THE Sun-Ripened Warm Tomato Party, the Party! Party! Party! and the Surprise Party were all on the March 4, 1989 ballot paper for the first ACT Assembly.

These parties were the brainchild of satirist Emile Brunoro. None of their candidates were successful – other than as particularly effective satire. Have any lessons been learnt over the last 30 years?

Almost two thirds of Canberrans had voted in a referendum against self-government in 1978, understanding that it was to facilitate cuts to Canberra.

The unbelievably cynical, anti-self-government parties tapped into the popular sentiment to “abolish” self-government. Before the first sitting day, No-Self Government Party member David Prowse had the numbers to be the Speaker. His colleague Craig Duby would become a minister in the Alliance government.

The expectation that Dennis Stevenson, of the Abolish Self-Government Party, would step down if he was not able to get the numbers proved a ruse. Despite amazing shenanigans such as sleeping in his office, the hard, right-wing Stevenson would be elected for a second term. Blame for the fiasco was directed at the modified D’Hondt electoral system that was used for the first Assembly. It was a great scapegoat.

However, the electoral system really delivered fairly on the way that Canberrans had voted. The ballot paper in 1989 was just a tad over a metre in length with 21 parties and nine independents for one of the 117 candidates. Despite the objections to having self-government thrust upon the Territory, only 5.69 per cent of electors made informal votes.

Labor and Liberal had just nine of the 17 seats between them after securing just 37.69 per cent of the first-preference vote. The rest were looking for an alternative such as the Residents Rally. Preferences proved the key to being elected, as has re-occurred so many times since.

The major parties were unable to seriously negotiate with the Residents Rally leader, Bernard Collaery. Hence, the shambolic start to the Assembly was based on an agreement between Labor and Liberal that a major party should make up the first government and Rosemary Follett was elected as the ACT’s first chief minister. Her government lasted just five months until Liberal Trevor Kaine was able to gain support from Collaery and Duby to form the Alliance government.

The saving grace of the first Assembly was the establishment of the committee system. Lessons were learnt. Committees of the ACT Assembly still play a key role in ensuring appropriate consideration of complex issues, and in maintaining accountability of those in government.

Carmel Maher, who was elected with the No-Self Government Party, worked tirelessly on a range of committees but was never able to build a successful public profile.

The satirists didn’t give up after the March 4 election day. Newspaper cartoonist Geoff Pryor simply had a field day with more material than he could use. In 1991, a “Canberra Times” banner screamed: “House of Farce”. The Speaker, David Prowse, held a press conference to announce he feared having rabies, another Assembly member had been caught driving an unregistered car and three others were being investigated over financial irregularities.

In 1990, Minister for Urban Services and No-Self Government member Craig Duby was fined $900 for refusing to have a drink-driving test. Being dependent on his support, Chief Minister Trevor Kaine did not fire him – but set the standard for “toughing it out”.

Many lessons can be learnt from the first election. The reality is that the type of changes of governments that happened in that first Assembly have been repeated in just as farcical manner at the Federal level with Rudd-Gillard-Rudd and with Turnbull-Morrison. Things may have seemed a mockery on democracy, but legislation was considered, issues of government were dealt with and the people held members to account at the next election.

The Federal government ignored the wishes of the ACT and stabbed the territory in the back. Thirty years later, the government we did not want is here to stay. However, some of the scar tissue remains.

Michael Moore was elected to first ACT Legislative Assembly in 1989 and was re-elected as an MLA until 2001. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.