I’ve got plenty to update you on after another busy month in the Assembly and out in our community.
This month, as Chair of the Social Policy Committee and a Member of the Economics, Industry and Recreation Committee, I've been participating in inquiries into barriers and opportunities for increased participation in community sport, the redevelopment of the gym at Lyneham High School, and men’s suicide rates in the ACT.
I’ve also learnt a lot through the last fortnight’s Annual Reports hearings where Members of the Assembly get to ask Ministers and government officials about their published annual reports (similar to Estimates). More on that below.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Assembly became the leader of the Canberra Liberals after a bizarre internal dispute over the number of sitting weeks in 2026, and we’re now set to elect a new Speaker as the first item of business in the final sitting week of the year next week.
- Final Reminder - End-Of-Year Community BBQ
- Coggan's Bakery Turns 100
- Institutional Racism in the ACT
- Transparency in Early Childhood Education and Care
- A Community Win
- Wakefield Gardens
- Designated Active Street in O'Connor
- ACT Missing Out on Millions in Funding for People with Disability
- MyWay+ Censure Motion
- Theatre Lane Carpark Closure
- My Next Mobile Office
Final Reminder - End-Of-Year Community BBQ
I know many of you have already RSVPed but in case you missed it: I’m hosting a Community BBQ this Friday 28 November from 4.30pm at Corroboree Park in Ainslie.
It’ll be a casual catch-up where I’ll share some personal reflections on how I’m finding it in the Assembly and some of our wins from 2025, as well as the areas where I’m keen to keep pushing the government for more action. I’d also love to hear your feedback and what you want to see me work on in 2026.
We’ll have Finska, giant Jenga and a basketball on hand, and plenty of free food. 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 me to prioritise in 2026, please email my office at [email protected] or call us during business hours on (02) 6205 1475.
If you’re coming along and haven’t RSVPed yet, please do so on my website here.
See you there!
Coggan's Bakery Turns 100
Last week, I attended a lovely little pop-up celebration for Coggan’s Bakery’s 100th birthday. It was great checking in with some of the many locals who want to see this heritage-listed building brought back to life, and to hear further from the new owners about their plans to do just that. They’ve recently submitted relevant Building Approval applications to restore the heritage building, plus two related Development Applications, which should be publicly notified in the coming weeks. Special thanks to Mary and Hedda for organising it, and Steve Coggan who made the trip from Dapto to be there!
Institutional Racism in the ACT
The week before last, an innocent Aboriginal teenager was mistakenly arrested at gunpoint by ACT police officers on a Canberra bus while travelling to visit family. It was a really traumatic experience for that boy and he has been left afraid to leave his home or catch public transport. I was contacted by a number of concerned family and community members in the ensuing days. I’ve been working to get across what happened and, on the back of that, how to address the needs of the boy, his family and the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community moving forward.
The teenager was mistaken for a 15-year-old boy who had allegedly committed violent offences in and around Woden Westfield. After police realised they had detained the wrong person, they nevertheless proceeded to search him, then put him back on the bus without offering any support. After speaking with the boy’s family and the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, the Acting ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner, and Winnunga Nimmityjah last Monday, I received a full briefing on the incident from the Police Minister and the Chief Police Officer on Wednesday. I then stood with the family on Thursday and backed their calls for accountability, formal apologies, an independent investigation and trauma counselling for their boy.
I acknowledge police have a difficult job to do, but apprehending an innocent Aboriginal child at gunpoint — then searching him anyway, and failing to provide support after realising they’d made a mistake — cannot be considered an acceptable part of that job. He was sitting quietly on a bus, off to visit family members, showing no signs of agitation or threatening behaviour. Did police really need to mount the bus with guns drawn, pointed at the one Aboriginal boy on the bus, before actually confirming it was their suspect? It’s since become clear that the actual suspect may never have boarded a bus that day.
This mistake will likely have lifelong consequences for the boy involved. Obviously he feels targeted and, tragically, this is a feeling many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members have expressed to me. It’s an uncomfortable question to consider, but we have to be open to asking ourselves if what unfolded – and how it unfolded, particularly the search afterward – would have been the same if the boy involved was not Aboriginal.
We don’t want to believe this sort of issue exists in our city, but I really think we need to be up for having the hard conversations about institutional racism – where an entity’s policies, procedures and culture lead to inequitable treatment and outcomes based on people’s race. Multiple independent reviews have identified this as an issue within ACT Policing and across the ACT Government more broadly, and it shows up in outcomes like the ACT having the largest First Nations incarceration gap in Australia. Following the incident, I’ve been calling for those in charge to be part of these important conversations.
I also felt it important to play my part in amplifying the family’s voice however I could after I learned that what had been said publicly didn’t reflect what had happened on the day. The Chief Police Officer ultimately conceded as much under my questioning during Annual Reports hearings. After the correct suspect was arrested on the evening of the incident, ACT Policing issued a statement on social media about the arrest that included just one line about what had happened on the bus earlier - “Police stopped a Transport Canberra bus after receiving information that the teenager was onboard, but he was not able to be located.” They then allegedly deleted comments from family and community members seeking to provide further context about what exactly had happened on the bus. Silencing dissenting voices like this only further damages community trust, when we need to be doing everything possible to achieve the opposite.
For more information on what happened, you can read a Guardian story about it here.
My Closing the Gap Bill will, among other things, set clear expectations for all senior executives in the ACT Public Service to work to eliminate institutional racism, and is set to be debated next Tuesday. I’m in final negotiations with the Government about some amendments but it’s looking likely we’ll get a positive outcome. Further information about the bill can be found here.
Transparency in Early Childhood Education and Care
It was deeply alarming to see horrific revelations aired in a recent Four Corners investigation exposing the disturbing reality that there are more early childhood workers convicted or accused of child sexual abuse than had previously been publicly understood, including here in the ACT.
After what had already been revealed in NSW and Victoria, I successfully moved a motion in the Assembly five months ago to order the release of documents related to serious incidents in the ACT’s early childhood education and care sector. Regrettably, the Chief Minister later used a new standing order to extend the deadline and reduce the scope of my motion. This means that there will be less transparency here in the ACT than across the border in NSW.
The documents are now set to be released by Christmas Day, but I’ve been calling on the ACT Government to accelerate the release of the documents that remain in scope. In the meantime, the many fantastic early childhood education and care providers that serve our community are being tarred with the same brush as the dodgy operators responsible for some of the terrible incidents of abuse and neglect we’ve seen across the country. More transparency — and ultimately effective, properly resourced regulation of the sector — is the only way to address this issue.
Without appropriate scrutiny, families are struggling to differentiate between the good providers and the providers that really should not be operating. Standing by and waiting for national reforms isn’t sufficient to restore faith in the sector. Families, educators, providers and, most importantly, children need to see more proactive engagement from the ACT Government on this issue.
You can read more about my views on this issue in an ABC article here.
A Community Win
It’s been fantastic to see the National Capital Authority (NCA) respond to community concerns about the impact of poor lighting on safety for people exercising around Lake Burley Griffin.
Earlier this year, I was contacted by keen runner and victim-survivor of domestic and sexual violence Kim Elms about the poor state of lighting across Canberra, particularly around the lake. In June, I wrote to the responsible federal minister and brought a motion to the ACT Legislative Assembly calling for action. Minister McBain responded in July, and advised that the National Capital Authority would undertake a review into lighting around Lake Burley Griffin.
I’ve since had a briefing with the NCA, who confirmed that they have now replaced or repaired 48 lights and added 223 new lights around the central basin, with public consultation to open on larger-scale improvements in 2026.
I’d love to see the ACT Government follow the lead of the NCA and make public spaces safer through better lighting, in line with their own Gender Sensitive Urban Design Guidelines. The Government is set to report back to the Assembly on what they’ve done in response to my motion next February.
I’ve been so impressed by Kim’s efforts and relentless advocacy on this. She's currently running every single suburban street in Canberra to raise awareness about gender-based violence. You can follow her progress on Instagram.
Wakefield Gardens Update
Earlier this month, after several months of collaborative work, community engagement and consultation, I lodged a submission on behalf of the Wakefield Gardens Working Group into the ACT Government’s consultation process on the future of the burnt-out building behind Ainslie Shops. The submission details a community-led vision for reinvigorating the entire Wakefield Gardens precinct.
The proposal contains three phases: a native garden with urban farming elements on the southern side of the site, a two-storey community hub at 91A Wakefield Gardens, and a nature playground. The full proposal can be accessed here with a summary on my website here.
I want to say a massive thank you to the passionate locals who’ve worked on this proposal, particularly Mitch, Fiona, Charlie, Amy, Nat, Rob and Julie, as well as everyone who came along to my community forum to discuss the future of this underutilised community asset. I’ll be in touch about next steps from the Working Group’s side of things soon.
I took the opportunity during Annual Reports to ask government officials about their next steps in relation to the building. They indicated that a tender is out for the demolition and remediation of the site, which they anticipate to be complete by mid-2026. Future plans for the building will take some time to finalise but the Government intends to publish a listening report coming out of their consultation soon. They saw a total of 191 people attend in-person consultation pop-ups and received 187 online responses, which is a huge level of engagement and a testament to the level of community interest in this building.
Artist’s impressions courtesy of Quest Architecture:
Designated Active Street in O'Connor
I’ve enjoyed getting to know Stephen Goodwin, a local O’Connor resident, current President of the O’Connor residents’ group and former PE teacher, after he reached out seeking support for retaining a basketball hoop on his street. In 2018, after receiving the support of all of his neighbours, Stephen installed a basketball hoop at the end of his small cul-de-sac – Finn Street. Unfortunately, Stephen has since been issued with compliance notices and a fine, demanding he take the hoop down.
I really think the Government’s compliance enforcement efforts could be better focused elsewhere and I’ve now joined Stephen in pushing, instead, for Finn Street to be formally designated an ‘active street’.
This would involve the ACT Government granting an exemption for the basketball hoop to remain in place, installing clear signage designating the cul-de-sac as a 10-20 km/h shared zone with pedestrians (including kids playing basketball!) given priority ahead of cars, and to permit simple painted markings for a basketball key and handball courts.
I’ve written to the City and Government Services Minister asking for the Government to back the proposal as a trial. This basketball hoop is clearly providing a strong community benefit, and Finn Street is a very quiet cul-de-sac backing onto a beautiful neighbourhood park with a playground, making it a perfect candidate for this kind of initiative. I grew up playing outside and would love to see more initiatives aimed at getting kids out playing in the street, and rebuilding community connections in our neighbourhoods. This strikes me as a simple way of doing that, and offers a model that could be rolled out more widely across the ACT if successful.
Stephen has also indicated that he’s willing to pay for these upgrades, and the North Canberra Community Council has provided a grant to pay for the court markings, so this trial would come at little or no cost to Government. Basketball ACT is behind it as well, knowing we have a massive shortage of community sport facilities across Canberra. You can learn more about the proposal in a Region article here.
ACT Missing Out on Millions in Funding for People with Disability
On the first day of Annual Reports hearings, the Housing Minister, Yvette Berry, revealed that Housing ACT still hasn’t claimed any of the millions of dollars in NDIS funding available to modify public housing dwellings for people with disability in the ACT. This is despite having registered as a Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) provider back in 2017.
This issue was first raised publicly in April 2024 following Senate Estimates questioning from David Pocock. In response, the ACT Government told The Canberra Times it was launching a four-month engagement project to hear from people with disability – and their families, carers and providers — about their housing needs and preferences.
During Annual Reports hearings, the Minister revealed that this piece of work never occurred. Never occurred! And she doesn’t know why not. She’s now referred the fiasco, in her own portfolio area, to the Auditor-General.
You can learn more in my media release here and in a Canberra Times story here.
MyWay+ Censure Motion
During the last sitting week in October, the ACT Greens moved a motion in the Assembly to censure the Transport Minister, Chris Steel. This came on the back of a damning Committee inquiry into the completely botched roll-out of MyWay+. The censure motion was supported by all Members outside of ACT Labor.
I’ve been raising concerns about MyWay+ since early this year, particularly from an accessibility perspective. In the same year the ACT Government announced a new 10-year Disability Strategy, Minister Steel presided over the roll-out of a system that apparently breached disability discrimination laws at both the ACT and Commonwealth levels. The MyWay+ website was launched despite not being accessible for people with visual impairment, and I’ve had many people write to me raising their concerns about sound alerts on buses being barely audible. I understand these still remain live issues for people with disability, which is completely unacceptable for a brand new $64 million public transport ticketing system.
Earlier this year, the ACT Government chose not to accept a Committee recommendation to “strengthen and clarify the Ministerial Code of Conduct to ensure that Ministers actively seek to prevent, and are held accountable for, any significant mismanagement within their portfolio.”
In the wake of the censure motion, I think it’s time for the Government to reconsider that position.
Theatre Lane Carpark Closure
There is a lot of construction going on in Civic at the moment.
I’ve been contacted by many of the people impacted by these works, most of whom are supportive of the works themselves but don’t think the Government is doing enough to mitigate their impacts on small businesses, visitors and workers in the city centre. One such person is Daina, who’s a tattoo artist working in the Melbourne building and has been significantly impacted by the recent closure of the Theatre Lane carpark, better known as the Mooseheads carpark.
Daina’s in a moon boot and is due for another ankle operation soon. As a result of the carpark’s closure, she's had to park even further away from work. Several hundred metres may seem trivial but if you have mobility issues, or a broken ankle like Daina, every metre makes a difference. Public transport obviously isn’t an option for her.
It’s hard to see why the entire Mooseheads carpark needed to be closed, including all the accessible parking spots it contains, to enable the construction of the new Lyric Theatre. So I’m backing a petition from fellow Kurrajong MLA Elizabeth Lee calling on the ACT Government to adopt a partial access model for the carpark, and guarantee more accessible parking spots throughout these works.
The Government has since reinstated two accessible parking spots, which is a positive first step but more is needed. You can sign the petition here and read the Canberra Times story online here.
My Next Mobile Office
My last mobile office for the year is at Ainslie Shops on Friday 12 December from 4pm to 5pm. Please drop by for a chat if you’re free – RSVP here.
As always, you can reach out any time at [email protected] or give us a call on (02) 6205 1475.
Thank you for your support,
Tom