The Canberra Liberals will give notice of a no-confidence motion in Chief Minister Andrew Barr, seizing on a statement from the Greens that the opposition said showed Mr Barr could not guarantee supply.
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The Legislative Assembly on Wednesday resolved to sit at 9am on Monday, August 15, to debate the motion, which is expected to be blocked by Labor and the Greens.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee on Tuesday night issued a statement to The Canberra Times to say she would give notice of a motion of no confidence against Mr Barr.
Mr Barr said on Wednesday morning the move to launch a no-confidence motion was "pathetically weak" and a move to play politics and distract from the opposition's own lack of credible fiscal policy.
"This is not a surprise though. It's just the same old approach from the Canberra Liberals. Nothing has changed. They haven't developed a credible fiscal alternative and they have no policy ideas that they want to bring to the table," Mr Barr said.
The motion, the opposition said, was prompted by a statement from Greens leader Shane Rattenbury, issued after Mr Barr handed down the budget at 5pm on Tuesday, declaring the party would for the first time seek to amend the budget on the floor of the Assembly.
Ms Lee said: "The fact is, the Chief Minister has lost control of his cabinet and his government; the Labor-Greens government is deeply divided.
"For government ministers to indicate that they will not support the government's budget is untenable, it is a shambolic mess.
"The opposition have lost confidence in the Chief Minister's ability to guarantee supply and deliver a stable coalition government and it seems now the Greens have too."
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The statement from the Greens had said Mr Rattenbury welcomed the territory budget, but it would have been different had the party governed in its own right.
Mr Rattenbury reaffirmed his party's strong opposition to funding provided to Canberra's horse racing industry, an issue that had previously split the cabinet.
"The budget is supposed to reflect what we value as a community, and the future we want to build together. I am confident the community would prefer this $41 million to go to public housing and homelessness, or mental health support, or climate change adaptation, or public transport, or any measure of other things," he said.
"As such, for the first time the ACT Greens will move to amend the budget on the floor of the Assembly to vote against this item."
The statement from the Greens gave no indication the party would consider withdrawing confidence in the government or block supply.
Mr Rattenbury confirmed on Wednesday morning his party maintained full confidence in Mr Barr and would not support the motion and would continue to guarantee supply.
"We will simply seek to amend the budget on the floor of the assembly when the appropriate bill is debated later this year in order to vote on this single line item," he said.
"While the ACT Greens and the Labor party have a different position on the subsiding of the horse racing industry, it is one line item in a significant budget that delivers for the Canberra community. This is an example of how two parties can work together maturely and constructively on many initiatives and issues and have a difference of position on some issues."
At least a week's notice is required before the Assembly can consider a no-confidence motion in the Chief Minister, which forced a debate on Wednesday morning about an additional sitting day and the time it would start.
Mr Barr has previously survived a no-confidence motion brought by then opposition leader Alistair Coe in 2017, which had said the Assembly had lost confidence in the Chief Minister "due to the government's engagement in corrupt decisions".
The governing agreement between Labor and the Greens says the parties are unable to "support any opposition no-confidence motions, except in instances of proven corruption, conduct that threatens public confidence in the integrity of government or public administration, gross negligence, or significant and intentional non-adherence to this agreement".
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The ACT's first chief minister, Rosemary Follett, was removed from office by a no-confidence motion in 1989 after it was alleged on a television program her Labor government had sought by persuasion the vote of the speaker, David Prowse, to support a bill to allow licence and franchise fees on the sale of X-rated videos.
In 1991, the second chief minister, Trevor Kaine, was also removed after losing a no-confidence vote, following decisions to shut schools and make changes to the territory's planning system.
Then Liberal chief minister Kate Carnell resigned in 2000 after it was clear a majority of Assembly members would support a no-confidence motion over breaches of the Financial Management Act related to the Bruce Stadium redevelopment.
Labor chief ministers Jon Stanhope and Katy Gallagher both survived opposition-backed no-confidence motions.
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