“Under the leadership and guidance of Thomas Emerson, the Independents for Canberra are merging as a serious force in the upcoming election,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

“A Fair Society”, “A Healthy Canberra”. Headlines in the platform of the Independents for Canberra reflect the grassroots movement that has driven their emergence. 

But does the platform just identify them as another political party?

At first blush, a co-ordinated platform, agreed to by all candidates and made public at the end of July, certainly makes them look like a political party. 

Not so, screams the first sentence of the platform. “It’s time to bring independent voices to the ACT Legislative Assembly. No party politics. No vested interests. Real representative democracy, the way it’s supposed to be. Together, we can create a capital that leads the nation”.

The other headlines include “A Flourishing Future” and “A New Kind of Politics”.

With Canberra having lost its Standard and Poors AAA+ credit rating, many voters are certainly looking for a new kind of future. A future that is not based on unaffordable, empty promises. 

An example of unaffordable and empty promises by the incumbent Labor-Greens government were demonstrated in a previous CityNews article by Jon Stanhope and Khalid Ahmed regarding the promise of 800 new doctors, nurses and other professionals. After scouring the budget, they could not find where the money had been set aside to deliver the promise. A promise made as part of the budget.

Under the leadership and guidance of Thomas Emerson, the Independents for Canberra are merging as a serious force in the upcoming election. They are tapped into community interest to such an extent that they are able to agree on the first of their “shared policy commitments”.

These are strident positions based on social justice. “Housing is a right”. This is the first of their specific policies and comes at a time when rent and mortgage stressors, along with shortages of public housing, are at the forefront of many minds. There is a broad mission statement: “implementing a suite of affordable and sustainable housing solutions that meet the needs of all residents”.

The shared-housing policy touches on homelessness and other challenges and promises the establishment of “a Strata Commissioner to advocate on behalf of people in units and townhouses”.

There are also policy positions for “a fairer Canberra”. An attempt to turn around the failures that have been delivered by more than two decades of a Labor government. These include education, incarceration, the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans.

Commitments regarding the criminal justice system include: “implementing effective rehabilitation programs for repeat offenders”; “closing the indigenous incarceration gap”; and “investing in youth diversion programs to tackle the youth crime crisis and reduce antisocial behaviour among young people”.

A key element is to ensure “an adequately funded police force commensurate with community need”.

The Independents for Canberra have been able to agree on a range of health measures with a focus on primary care, staffing, prevention and support for community physical activity, protection of vulnerable women and children and an appropriate focus on indigenous health.

An interesting promise is to introduce a Future Generations Act. The concept builds on similar legislation that has been in place for some time in Wales. It will focus on generations to come with a Future Generations Commissioner tasked with ensuring all government decisions align with the future vision.

Why is this not a political party? “A New Kind of Politics”! There is agreement on this first platform. However, there will be no Fatima Payman-style retribution on anyone who takes a different stance from others. In fact, voting on issues differently will be expected. It is a key element that makes this a group of independents rather than a political party.

These independents will focus on evidence, administrative efficiency, reaching out and genuinely listening to the community and to each other. Thomas Emerson has worked with Senator David Pocock and brings many of his learnings to the table. 

The emphasis is on integrity, hard work, access, accountability and transparency. This will include publishing on their website the way individuals have voted on all issues. None of the candidates have commitments to unions or big business party donors.

The platform that has been released provides a clear indication of the commitment that has been made by this range of candidates.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.