The ACT Greens will need to spend time reflecting on the role they play in the Legislative Assembly as the party's leader conceded its message on the need for bolder change in the territory had not cut through.
Shane Rattenbury said the Greens had suffered significant losses despite only experiencing a 1 per cent swing against the party, because its members occupied very marginal seats. He dismissed suggestions Greens ministers lost their seats because they had been in cabinet.
"This is not a vote against us. This is a move for the independents and I think they've done an effective job of tapping into a sentiment that was there. There was clearly a desire for change in some parts of the community," Mr Rattenbury said.
"Whilst the Greens pitched a program of change from within, that's clearly not quite what the community was looking for."
Mr Rattenbury would not rule any options in or out on Sunday.
"We were open in the campaign about expressing our frustration at Labor's intransigence on some issues, their caution on some issues, and we were very clear in putting a case that we need a bolder change in some areas, that tweaking around the edges was not enough," he said.
"But that message did not cut through."
Mr Rattenbury said the Greens would spend the next week talking to its membership ahead of any negotiations with Labor about the make up of the government.
"We are very much driven by this grassroots participation. We'll have a survey going out to members this afternoon for their views on things. They'll have a few days to send that back," he said.
"We've got a range of party meetings set up for this week to contemplate the options."
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said there would be merit in Mr Rattenbury returning as a minister, but it would be up to him and his party.
"Obviously, I can't force him. Equally, I'm not saying at this point, and Labor isn't saying, he's not welcome," Mr Barr said on Sunday.
"We will have a constructive conversation in that regard. We have worked effectively with Shane and his team in the past. We could do so in the future, but we'll need to have those discussions reflecting our experiences with the parliamentary and governing agreement ... I think there's room for it to be different again, this time around."
Mr Rattenbury said the Greens needed to think how it highlighted to the community the achievements the party had made in government
"Whilst recognising that, at the moment, many of those achievements are somewhat invisible to the community, the negative consequences of being in government have clearly landed with us to some extent," he said.
"And that is a point of frustration for us, of course, but we need to think about how we tell the story differently in the future, if we go down that path."
Mr Rattenbury said Jo Clay's retention of a seat in Ginninderra for the Greens meant the party now had two safe seats rather than one.
"That's real progress for the party," he said.
The Greens are confident Andrew Braddock, whose vote had increased 1.7 per cent, would retain his seat in Yerrabi, but Independents for Canberra are also hopeful their candidate David Pollard could pull ahead.
The Greens secured six seats at the 2020 election and three Greens members, including Mr Rattenbury, sat in cabinet following negotiations with Labor.
Greens deputy leader Rebecca Vassarotti lost her Kurrajong seat on Saturday night, while Emma Davidson was also defeated in Murrumbidgee. Laura Nuttall, who was elected to the Assembly in a countback triggered by the resignation of Johnathan Davis, was also defeated.
Mr Rattenbury also acknowledged the party had received a variety of feedback during the campaign.
"Some people saying we're too involved in government, perhaps apparently too close to the Labor Party. Other people saying they found our federal role too combative and they pushed too hard," he said.
"And so it is difficult to reconcile these two positions and I think different members of the community perceive us differently in those roles. And that is potentially a challenge as well."
