This is another first for the ACT and a point of pride for the Canberra community. Canberra has a proud history in innovation and leadership despite being one of the newest and smallest jurisdictions in Australia. Our political leadership has reinforced in the community the values of tolerance, understanding and caring.

When Rosemary Follett was elected as the first Chief Minister on May 11, 1989, she was the first woman to be elected head of an Australian polity. Carmen Lawrence was to follow as the Premier of WA (February, 1990) and Joan Kirner (August, 1990) in Victoria. Whereas Follett had been elected in the start of the term, in each case the women premiers were elected in the middle of an election cycle in an attempt to save parties that were in dire political straits.

The 1989 election was the first in Australia where the non-major party MLAs together outnumbered each of the major parties. In that election Labor won just five seats and the Liberals four, with the other eight seats held by non-majors. It was convenient to blame the d’Hondt electoral system. However, the reality was that there was such dissatisfaction with self-government being thrust on the ACT that Canberrans chose to use their vote to punish the parties that had made the decision.

Four years to the day on which Follett had been appointed Chief Minister, Speaker Roberta McRae announced in the Assembly on May 11, 1993 that Kate Carnell had been elected Leader of the Opposition. The ACT Assembly became the first Australian parliament to have all major leadership positions held by women. The role of women was cemented in the leadership of the city-state.

On April 28, 1998, when Carnell announced my appointment as Australia’s first independent minister, she established a pattern that would be followed in other states. The appointment of the current ACT Greens minister, Shane Rattenbury, follows the same pattern. The appointments delivered broader thinking and more stable governments.

The ACT has also first ground in ground-breaking social movements. The Voluntary and Natural Death Bill 1993 (ACT) was the first voluntary active euthanasia legislation to be introduced in any legislature in the country. Marshall Peron’s Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill in the NT was modelled on ACT legislation and was voted into law on May 25, 1995. In 1997, the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy approved a trial providing heroin to dependent users. In October, 2013, the ACT passed the first same-sex marriage laws in any jurisdiction.

All of these socially progressive moves were blocked in one way or another by conservative Commonwealth governments. The Commonwealth Parliament changed the Self-Government Acts of both Territories to ensure: “The Assembly has no power to make laws permitting… intentional killing of another called euthanasia”.

The federal cabinet refused to change the laws governing control of heroin in order to prevent the heroin trial proceeding.

A successful High Court challenge by the Commonwealth meant some couples had their marriages annulled.

One of the most successful pieces of progressive legislation was the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) of then-Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope. The first of its kind legislation clarifies a series of fundamental rights including the right to life, equality before the law, a fair trial, freedom from retrospective criminal laws and (most importantly) the rights of minorities. The legislation recognises the challenge for democracies is not so much about looking after majorities but being able to protect individuals and look after minorities.

There are many other examples of firsts for the ACT Assembly. However, these few examples and the elevation of Barr as Chief Minister reflect a community that is highly educated, politically savvy and open to new ideas and progressive thinking. As our community looks towards 2015 we can only hope that innovation and engagement continue in Canberra, the OECD’s city with the “best quality of life” in “income, safety and civic engagement”.