ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr is the problem when it comes to housing, ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja said on Thursday, in the midst of the election campaign.
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Never mind that Mr Barr is not a candidate for Federal Parliament and has a different set of responsibilities to Senator Seselja.
Senator Seselja repeatedly talks about the ACT government, a coalition of Labor and the Greens in a Legislative Assembly he once sat in.
Mr Barr last week suggested Senator Seselja was campaigning against him. The local focus is a deliberate strategy, rather than just settling a few old local political scores.
Senator Seselja has a campaign ad that knocks the Labor-Greens ACT government and he has talked repeatedly about the local issue of land supply.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
Polling suggests Senator Seselja is facing a fight to hang on to the seat he has held since 2013.
Tapping into general frustration with local government to fuel a Senate campaign is a smart move for a Liberal senator whose delivery record for a staunch Labor city is mixed.
At the last minute, the senator who voted against restoring the territories right to legislate on voluntary assisted dying and abstained on same-sex marriage - issues Canberrans support - is making himself out as a good local member.
The success of this strategy might rely on a bit of public confusion: what's the difference between local and federal government anyway?
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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.
