I hope you had the chance to enjoy a rejuvenating Easter long weekend. There's plenty to update you on following two sitting weeks in March and everything else that's been happening out in our community.
- Free Speech Forum
- Vacant Public Housing
- Responding to the Fuel Crisis
- Hume Circle Precinct
- Old Bus Depot Markets
- Serious Allegations in the ACTPS
- CIT CEO Recruitment Inquiry
- Support for Small Businesses in Civic
- Net Zero Emissions
- Maliyan Park
- ANU Observer Interview
- Canberra Day Appeal Fun Run
- My Next Mobile Office
- Voices of Canberra's Upcoming Events
Free Speech Forum
Thank you to everyone who came along to my free speech forum last week, where we discussed striking the balance between freedom of expression and protection from vilification.
The discussion was a thoughtful and respectful exploration of where to draw these lines and who should be responsible for enforcing them.
With new hate crime and anti-vilification laws being considered and introduced across the country, now is a critical time to have these conversations as a community.
A special thanks to Dave Howe at Dissent Cafe and Bar for hosting us, to our fantastic panelists, and the team at Lonsdale Street Studio for jumping in to stream the event at late notice.
You can watch the full recording of the forum on my YouTube channel here.
Vacant Public Housing
In response to a recent question I asked in the Assembly, we learned that there are over 500 vacant public housing properties across the ACT, with nearly 40 per cent of them located in Central Canberra (i.e. the Inner North and Inner South). That equates to a vacancy rate of almost 7 per cent in this part of town, compared to 1.7 per cent on the private market.
This just doesn’t make any sense to me. We’ve got 3,500 approved applicants waiting up to five years on our public housing waitlist, including 132 on the priority housing list who are considered to have particularly urgent needs and still find themselves waiting over 4 months on average for a home.
Unfortunately, it’s also unsurprising and is part of a clear pattern of ongoing neglect. Last month the ACT Ombudsman found that Housing ACT had violated its legal obligations to provide tenants with timely maintenance and repairs, and earlier this year the Productivity Commission released data showing the ACT’s public housing stock is in the second-worst condition in the country.
Our public housing system is letting down some of our most vulnerable community members, and doing so in a systemic, habitual way. I’ll keep pushing in the Assembly for increased investment in building and maintaining public housing, and for a truly tenant-centred approach to public housing decisions in the ACT.
You can read more about the vacancy figures in a Region article here.
Responding to the Fuel Crisis
We’ve facing a fuel crisis that isn’t set to ease anytime soon, and here in the ACT we’re basically doing nothing about it. Canberrans are being asked to switch to public and active transport but aren’t being provided with the infrastructure or policy settings needed to actually make that viable.
Alternative modes of transport won’t work for everyone, but there are loads of Canberrans they could work for if they were made more attractive. I’ve been pushing for practical measures like free or reduced public transport fares, dedicated bus lanes to make bus travel faster, and pop-up cycle lanes like we see around construction sites to make travelling by bike safer and more convenient.
During the second March sitting week, as part of the debate on a motion from Opposition Leader Mark Parton calling for the ACT Government to implement 50-cent public transport fares until 30 June 2026 and for Members to ask the Prime Minister to reduce the fuel excise, I proposed amendments calling for a trial of dedicated bus lanes on as many of our rapid bus routes as possible and pop-up separated bike lanes on key traffic corridors like Northbourne Avenue.
Despite unanimous support from the crossbench, my amendments were voted down by the major parties. Rather than negotiate an outcome with the crossbench, the Opposition opted to work with the Government on an amendment brought forward by the Transport Minister that massively watered down the motion, meaning we didn’t even get the commitment to 50-cent fares that they were pushing for to begin with (which the crossbench was keen to support).
On the same day this was happening in the Assembly, I was coordinating with David Pocock as he mounted a simultaneous push in the Senate for the Federal Government to support the provision of free or discounted public transport and improved active and public transport infrastructure across the country in response to the fuel crisis. We worked together to successfully secure crossbench support in both the Assembly and the Senate but, unfortunately, couldn't get the Liberals on board (despite support in the Senate from the Nationals!).
Speaking to Media in the Senate Courtyard with David Pocock, Leader of the Australian Greens Larissa Waters, Leader of the ACT Greens Shane Rattenbury and Cecily Michaels from Pedal Power ACT,
The Tasmanian and Victorian Governments have since announced free public transport, and the ACT Government has announced a reduction in monthly fare caps on public transport. While this will provide some helpful cost-of-living relief for existing public transport users, I’m very sceptical that motorists will make the switch because of this measure given you have to take 20 public transport trips in a month to qualify for free fares for the remainder of the month.
We really need both levels of government working together to address the pressure being felt by Canberrans through this crisis in a coordinated way, which has to involve targeted cost-of-living relief for those who most need it as well.
You can learn more about the fuel crisis motion in my media release here, and find my reaction to the reduced monthly fare caps here.
Hume Circle Precinct
I recently joined Senator David Pocock, Shane Rattenbury MLA and residents of Staffordshire Terrace in Griffith in calling for the National Capital Authority (NCA) to go back to the drawing board and develop a detailed strategic plan for the proposed ‘Hume Circle Precinct’.
The Draft National Capital Plan Amendment establishing this precinct, as currently proposed, would centre the the most densely populated area of the ACT on our third most dangerous intersection, but without providing any kind of plan for how to actually make that work.
My sense is that most Canberrans support increased densification across our city as a solution to the housing crisis, particularly in more central areas. If we want these new precincts to be a success, they need to be properly planned to ensure the viability, connectedness and liveability of the communities they will be home to. We need to get this right for the sake of future and current residents alike.
You can learn more in this ABC article here.
Old Bus Depot Markets
During Question Time, I asked the Business, Arts and Creative Industries Minister Michael Pettersson for an update on the future of the Old Bus Depot Markets. Unfortunately I didn’t learn much, and no deadline was provided for making a final decision.
It’s now been 14 months since the Government announced that they were going out to tender for the operation of the site, and a year since that tender closed, yet they still haven’t made a decision about the future of the Old Bus Depot Markets.
This has created a huge amount of uncertainty and confusion among stallholders – many of whom have contacted me to raise their concerns – and has also frustrated community members who love the markets.
I’m supportive of exploring how the Old Bus Depot can be better utilised throughout the week, but I’ve said from the outset that it was a mistake from the ACT Government to go out blindly with an open tender without first engaging with stakeholders and developing a vision for the future of the site. That seems to have been borne out through repeated postponements and ongoing delays in deciding what’s next.
The licence with the current operator is now rolling over on a month-to-month basis.
You can read more in a Canberra Times article here.
Serious Allegations in the ACTPS
The ACT Government’s ongoing failure to deliver for First Nations people made headlines again last month when the former head of the ACT Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Brendan Moyle, publicly disclosed that senior officials within the ACT Public Service (ACTPS) had intentionally blocked work on the Government’s commitments to First Nations people, and ignored serious concerns about the psychosocial impact this had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander public servants.
I stood with local First Nations leaders Joe Hedger, Tanya Keed and Paula McGrady in calling for a thorough independent investigation with public findings and appropriate consequences for any substantiated allegations. The ACT Government then announced a referral to the Public Sector Standards Commissioner.
This all came on the back of documents I obtained through a freedom of information request showing that Mr Moyle had sounded the alarm about these issues internally for years. Yet it wasn’t until he aired those concerns in the media – having resigned in frustration – that the Government announced an investigation.
Canberrans have repeatedly elected this government with a mandate to deliver for First Nations people, and it’s time to start following through. I’ve been engaging with the Minister and her office about this, and will continue doing so moving forward.
You can learn more in my media release here.
CIT CEO Recruitment Inquiry
Following media reports that the new CEO of CIT, Dr Margot McNeill, was found to have engaged in misconduct in her previous role at TAFE NSW, I voted in support of a push from the Canberra Liberals to immediately refer the recruitment process to an Assembly inquiry.
Dr McNeill was appointed to the CEO role in June 2025 after resigning the previous month from TAFE NSW, where she faced serious misconduct charges after allegations from several employees, which were later substantiated leading TAFE NSW to reclassify her resignation as a termination. Dr McNeill then initiated an unfair dismissal case, in which the NSW Industrial Commission ruled against her, thereby making the entire affair public.
It’s become apparent that the Board responsible for recruiting her had no idea she was being investigated for misconduct, and Dr McNeill has said that’s because she received legal advice not to tell them.
Legal advice to lie in a significant job application process just doesn’t pass the pub test, to say the least. Surely providing false, misleading or incomplete information while applying for a significant public appointment with a salary approaching $400k is grounds for dismissal. But the CIT Board has continued defending the appointment.
In a public hearing on Monday March 30, we learned that the misconduct findings during Dr McNeill’s time at TAFE NSW related to employment and contract decisions – eerily similar to the grounds on which former CIT CEO, Leanne Cover, was found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct.
We need a clear-eyed assessment of what’s happened here, and of what must be done next. The public interest, and what’s best for students and staff at CIT, has to be put ahead of protecting reputations.
We also need to revisit CIT's governance arrangements, which appear to be failing spectacularly following changes introduced in 2014.
You can read more in this Region article here.
Support for Small Businesses in Civic
I spoke in the Assembly about the need to support local businesses affected by light rail construction works in response to an update on the project from the Transport Minister.
I’ve continued to call for means-tested rates relief and rent relief to ensure businesses affected by these construction works in the city actually make it to the other side. Some support has been provided, and that’s welcome, but every small business owner I’ve spoken to in the area says it’s nowhere near enough to ensure they stay afloat. In my view, that’s bad for our city, bad for our economy and bad for cultural life in Civic.
Of course it’s not the Government’s job to ensure the viability of every business in the ACT – far from it – but I think it’s deeply unfair to small businesses that were absolutely thriving before this major disruption to their operations that they haven’t been provided with commensurate support. I’ll keep making the case for real government assistance, which should have been factored into the project budget from the outset.
With that said, please don’t forget the venues in Civic, particularly around London Circuit, next time you’re planning a night out at dinner or a coffee catch-up – they really need our support.
You can watch an excerpt from my speech on Facebook here or Instagram here.
Net Zero Emissions
In the first sitting week in March, I sought to amend a motion from the ACT Greens on the forthcoming ACT Climate Change Strategy by adding a call to bring the ACT’s net zero target forward from 2045 to 2040.
Unfortunately, that attempt – which aligns with a central recommendation from the legislated independent review of the ACT Government’s action on climate change that was published in December 2024 – was voted down in the Assembly, despite unanimous support from the crossbench. During the debate, I tabled my submission into the ACT Government’s consultation process for its next ACT Climate Change Strategy, which can be accessed here.
Canberra should be taking ambitious steps to show the world what a genuinely sustainable city looks like. The social mandate is there; all we need is the political will to make it happen. Simple measures like adding e-bikes to the Government’s existing Sustainable Household Scheme should be implemented to help reduce our emissions, which have pretty much flatlined since the ACT made the switch to fully renewable electricity sources back in 2020.
You can read more on this in my media release here.
Maliyan Park
In case you missed it, the surface at Maliyan Park in Watson is completely falling apart.
I was there with my kids recently and noticed that the softfall surface had deteriorated significantly, just 18 months after the $3 million playground opened. I asked about this in the Assembly, and learned that the faulty softfall material is being replaced under the contract conditions at no expense to the Territory (thankfully). Works are anticipated to be completed by the end of April, weather permitting.
I’m also putting in some further questions about the lack of shade at Maliyan Park and other playgrounds, and what the ACT Government’s approach is to proactive maintenance of softfall rubber surfaces in playgrounds across the ACT, having learnt that the lifespan for these surfaces is only around seven years.
You can read more in a Region article here, see the state of the playground here, and watch the questions I asked – holding a piece of the playground – in the Chamber here.
ANU Observer Interview
I recently sat down with the ANU Observer to discuss my journey from studying philosophy at ANU to becoming an independent parliamentarian.
We also touched on my advocacy around the ANU School of Music, intergenerational wellbeing and community building.
You can read the piece here.
I’m keen to continue holding mobile offices on campus and engaging more with members of the ANU community. If you’ve got any ideas about how best to do that, please feel free to share them. Students often don’t seem to have much of a voice in local politics, and I think that needs to change to ensure we’re making decisions in the long-term interests of our community.
Canberra Day Appeal Fun Run
It was a beautiful morning on Monday March 8 for a run to celebrate Canberra Day and to support local charities doing incredible work across our community
My team also took the opportunity to promote the ‘Back Your Mates, Not Their Bets’ campaign launched recently by the ACT Gambling Support Service.
Kudos to the 1000 people who participate in this year’s run, including my Assembly colleagues Fiona Carrick, Rachel Stephen-Smith, Laura Nuttall and Shane Rattenbury, and a big thank you to Hands Across Canberra, Damsel and Sprout, Stromlo Running Festival and Events ACT for putting on a fantastic event.
My Next Mobile Office
My next mobile office is tomorrow (Friday) at Kingston Shops outside Supabarn at 3:30-4:30pm. You can RSVP here.
Next Friday I'll be at O’Connor Shops – RSVP here.
Voices of Canberra's Upcoming Events
Voices of Canberra is picking up the pace in their search for a community-endorsed independent candidate to stand at the next federal election in the electorate of Canberra. They have two big meetings coming up – please see the details they’ve provided below.
Pathway to Victory!
How do we know that an independent candidate can be successful? Come along to hear what the numbers mean and how a community independent can be successful in our electorate of Canberra. Join us afterwards for a drink next door at Gang Gang. This will also be your first opportunity to get a new Voices of Canberra t-shirt!
- When: Friday 10 April, 5:30-6:30pm
- Where: Downer Community Hall, 4/6 Frencham Place Downer
- RSVP here
Shape the Future
The most important Voices of Canberra event to date! We’re getting all our supporters together for inspiration and to officially launch our search for a candidate.
Our own Senator David Pocock and inspirational candidate Jessie Price from next door in Bean will be there to share their experiences and to tell us why an independent for the electorate of Canberra really matters.
- When: Sunday 3 May, 4:00-5:30pm
- Where: Capital Brewing, 1 Dairy Rd Fyshwick
- RSVP here
Okay, that's it for this newsletter. As always, please feel free to reach out any time on [email protected] or call on (02) 6205 1475 during office hours.
Thank you for your support,
Tom