I see there's discussion about whether the Greens and Liberals in the ACT might team up to roll the Chief Minister and instigate a Greens-Libs government.
My thoughts:
1. The Greens recently surveyed their members with a temperature check on working with Labor and with the Libs to progress Greens-aligned policies. That doesn't mean a change of government, it just means the elected reps want to know what the members think, which is good.
2. Just because someone is willing to talk to you is no guarantee that you'll find enough common ground to work together on any particular issue. But if they won't even pick up the phone when you call, you'll never find out. There's MLAs in the Labor and Liberal camps who won't pick up the phone. Picking up the phone just means you want to know the other party's position on the issue.
3. Agreeing to pass a particular Bill or amendment or motion is not the same thing as partnership in government.
4. No confidence motions, including against the Chief Minister, are not rare in ACT politics. They all talk to each other about how they'd vote if one happened. But in the last term, we didn't know it was "on" til 8:30am the day the motion was moved (I think they have to give 90 minutes notice that they're doing it). Media stories before we're even in a sitting week are highly speculative.
5. I personally would not choose to be in Cabinet with anyone in the current ACT Labor or Liberal parties as Chief Minister. Being in Cabinet ties you to a level of confidence in the Chief Minister that is not required of a cross-bench member.
Thanks for your thoughts Emma. I think it was always a long shot but see how it plays out
If it doesn't happen, hopefully there's a particular issue they'll work together on given the numbers
