Chief Minister Andrew Barr says Canberra's success will be measured by how many higher education students it can turn into lifelong residents and has told his annual party conference growth in the capital was not something to fear.
Mr Barr used a speech to the ACT Labor conference to say the government wanted students to turn into residents, entrepreneurs and home owners and shape the city, soon to hit half a million residents.
"We combine economic opportunity with outstanding education, health care, culture and a natural environment that remains central to our way of life. That combination increasingly sets us apart from other parts of Australia and other parts of the world," Mr Barr said.
"Delegates, our growth needs to be sustainable. We should continue leading Australia in the transition to a net zero economy. We've already shown what is possible when environmental ambition is better than that of practical action. Sustainability and prosperity go hand in hand."
The Chief Minister did not make any new policy announcements but said by the end of the 2020s, the ACT's success would be shown by hitting three numbers: 500,000 people, 300,000 jobs and 230,000 houses.
"For much of Canberra's history, people came here because it was a job. The public service, the defence force, national institutions, or coming to study here in Canberra," he said.
"But today, more people are actively choosing to make their lives here. They've come to study, to build communities, to raise families. Increasingly, we're retaining people for the long term.
"And this marks a fundamental change in Canberra. For decades, we were defined by how public is understood and reduced to a stereotype."
ACT Labor secretary Caitlin Cook warned delegates the political situation in the territory was unlike any the party had faced before.
"One Nation is polling above 14 per cent here in the ACT. We've got the ACT Greens and the Canberra Liberals somehow wanting to form government together. I don't get that one, but they're doing it. You know that's not over," Ms Cook said.
"And we have the independents, spending a fortune and spending all of their resources to take our seats in the ACT. The thought of a One Nation Liberal government in the Assembly or in Parliament House is really what keeps me up at night and something that we are talking continuously in the party office about. It's a real threat."
Ms Cook said the party needed to work very hard for the next two years to remain in government in the ACT and its campaigns would ramp up significantly in the next year.
"We need to be out there every day, telling people in the ACT what they approve delivering and how it is making their lives better. Because we are delivering. We're increasing access to free healthcare, we're building more homes, we're helping families with the cost of school and early learning, and we're supporting workers with better conditions," she said.
"But it is getting harder and harder to tell that story. More people feel disengaged and disenfranchised with politics."
Federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, the ACT Labor senator, used her conference speech to talk up the party's contribution to the ACT.
"When I left the job of chief minister and joined the federal Labor caucus, it was because I was angry at how Canberra was being treated by the federal Liberal government," Senator Gallagher said.
"Andrew [Barr], as the chief minister, and I both know how hard it is when two governments in town aren't pulling in the same direction. I want to benefit my own town."
Senator Gallagher said the days of entrenched Canberra bashing and demeaning public servants were over.
"[Prime Minister Anthony Albanese] loves Canberra. He understands the important role that the nation's capital plays in our country's story. And it shows," she said.
"In just four years, we have done more, delivered more, invested more and built more than the former Liberal government did in a decade."
