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Canberra Today 14°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Coe offers a ‘fresh vision and a fresh direction’

Alistair Coe election 2020
Liberal leader Alistair Coe… “I think of things in a different prism since having kids.” Photo: Holly Treadaway

It’s time to make a clean break from a “tired and old” Labor-led government, rife with Budget deficits and infrastructure backlogs, the Liberal leader tells political reporter BELINDA STRAHORN

THE man looking to form the first Liberal government in almost two decades wants a more “consultative” type of leadership with Canberrans.

Belinda Strahorn.

And, surprisingly, he doesn’t draw his political inspiration from former Liberal leaders, but from the very people he’s seeking to serve.

Liberal leader Alistair Coe’s mission to break Labor’s long-standing domination in ACT politics means his team are “flogging” themselves across every part of town in their bid to connect with voters ahead of October 17, the ACT’s first pandemic election. 

While the Barr government’s selling point is a safe pair of hands, Coe argues that the covid crisis provides the ideal opportunity to make a clean break from a “tired and old” Labor-led government, rife with Budget deficits and infrastructure backlogs. 

It’s a government that is very stubborn, tired and old and disrespectful, too,” he said, tucking into a late breakfast of poached eggs on toast with coffee.

We’re meeting at a cafe in Deakin on what may have been just another sunny spring morning, but covid restrictions limit cafe diners to 100 people and this day there’s a constant flow of people arriving for a mid-morning breakfast.

“We have a fresh vision and a fresh direction,” said Coe.

“So many people tell me that Canberra is changing and especially in regards to the cost of living. It’s changing to a point that people are starting to question if they can see themselves living in Canberra, especially after they retire or someone becomes ill or loses a job.

“It’s so important we have a recalibration, we will have a far more consultative approach [in government].”

Deep in the throes of an election campaign, the 36-year-old father of two is in high demand, but the proud dad makes time to share a picture of his daughter Annabel, 4, who’s dressed up for pirate day at childcare. 

Our catch-up is time limited by an upcoming roads announcement, then there’s door knocking, phone calls and letterboxing to be done, he says. 

Labelling the Liberals as the “underdog”, Coe admits the election will be “close” as demonstrated in the only public poll, which indicates Labor’s primary vote has fallen to 37.6 per cent, down from 38.4 per cent in 2016, while the Liberals have increased 1.5 per cent from the last election to 38.2 per cent.

While Labor’s campaign battleground is being fought over education, health and jobs, the Liberals’ campaign is focused on bread-and-butter issues such as rates, local services and trees. 

From the “thousands of conversations” the leader and his team has conducted over the past four years, Coe’s sure that Labor’s hip-pocket-hurting policies are not what Canberrans want.

“The ACT government is very good at spending money and making flashy announcements, but not so good at actually managing and maintaining it,” Coe said.

“There’s a fair bit of neglect that’s happening at a local and suburban level.

“All our policies are to deliver tangible outcomes for families and households so they can see where their money is being spent, we want to make sure that the services that are being delivered are practical.”

Coe’s cost-of-living pressure fixation provides the impetus for the lion’s share of their election announcements. However, he’s keeping his cards close to his chest on how he intends paying for them. 

The Liberals have pledged to freeze residential rates for four years, promising to do so without cutting government services or public servant jobs. 

When pressed on what impact the lost rate revenue will have on ACT finances, Coe believes it won’t be significant, given it only represents a small proportion of total revenue.

“Rates revenue is about 10 per cent of the ACT government’s total revenue,” he said.

Coe goes on to spell out that the majority of ACT revenue is derived from other sources. 

“The ACT government gets a lot of money, $2.4 billion from the Commonwealth government each year whereas rates revenue is about $650 million,” he said.

“Therefore the foregone revenue for a government isn’t actually a huge amount, but it’s a significant amount for a family. So for a family that has a $3500 rates bill and it’s been increasing at 15 per cent compounding under Labor, in 10 years’ time that will be astronomical.”

Coe is banking on the fact that not passing on further rate increases will enable families to have more money in their pockets to start spending more and stimulate the local economy. The Liberals see this as an important part of their strategy to make a more affordable city, not only to attract more people to Canberra but prevent an exodus across the border.

While Coe’s indicated there won’t be an increase in rates, he’s remained silent on the subject of whether services will be impacted or cut as a result of the foregone rate revenue.

While Coe’s rate-freeze policy has gained the most attention in the lead up to the election, it’s perhaps his perceived youth and inexperience that has been used by his political opponents against him. 

Coe is quick to shrug off the inexperienced tag, labelling his Labor opponents as out of touch, disrespectful and tired.

“It’s an old and tired government. They are far more interested in their own projects than they are about the welfare of Canberrans and Canberra families,” he said.

“It’s a government that likes to pick winners and everybody else is left behind and there are a lot of people who are doing it tough.

“We won’t sell out on Canberrans; we will stand up for the Canberrans that have been left behind, for the Canberrans that have been disrespected, for the Canberrans that are waiting for elective surgery, for the Canberrans that cannot afford to live in this city. These are the people for which we will make no compromise.”

After the last election, the light rail issue was something of a tram wreck for the Liberals and cost them votes in key electorates, this time around the Liberals are committing to supporting it. 

“The next stage of light rail, stage two, will be from the City to Woden,” Coe said.

We have committed to doing an independent assessment of the business case and to publish all the relevant documents so that Canberrans who are paying for it can scrutinise the project and understand what it is they are paying for.

“To date, the government has a preferred tenderer and the business case hasn’t been released, so given the government has said it is going to cost $1.9 billion it’s unfathomable that you wouldn’t go to the market to seek the best possible deal and that you wouldn’t open up the decisions that you are making to peer review.”

Canberra born and bred, Coe attended schools in Tuggeranong and Belconnen and holds a bachelor of commerce from the Australian National University. 

Before politics he worked as an adviser at the national headquarters of the Returned and Services League of Australia, he’s also worked for a consultancy firm. 

Coe was elected in 2008, he has sat in the Assembly for more than a decade yet spent his whole political career in opposition. He succeeded moderate Jeremy Hanson as Liberal leader after the 2016 territory election. He is married to Yasmin and together they have two children, Angus and Annabel. 

While Coe is often labelled as a political conservative, the man himself seems unwilling to be defined by that characteristic and believes he can appeal to a broad cross section of voters with a consensus approach to decision making. 

He argues the focus upon his conservative credentials is a media construct and not something of interest to voters. 

“Rarely do I get asked these questions door knocking or at a shopping centre because the people who I’m speaking to are far more interested in the welfare of their family, the services in the community, about their kids’ school, about their wait for elective surgery,” he said.

“These are the practical things that motivate Canberrans and motivate me. It’s really about making sure that Canberrans are getting the premium services they are paying for.”

Unlike Barr whose political awakening and role models were easily identifiable, Coe draws his inspiration from everyday people. While Barr identified Keating as a political hero, Coe hasn’t drawn from the Liberal parthenon of greats, instead real people with real issues. 

“Soon after being elected in 2008 I got a telephone call from Bill from Macquarie, he said there’s a problem with the footpath and you should come and check it out,” he said.

“So I went to meet Bill and looked at the footpath and he gave me some tips about how to get the council, as he called them, to get it fixed.

“As I was driving back to the office I reflected on some of the things he said and I thought there’s obviously a little bit more to Bill than he lets on.”

A Google search revealed that his constituent was in fact a former member of the NSW Parliament who served in the seat of Maroubra before former NSW Premier Bob Carr. Born out of that meeting was a friendship that formed across the political divide.

“When I wrote back to Bill about the footpath I addressed the envelope to the Hon Bill Haig and he called up and said: ‘You found me out’.

“So I went on to catch up with Bill on many occasions, he was humble, very chatty and had some wonderful stories. He really just brought home the importance of community, the importance of consultation and the importance of humility.”

The pair remained friends until Haig died in 2017. This is a side to Coe that may challenge the notion that he is a conservative ideologue and demonstrates he hasn’t closed his mind to the fact that all good ideas emanate from his side of politics. 

Confident he can secure the 13 seats needed to form majority government on October 17, Coe is prepared to hold discussions with crossbench or independent members who may be willing to help form a new government in the event he falls short of the magic number.

While an overly cautious Coe largely stayed on message, he did allow himself a moment of personal reflection when mentioning his kids, and the impact they had on the way he now sees the world and the job he aspires to do.

“What is the world that I want Angus and Annabel to live in in 10 years’ time, what’s the school system that will be best for Angus and Annabel, what are the prospects of Angus and Annabel being able to buy a house in 20 years’ time?” he said.

“I think of things in a different prism since having kids.”

 

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Belinda Strahorn

Belinda Strahorn

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