Woke capital risks leading the rest of the nation to pot

Canberra is the centre of national political power but an outlier in every respect. It’s a bubble in which the mundane realities of life for most Australians are slow to register. But it also is the thin edge of the wedge for progressive policies that will likely seep deeper into the national fabric. A purpose-built city whose residents have a higher than average education and enjoy incomes bigger than elsewhere, it has a disproportionate number of people employed on the public purse. The result has been a long-term Labor-Greens government and a living experiment of what happens when a progressive financial, social and legal agenda is allowed to let rip.

The agenda in Canberra shares much in common with hard-left Labor and the aspirations of the teal independents who would be largely insulated from the impact of policies that they seek to impose on the less fortunate. The ACT boasts of having zero-emissions energy while importing its power from the coal-dependent surrounding states. It wants 16-year-olds to vote and children as young as 12 to be free to change their gender. It has banned new gas connections and will mandate electric cars. The territory government has taken over the Catholic-run Calvary public hospital and championed euthanasia, forced pet owners to keep cats locked up around the clock.

Ratings agency S&P has stripped the territory of its AAA credit rating while key figures in the justice system have shown themselves to be at best indifferent to the rights of the accused. From Saturday, drug users will face only a $100 fine for the possession of 1.5g or less of amphetamine, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and magic mushrooms, 1g or less of ­heroin and 0.001g or less of LSD.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr boasts of his achievements in leading the nation on social and economic policy, despite presiding over the highest-taxing jurisdiction on a per capita basis for the best part of a decade, out-of-control spending and a ratings downgrade. Rather than fixing his economic woes, Mr Barr says the focus of his national leadership has been “reducing gender inequality, making significant progress in workplace gender equity, the gender pay gap, representation of women on boards and committees, and parliamentary representation”. The ACT had the highest Yes vote in the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite and was the only state or territory to vote Yes in the voice to parliament referendum. The size of the Yes vote, 61.3 per cent, put the ACT on par with the wealthiest enclaves in the major cities. Mr Barr’s Canberra was the first jurisdiction in Australia to instil a Reconciliation Day public holiday. The ACT Labor Party has committed to trialling a four-day working week in the territory public service.

In coming days The Australian will take a close look at what is going on in the ACT. As the national capital it must be given greater national scrutiny, not least because political forces are at work to give territory voters a greater say in national affairs by lifting the number of senators they have in the federal parliament. Some believe the ACT presents a model for Labor federally if it were to formalise a coalition arrangement with the Greens. This no doubt would be anathema for Anthony Albanese, who has been forced to fight off the greens in his own inner-Sydney electorate.

It also would be likely to backfire in the broader electorate where Greens policies cost jobs. But as things stand, the Albanese government must deal with ACT independent senator David Pocock and the Greens to get its legislative agenda through the upper house.

Given what is happening in the ACT, increasing the number of federal senators from the territories can only advantage the progressive side of politics and restrict the conservatives. This matters because, as the voice referendum demonstrated, the wealthiest areas have shown themselves to be out of touch with the views and aspirations of most Australians.

As ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said on Saturday, the nation’s capital is different because it takes longer for economic and hip-pocket issues to cut through. The Canberra bubble must be pricked if only to bring the top echelons of the public service back closer in touch with those they are well paid to serve.