Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee will use her budget reply speech to call on Labor and the Greens to commission a wide-ranging review of ACT government integrity.
Ms Lee will deliver the speech on Thursday, after the Assembly resolved to keep sitting after the opposition brought forward a motion of no confidence in Chief Minister Andrew Barr after the Greens indicated they did not support one item in the budget.
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Mr Barr is expected to survive the motion, which will be considered by the Assembly on Monday, August 15. He said it was a "pathetically weak" attempt to play politics and distract from the opposition's lack of fiscal policies.
Ms Lee is expected to use her budget reply to say the government was past its use-by date after more than two decades in office, and had fostered a culture of secrecy that eroded public trust.
"There is so much murkiness, so many closed-door decisions and far too many instances of 'It's Canberra, everyone knows everyone' going on," Ms Lee will say.
"A wholesale review of integrity in government will go some way to restoring much-needed confidence and trust for the Canberra community, trust that has been eroded to its lowest ebb under this Labor-Greens government. I want to see this situation change."
Ms Lee will also announce she will create a new housing affordability and choice position within the shadow ministry, for which she will assume responsibility.
"I commit to doing everything I can to ensure that housing affordability and choice are within reach ofevery Canberran," she will say.
"From sustainable and measured approaches to land releases, to reviewing the impacts of the rates regime on affordability, to ensuring we adequately support Canberra's skilled workforce to build the homes Canberrans need, there is much to do in this space and I look forward to further discussions in the upcoming months."
Ms Lee will say the government has rejected the opposition's calls to improve housing affordability and choice by releasing more land for detached houses.
"The Canberra Liberals believe in the opportunity for every Canberran to own their own home, whether it's in a multi-unit apartment tower; a mid-density option like a townhouse or a standalone house on a block with their own backyard," she will say.
The call for an integrity review follows an exhaustive assessment of the Queensland government's accountability and culture, which the state's premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, vowed to act on.
Public administrator and academic Professor Peter Coaldrake made 14 recommendations including reigning in the access and influence of lobbyists and releasing cabinet documents within 30 days of decisions being made.
Ms Lee has released an exposure draft of legislation that would require cabinet documents to be released in 30 days instead of a decade. Chief Minister Andrew Barr has said the government was unable to support the Liberals' proposed model but was open to exploring a shorter secrecy time frame for cabinet papers.
The Canberra Liberals called for an audit of the budget before it was handed down at 5pm on Tuesday, which Mr Barr said indicated the party wanted to find ways to cut ACT services.
The government would not use taxpayer funded audits to help develop Liberal policies and it was up to Ms Lee to outline what she could cut from government spending if elected, Mr Barr said on Wednesday.
MORE BUDGET NEWS:
Meanwhile, Liberal member for Ginninderra Peter Cain will move a motion in the Assembly calling on the ACT government to introduce the NSW's FuelCheck app into the territory, which offers real-time monitoring of fuel prices at the bowser.
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"The Canberra Liberals are serious about solutions to ease cost-of-living pressures and improve the lives of Canberrans. The FuelCheck app is a simple step in the right direction," Mr Cain said.
Labor and the Greens are expected to amend the motion, but the government has previously expressed an interest in bringing the app to Canberra.
"After consideration of the very high proposed cost of extending the NSW FuelCheck scheme for the ACT, the Chief Minister has written to NSW Premier Perrottet to request a waiver of the establishment and licensing fees to extend the scheme to include the ACT," an ACT government spokeswoman said.
"Adding the ACT to NSW FuelCheck could benefit both NSW and ACT residents. Forty-thousand NSW residents travel into the ACT every day."
The government agreed in principle to a 2019 select committee recommendation to explore the feasibility of introducing the FuelCheck app to the territory.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined the Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine on Saturdays. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined the Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine on Saturdays. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
