Shadow Minister for Housing Mark Parton will put forward a motion in the Legislative Assembly today calling on the leaders of all parties represented to write to the Federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher condemning her backflip on her pre-election promise and to waive the historic ACT housing debt.

Senator Katy Gallagher campaigned to waive the ACT Government’s $98.3 million public housing debt during the 2022 federal election campaign however just last week, the now Finance Minister said ‘the federal government is not in a position to waive the territory’s historic housing debt'.

In opposition, Senator Gallagher was critical of the Federal Coalition government for not having waived the ACT’s historic housing debt. In 2019 senate Estimates on October 22, Senator Gallagher said to Senator Seselja as Assistant Minister for Finance, in respect to waiving the debt, ‘You’re in a position of power. You get to sign it off.’

In 2019, Chief Minister Andrew Barr also stated, ‘I would observe that it is an odd state of affairs when a crossbench senator from Tasmania can achieve more through Liberal Government than an ACT Liberal senator who is a member of the government executive as an assistant minister, Senator Seselja’.

Mr Parton said by not waiving this debt, it shows that public housing is not a priority for Federal Labor and it is not a priority for the ACT Labor-Greens government.

“If the Chief Minister and his Greens colleagues are serious about public housing in the ACT, they will agree to this motion, condemn Senator Gallagher in the strongest terms on her backflip and call for the debt to be wiped,” Mr Parton said.

“Despite the Chief Minister’s rhetoric since the federal election, it appears the ACT government has no sway with the federal government if they are unable to have this debt waived as was indicated prior to the election.

“In August 2022, the current Federal Labor Government said to the ACT Government to ask for more light rail funding when you’re ready, as part of a media announcement on the tram, yet the ACT was snubbed from any infrastructure funding in the recent Federal announcement.

“ACT Labor are happy to spend big on the tram because that is their priority, not public housing and not paying off their debt.

“Once again, this ACT Government has failed to deliver for Canberrans. You can’t trust Labor’s promises and you can’t trust Labor when it comes to public housing,” Mr Parton concluded.