The federal Labor member for Bean, David Smith, has burst from his political slumber to offer unsolicited advice on the way the Australian Capital Territory is administered.
After keeping a remarkably low profile in the Albanese government, the backbencher has suddenly launched two major interventions. He is advocating for a sweeping review of the territory's self-government arrangements and the creation of a regional joint economic commission to drive regional investment.
Politically, the motivation behind this sudden burst of energy is transparent. Mr Smith came perilously close to losing his seat to an independent candidate at the last federal election. With the political glow of independent senator David Pocock still shining brightly across Canberra, Mr Smith clearly recognises that maintaining a quiet presence in Parliament is the surest way to end his political career.
Critics have been quick to highlight the shortcomings in his approach. The ACT is currently suffering under an inequitable GST distribution, with the federal government content to hand Western Australia a massive financial advantage because it remains a crucial swing state at the ballot box. Instead of putting the acid on his federal colleagues to secure Canberra a fairer share of the national revenue, Mr Smith has proposed another consultative body and a debate on electoral structures.
Unsurprisingly, his observations have not received a glowing review from the Barr government. Chief Minister Andrew Barr delivered a distinctly cool reception to the prospect of overhauling the multi-member Hare-Clark system, which has reliably delivered territory Labor successive election victories.
However, despite the territory government's frosty dismissal, Mr Smith has initiated a conversation that Canberra genuinely needs to have. Regular contributors to The Canberra Times opinion pages have repeatedly noted that the current governance model contains significant flaws.
Because the ACT Legislative Assembly functions as both a state parliament and a local council, accountability is frequently blurred. Canberrans often find themselves bouncing between bureaucrats, unable to identify a single local representative who is directly responsible for their specific suburb or street. Combining two tiers of government into one 25-member chamber leaves residents without the direct democratic access enjoyed by voters in other Australian jurisdictions.
There is an undeniable case for structural reform as the territory approaches four decades of self-government. Whether any future changes land near what Mr Smith is advocating remains highly uncertain, however.
