It’s now been 12 months since the election, when Fiona Carrick and I celebrated breaking an almost-quarter-century drought of independents in the ACT Legislative Assembly.
I’ve been working hard to make the most of the incredible privilege of serving as your local independent MLA. This newsletter contains a summary of what we’ve achieved together over the past year, plus a few other updates.
- One Year Since the Election
- End-of-Year Community BBQ
- Public Hearing for My Private Member's Bill
- Footpath Maintenance
- ACT Men and Boys Wellbeing Summit
- Kingston Arts Precinct
- Oaks Estate Strategic Plan
- Repealing the Decriminalisation of Drugs
- Tea for Two with Saskia Mabin
- Canberra Aquatic Centre Consultation
- My Next Mobile Office
One Year Since the Election
It's hard to believe it's only/already (!) been 12 months since the election. I feel like we’ve been able to achieve a fair bit in holding the government to account, amplifying unheard voices and bringing more attention to long-standing issues in the ACT from footpath maintenance to improving outcomes for First Nations people. There’s a lot more to do, and I’m really enjoying sinking my teeth into so many different issues that are important to our community.
I want to extend a huge thank you to all of you who helped me into the Assembly. I'm grateful for all the insights you’ve provided to help shape my advocacy, and for your ongoing support.
I'm also incredibly thankful for my amazing team, who work hard every day to deliver for our community. Big shout-outs to all the hands we've had on deck in the office at various points over the past 12 months - Leigh, Anne-Louise, Tenzin, Annie, Hannah, Carys, Franky, Will, Jack and Dean. You've been immense!
You can learn more about some of what we’ve achieved below.
Housing: Secured a government commitment to increase public and community housing as a proportion of total number of dwellings in the ACT. Learn more here.
Environment: Secured a government commitment to hire an additional 10 in-field park rangers. Learn more here.
Food Relief: Secured a government commitment to develop a food relief action plan. Learn more here.
Closing the Gap: Introduced a Private Member’s Bill to turn Closing the Gap reforms into law for senior public servants. Learn more here.
Justice: Secured a powerful Board of Inquiry into Aboriginal deaths in Canberra’s prison. Learn more here.
Community: Formed and facilitated a working group to develop a community-led vision for Wakefield Gardens. Learn more here.
Insurance: Participated in a multipartisan inquiry that made 21 recommendations to address rising insurance costs in the ACT, where we’ve got Australia’s highest workers’ compensation insurance premiums in 75 per cent of industries. Learn more here.
Lighting: Successfully advocated for lighting upgrades around Lake Burley Griffin. Learn more here.
Dickson Shops: Successfully pushed for a cross-portfolio approach to revitalising Dickson Shops. Learn more here.
Women's Safety: Successfully advocated for the reinstatement of the ‘Safer Families Assistance Payment’ for people escaping family and domestic violence. Learn more here.
Children's Safety: Ordered the release of documents related to children’s safety in early childhood centres. Learn more here.
Oaks Estate: Worked collaboratively with Kurrajong colleagues to secure a five-year strategic plan for Oaks Estate. Learn more here.
Although these are the main areas where we've managed some solid wins, there are a range of other issues I've also been working on, including public school infrastructure, the impact of Renew ANU on people in Kurrajong, night-time economy support, elective surgery waitlists, funding for community services, active travel infrastructure, supporting small businesses to survive the light rail works, protecting the Ainslie Volcanics Grasslands, and more.
End-of-Year Community BBQ
I’ll be holding a free community BBQ at 4.30pm on Friday 28 November in Corroboree Park, Ainslie. I’m hoping this makes for an easygoing opportunity to come together, to meet my wonderful team (if you haven’t already), to chat with me, and to reflect on the year that was.
I’ll share some personal stories about how I’m finding it working in the Assembly, and we’ll discuss some of the wins from 2025 as well as the areas where I’m eager to keep pushing the government for more action.
I’m particularly keen to hear your feedback and what you want to see me advocate for in 2026.
Friends, little ones and animal companions are all very welcome. If you have any queries about the event, or can’t make it but still want to let me know about any issues you’d like prioritised in 2026, please email my office at [email protected] or call us during business hours on (02) 6205 1475.
If you’re coming along, please RSVP on my website here so we can be sure to cook enough sausages (vego option included).
I’d really love to see you there. Hope you can make it!
Public Hearing for My Private Member's Bill
Earlier in the month, I appeared alongside Julie Tongs OAM, CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services, and Paula McGrady, former Deputy Chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, in testifying at a committee inquiry into my Closing the Gap Bill.
It was my first time answering questions in a committee hearing, rather than asking them, and my team and I did a lot of preparatory work to get me ready for it. I’m incredibly grateful to Julie and Paula for agreeing to appear alongside me. Their presence gave me a lot of confidence, and also allowed me to defer to them with questions related to First Nations perspectives on this piece of legislation, and why it matters to Aboriginal-led service providers in the ACT like them.
We heard from multiple witnesses about their frustrations with how slow-moving the ACT Government has been in delivering on its Closing the Gap commitments. Alarmingly, we also heard from the current head of the ACT Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs that he does not feel culturally safe in his workplace.
The inquiry report was delivered this week, recommending that the legislation be passed with some amendments. This is a multipartisan committee comprising MLAs representing a majority of the Assembly, so this is very good news! I’ve already circulated amendments giving effect to the committee’s recommendations, and it’s now looking like we’ll have the opportunity to debate the bill in the first week of December. You can read my media release welcoming the report here.
Footpath Maintenance
I was shocked to learn, through responses to questions I submitted on notice in the Assembly, that personal injury claims relating to damaged footpaths cost the ACT Government more than $7.5 million over the past five years. It seems crazy that footpath-related injuries aren’t just costing Canberrans but are also costing the budget such significant sums. That said, I'm not that surprised at these revelations, given damaged footpaths continue to be one of the top three issues that are raised with me most frequently by people across Kurrajong.
Last year, the ACT Government spent $2.3 million on legal costs and damages for personal injury claims related to damaged footpaths, compared to $6.6 million on actually repairing and maintaining footpaths. That means more than a quarter of expenditure on damaged footpaths wasn’t spent on fixing them, but on the legal consequences of not having fixed them in time!
Surely we can do more to prevent these kinds of injuries and the costs associated with them. I’ll keep pushing for a far more proactive approach to footpath maintenance, similar to what we see with the rolling resurfacing of roads, as opposed to relying so heavily on people reporting damaged footpaths through Fix My Street, which clearly isn’t delivering the outcomes our community expects.
You can see what I had to say about this in an article from Region here, and check out my social media video about it on Instagram here and Facebook here.
ACT Men and Boys Wellbeing Summit
The Men's Table put together a great ACT Men and Boys Wellbeing Summit a few weeks ago.
It was good to engage in a candid discussion with a wide range of different participants about what’s going on with boys and young men, the kind of support they need to flourish, and the risks – both individual and societal – of failing to engage in a meaningful way with the unique challenges they’re facing.
It's encouraging to see a strong cohort of good people driven by care and compassion starting to occupy this space, as well as genuine multipartisan engagement with Senator David Pocock, ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA and ACT Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury MLA in attendance alongside a bunch of community partners like Menslink, EveryMan, The Youth Coalition of the ACT and Canberra PCYC.
I do think there's a lot of work to be done here, and I’m glad to be chairing the Assembly’s Social Policy Committee’s ongoing inquiry into men’s suicide rates in the ACT, which you can learn more about here.
Kingston Arts Precinct
We finally heard some news that’ll interest artists and inner south residents in relation to the long-awaited Kingston Arts Precinct. A subdivision development application has been lodged, which is focused on the enabling works to make way for the eventual construction of the precinct.
This is something I’ve been asking about in the Assembly, and it’s good to see some movement on the project after years of delay. I'm keen to push for greater urgency in bringing this project to fruition, especially now that this initial step has been taken.
It’s been a long wait for the project, with a timeline that’s drawn out for over 20 years since the idea was first proposed.
- 2003: Kingston Arts Precinct first conceptualised in ACT arts facility strategy
- 2010: Government funds artsACT to develop a Kingston Arts Precinct Strategy
- 2014: Government announces its intention to develop the Kingston Arts Precinct with $78m in funding
- 2015: Project put out to tender
- 2017: Geocon wins tender
- 2019: $750m plan unveiled
- 2021: Geocon loses contract for missing key milestones, and Suburban Land Agency takes over the project
- 2023: first proposed construction completion date
- 2025: second proposed construction completion date
- 2028: latest proposed construction completion date
For further detail, you can read the recent Canberra Times story here, and check out the development application here.
Oaks Estate Strategic Plan
This week, the ACT Government released the Oaks Estate Strategic Plan 2025-2030. This was brought about by a motion I co-sponsored earlier this year with fellow Kurrajong reps Elizabeth Lee MLA and Shane Rattenbury MLA on the back of tireless advocacy from Fiona and Bronwyn at the Oaks Estate Residents Association, supported by Colin and Anne from the Inner South Canberra Community Council.
The Oaks Estate community has been neglected for decades, so it’s really encouraging to see the ACT Government finally responding to a strong push for more attention to be paid to what is probably Canberra’s most disadvantaged suburb. I dropped by one of the consultation sessions that informed the plan, and have to say I was impressed by the tone and quality of engagement between government officials and residents. Tragically, one resident said they’d been consulted like this before, and just hoped this time around it would lead to some action.
The plan looks pretty good on the whole, but includes a lot of ‘exploring’ and several unfunded actions. My focus now will be ensuring the plan is adequately resourced so its aims are actually fulfilled. You can see my comments in a media release here.
Repealing the Decriminalisation of Drugs
In the sitting week just gone, the Canberra Liberals brought forward a motion calling for the recriminalisation of hard drugs in the ACT. I’m a strong believer, as are most Canberrans, that drug use is a health issue, not a criminal one. It was really disappointing to see the Liberals cherrypick data to try to show that drug decriminalisation had been a failure, and push for more people to be imprisoned for personal drug possession and use. Thankfully the motion was opposed by every other Member of the Assembly (see my voting record here).
I used the opportunity, instead, to call for the establishment of a safe drug consumption room. This has been under discussion in the ACT since 1999, when independent MLA Professor Michael Moore AM, who was the Health Minister in a Liberal-led Government at the time, introduced legislation providing for such a room to be piloted. Its purpose would be to offer a secure space, staffed by medical professionals and community service providers, for people who take drugs to do so in a safe environment, and to be able to seek help without fear of judgement. The legislation is still there but has never come into effect as the proposal hasn’t ever been funded. If we’re serious about reducing drug-related harm, this is the kind of solution we should be pursuing; not imprisoning people with drug dependencies.
Research from ANU and the Burnet Institute published in March suggested that investing in a drug consumption room in the ACT would have a benefit-to-cost ratio of between 2.1 and 2.9 - a very solid investment.
Tea for Two with Saskia Mabin
There were lots of laughs, and even some tears, during my appearance alongside my dad, Dr Craig Emerson, on ABC Radio Canberra’s Tea for Two segment with Saskia Mabin, which aired today.
We spoke about how I found it growing up with a pollie as a father, how our relationship has changed over time, his decision to sing (poorly!) on national television, and what it’s been like since I decided to go into politics myself.
You can listen to the episode here and see a couple of video excerpts on my Instagram page here and Facebook page here.
Me with Dad at 16 months of age
Canberra Aquatic Centre Consultation
As you're probably already aware, the ACT and Australian Governments have jointly committed $137.8 million to plan and deliver a new Canberra Aquatic Centre in Commonwealth Park. The ACT Government has opened a consultation period for the project. You can have your say and learn more about it here.
My Next Mobile Office
My next mobile office is at the Alinga Street light rail stop in Civic on Friday 31 October from 4pm to 5pm. If you’re available, drop by for a chat and let me know how I can better represent you in the Assembly. You can RSVP here.
As always, please reach out any time at [email protected] or give us a call on (02) 6205 1475.
Thanks again for your support.
Tom