Parton says Canberrans are 'more vulnerable' after budget's release

Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton takes aim at financial 'red hole' after ACT government releases budget Fri 12 Jun 2026 at 5:56pm In short: The Canberra Liberals have responded to the government's budget, taking aim at "a massive red hole" in the ACT's finances. Leader Mark Parton said Canberrans were more vulnerable as a result of the budget. ACT Greens acting leader Jo Clay has criticised the government's rollout of the light rail project. The Canberra Liberals and ACT Greens have delivered their responses to Wednesday's annual budget unveiled by Treasurer Chris Steel. In their responses, both parties shared parallel acknowledgements and criticisms of the government's fiscal plan, principally around cost of living, transport and management of the territory's finances. Liberal leader Mark Parton, in his first budget reply speech, declared the ACT was in "a massive red hole" and the budget "does not show us the way out". "The daily cost of interest payments now is $2.3 million,"Mr Parton said. He argued that rather than a financial plan that made life better for Canberrans, people had "been left more vulnerable, not more secure". "Mr Speaker, this is the central failure of this budget — it does not meet the moment," Mr Parton said. He said the Opposition would introduce legislation to establish a Charter of Budget Responsibility for the ACT, which he claimed would "strengthen transparency, accountability and fiscal discipline in the territory". Liberals want to re-criminalise meth, launch graffiti blitz Mr Parton's speech doubled as an early set piece to lay out his leadership vision, given he has only been in charge for seven months and has endured problems within the party since. But he made clear that the Opposition's policy offering would take some time to develop. "We are aiming to be the government after the election of 2028 and as such we will be releasing a full suite of policies in the lead-up to that poll,"he said. He put forward some policy ideas in his reply, centred on community safety, financial management and better health services for women. Mr Parton focused on improvements to Civic to address public safety and cleanliness, to make it a more appealing place to be. He introduced the concept of a "Safer Summer" pilot program for the summer of 2028-29, which included a couple of key promises. One was to re-criminalise recreational methamphetamine, which under existing ACT law is subject to a fine penalty rather than criminal charges, if people are found with a small quantity of the drug. He also pledged to establish "dedicated graffiti blitz teams" for the CBD, to rapidly remove graffiti from public and private buildings where it occurred, citing local council regions of New South Wales and Victoria as examples where the initiative had worked. "This is not just about removing paint. It is about sending a message that Canberra is cared for, that people are being heard,"he said. Light rail under fire from Greens ACT Greens acting leader Jo Clay also issued a reply to the budget, welcoming some decisions while criticising others. Ms Clay praised the ditching of the controversial health levy and the moves to provide further assistance for renters, but was critical of the government's progress on its long-term transport infrastructure, namely light rail. "This budget pushes funding for the next leg out to 2029/30. Commonwealth Park to Woden won't come until long into the next decade," Ms Clay said. "And government refuses to even begin planning Stage 3 to Belconnen." Ms Clay also called on the government to introduce further policies aimed at the cost of education. The party wants to review tax concessions that ACT private schools receive — priced at nearly $50 million in 2024/25, according to the Greens — with the aim to re-invest that money into the public school system. "We can't keep going with these kind of tax breaks and subsidies when resources in the public system are so stretched,"Ms Clay said. They also want to see gambling taxes increased to generate more cash for government coffers, pointing to figures from a recent report by economist Saul Eslake that show the ACT collects less of these taxes per capita than any other jurisdiction except WA. "That nine percentage gap leaves $60 million on the table, and our government then hands over $8 million to the horseracing industry each year," she said. "This is nuts." Cheaper transport push Both leaders proposed substantially discounted public transport fares. In Mr Parton's case, a flat 50-cent fare for bus and light rail journeys "across the entire network for every journey, every day". Ms Clay urged the government to act on a Greens motion from October, which proposed free public transport travel for all concession card holders and students. "Labor has yet again turned their back on the Assembly on a motion they voted for and refused to implement this," she said.