A federal ACT Labor MP's call for a major review of the way the territory governs itself has received a lukewarm reaction from the ACT Labor government.
David Smith, the federal Labor member for Bean, said that nearly four decades after the ACT started to govern itself, it was time to examine the federal law that grants the Legislative Assembly its power.
But the ACT government is not considering anything like it.
"The ACT's self-government model has served Canberra well for more than 35 years, delivering strong economic growth, high living standards and more efficient government than the alternatives," a government spokeswoman said.
"Any major governance change would require clear evidence, community support and broad political consensus.
"Our focus is on the issues that matter most to Canberrans: healthcare, education, housing, cost-of-living relief and infrastructure delivery."
Mr Smith said there should be no predetermined answers to a review of the Self-Government Act and everything should be on the table, including a move to single-member electorates in the Assembly.
"If Canberra's current arrangements are no longer delivering the level of local accountability and responsiveness that a city of this size deserves, then the question is not whether reform should be discussed, rather what form that reform should take," Mr Smith wrote in an opinion piece published in The Canberra Times.
Mr Smith said the Federal Parliament's joint standing committee on the national capital and external territories needed to examine the operation and effectiveness of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988.
The review could examine parliamentary representation and federal funding together, he wrote.
Mr Smith's argument has been met with condemnation in some parts of ACT Labor, with one party insider saying cheap shots at colleagues in the ACT was not an election strategy.
"David should be spending more time in his own electorate talking to people and less time worrying about reform no one has seriously asked for," the senior insider said.
Mr Smith, who represents the southern areas of the ACT, argued that many Canberrans honestly did not know which politician could help them when a road needed fixing, a bus route changed or a community service moved or shrank.
"I think one of the challenges we have ... is with multi-member electorates. For constituents it's really difficult to understand who's actually responsible for their patch, who's responsible for their street, their suburb, and often in terms of raising issues, who should I go to," Mr Smith told 2CC radio on Tuesday.
"Federal members have electorate offices. There aren't local electorate offices for our Assembly members. And I think that leads to a real confusion and has accountability consequences.
"And, of course, when there are accountability consequences, it grows disaffection and concern with democracy across the territory."
The Canberra Times contacted Finance Minister and ACT Labor senator Katy Gallagher and Andrew Leigh, Labor's federal member for Fenner.
Alicia Payne, Labor's federal member for Canberra and the chair of the parliamentary committee Mr Smith said should review the Self-Government Act, declined to comment.
At the last federal election, Mr Smith declared victory in Bean after fending off independent challenger Jessie Price after only retaining his seat by a slim margin.
In 2011, the Self-Government Act was amended to remove the federal government's veto power over laws passed in the territory.
Other changes to the act include transferring the responsibility of the Supreme Court to the territory in 1992 and giving the Assembly the power to determine its own size in 2013.
In December 2022, the Federal Parliament amended the Self-Government Act to restore the ACT's right to legislate on euthanasia, which allowed the ACT to adopt a voluntary assisted dying scheme.
The Legislative Assembly's administration and procedure standing committee reviewed the Self Government Act in 2012. The review followed an indication the federal government would welcome
A government submission to that Assembly-led review presented by then chief minister Katy Gallagher said there was the "potential for improved harmonisation between planning regimes" at the territory and Commonwealth level and a strong case for reviewing the size of the Assembly.
"Such a review should be framed around ensuring the number of members enables adequate representation of constituents and ensures the efficacy of the Assembly's scrutiny processes," the submission said.
The Legislative Assembly expanded from 17 to 25 members at the 2016 election after the Assembly was granted the power to determine its own size.
Allan Hawke's 2011 review of the National Capital Authority recommended a review of the Self-Government Act and the federal government's response said it would await the findings of an ACT government review before considering changes to the law.
Dr Hawke's review of the ACT public service a year earlier, commissioned by then chief minister Jon Stanhope, also suggested changes to the Self-Government Act.
"The lead up to the Centenary of Canberra in 2013 provides a timely opportunity for the Self Government Act to be reviewed, updated, and perhaps stripped of what might, despite their merits in the early years of self government, now be considered anachronistic colonial-type powers," Dr Hawke wrote at the time.
"Of course, the outcomes of any such review could not alter the ultimate power and right of the Commonwealth Parliament to legislate for, or about, the ACT and the national capital, but it would be a significant vote of confidence in the maturity of the governance arrangements for the ACT."
Mr Stanhope told the Assembly in 2011 he had "advocated serially with three prime ministers over the last 10 years" for a full-ranging inquiry into the Self-Government Act.
