Mark Parton to call on party leaders to condemn Katy Gallagher over housing debt comments

Opposition housing spokesman Mark Parton will move a motion in the Legislative Assembly that would require all party leaders to write to Senator Gallagher about her "backflip".

The motion has been prompted after Senator Gallagher said last week that forgiving the loan was "not that easy". She had previously criticised the former Coalition government, including ex-senator Zed Seselja for not waiving the loan during her time in opposition.

Mr Barr has advocated for the waiving of the debt after Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie negotiated a deal in 2019 for her state's housing debt to be waived.

The Chief Minister said he had raised the matter with the former federal government "at least a dozen times" and said he would continue to do so under the new Labor government.

The government has promised the nearly $100 million debt would be reinvested in public housing.

Following Senator Gallagher's comments last week, Mr Barr said he was disappointed the debt would not be waived in the upcoming federal budget but said the ACT would continue to work with the Commonwealth to make it happen.

But Mr Parton said if the government was serious about public housing they would agree to his motion.

"If the Chief Minister and his Greens colleagues are serious about public housing in the ACT they will agree to this motion, condemn Senator Gallagher in the strongest terms on her backflip and call for the debt to be wiped," he said

"Despite the Chief Minister's rhetoric since the federal election, it appears the ACT government has no sway with the federal government if they are unable to have this debt waived as was indicated prior to the election."

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Greens member Johnathan Davis put forward a motion to call on the Chief Minister to continue to raise the waiving of the debt, following the May election of the Labor government.

This motion was supported by all parties, including the Canberra Liberals. Mr Parton told the Assembly that the Canberra Liberals had made "numerous approaches" to the former federal government about this debt but some "were not all really all that public".

The Canberra Liberals were previously pushed to acknowledge the debt in the Legislative Assembly under the former federal government in 2019.

Former opposition leader Alistair Coe brought forward a motion to call on the ACT government to do more to address rental affordability.

Amendments were put forward by former Greens member Caroline Le Couteur and among her changes was an acknowledgement the government was seeking to waive the debt.

Her amendments were not supported by Mr Coe, who remarked Labor and the Greens "think that by somehow getting a $100 million lump sum in the ACT it will make rent cheaper".

Mr Parton's motion will be debated on Wednesday afternoon.

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