Community Alliance Party

The Community Alliance Party aims to transform the ACT into an interactive, living democracy. The Alliance expects the ACT Government to deal with the community with integrity, openness and transparency at all times.

With majority government and an ineffectual opposition, the ACT Chief Minister and Cabinet have enjoyed almost unfettered power for the last four years. The Assembly has become little more than a talking shop. Only minority government can revive effective checks and balances in the governance of the ACT.

Accountability

• The Alliance will work to increase the accountability of government and strengthen the role of the Assembly in government decision-making through greater use and empowerment of Assembly committees.
• Alliance MLAs will demand the removal from office of Ministers who are found to have misled the Assembly or brought it into disrepute.

Transparency

• The Alliance supports open and transparent decision-making. This necessitates a new presumption that official documents are open, other than those relating to matters of privacy, national security and genuine Cabinet records. The Alliance will seek to amend the Freedom of Information Act accordingly. This will strengthen public scrutiny of the government decision-making process and empower communities by allowing them to reach their own informed decisions.
  Details of proposed reforms to Freedom of information  | Media statement
  
• The Alliance supports increased protection for whistleblowers who act in the public interest.
• The Alliance believes in the prompt and full disclosure of all donations and loans to political parties and candidates.

Integrity

• The Alliance believes that the ACT Government is subject to the same laws and standards as the rest of the community. It must respect the separation of powers and the decisions of the judiciary and allow them to be in charge of their own administration.
• The Alliance will insist that the watchdogs of democracy are resourced and empowered appropriately to be able to act as a proper and vigilant guardian of the ACT. This includes the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Ombudsman, and the Auditor General. Compliance with the Auditor General's recommendations should be mandatory.
• The Alliance will establish new governance mechanisms to provide proper leadership to governmental and quasi-governmental agencies.

Community participation

• The Alliance will work with communities to develop innovative solutions to problems. A genuine exchange of information and ideas will allow government to identify needs, minimise waste and maximise effectiveness in the provision of community services and facilities. It will confer legitimacy on decisions. Community consultation and negotiation are essential at all stages and all levels of the decision-making process.
• Consultative bodies and advocacy groups already exist. As part of the ACT community, they must be kept informed of government plans and actions before major decisions are made.