides a slightly different answer in the same roundabout fashion.

The most rehearsed roundabout response is the one about the "pie" (the revenue kind, not the edible kind).

Mr Coe's theory is that Canberrans are spilling over the border because of exorbitant rates and land prices, meaning the NSW government, not the ACT government, is benefiting for their taxes.

If the ACT was more affordable, Mr Coe contends, then Canberrans would return, or never leave in the first place. They would buy ACT land, pay ACT taxes and start ACT businesses, all helping to grow Mr Coe's revenue pie big enough to fund a rates freeze and world-class services.

Makes sense, right?

Perhaps, but the foundations of the argument do become more than a little shaky at even the lightest touch of scrutiny.

The ACT's population has grown by more than 25,000 people since the 2016 census, suggesting that even if some Canberrans are moving across the border, more are entering and staying inside it.

Even if Mr Coe's argument that Canberrans are fleeing en masse is accepted as fact, there are questions to be asked about whether the policies he's put forward would stem the tide.

The rates freeze would ease cost of living pressure on homeowners, but there's no guarantee it would do the same for renters. The Liberals' promise to release more land for detached housings could make those blocks more affordable, but will it be enough?

The Liberals are evidently holding back a number of key hip-pocket announcements for later in the campaign. There's likely to be a promise to ease the tax burden on commercial property owners, and potentially offers of direct cash grants to businesses.

Mr Coe promised in 2018 that a Liberal government would abolish payroll tax, and while he's rarely spoken of it since, he indicated that an announcement was imminent when asked earlier this week.

Each of those announcements will provide Mr Coe with a platform to spruik his credentials as a consumer-friendly, business-friendly Chief Minister.

But they'll prompt another round of questions about how the Liberals intend to pay for it all. The little spoken-of plan to abolish payroll tax would punch a far larger hole in the ACT budget than a rates freeze would, given it accounts for a quarter (about $560 million) of the territory's own-source revenue each year.

Labor's economic strategy is clear: Ruin the budget to save and reboot the economy. The numbers might be ugly - deficits nearing $1 billion, debt levels peaking at more than 7 billion - but the plan is clear.

Mr Barr says it's the only option available. He'll continue to hike residential and commercial rates, too. If Canberrans disagree, they can make their views known at the ballot box.

There's far less clarity surrounding Mr Coe and the Liberals.

Party strategists might have concluded that obfuscation is the best approach. In the absence of a target, what's there to hit?

If that is indeed the approach, the strategists must be blind to the reality that Mr Coe's roundabout responses only give Labor more opportunity to attack, and the community more reason to be suspicious.

So long as Mr Coe fails to explain what "gives" under a Liberal government, Mr Barr can fill the vacuum with fear. Fear about possible job cuts for public school teachers, nurses and city rangers.

The Liberals say there is a better way to run the ACT.

When it comes to Mr Coe explaining how he intends to fund the Liberals' promises, surely there is one too.