Australian Capital Territory
Abstract
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), with a population of 310 000, is the newest and geographically smallest of the nine self-governing political jurisdictions in Australia. But the government and politics of Canberra as the national capital have already been the subject of considerable analysis (see, in general, Pettit 1998; Halligan and Wettenhall 2000b). The territory achieved self-government from the Commonwealth of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act of 1988, following a lengthy transitional period (Grundy et al. 1996; Juddery 1989). The first ACT government was appointed following the first territory elections in February 1989. There was considerable opposition to self-government before it was finally achieved (Lindell 1992; Follett 1997). The community feared an increased taxation burden if financial responsibilities were devolved from the Commonwealth government. In 1978 an overwhelming majority (62.7 per cent) in a Commonwealth government-sponsored plebiscite preferred the existing arrangements to either self-government or municipal government. The ACT has other distinguishing features. It is virtually the city-state of Canberra: the national capital and the seat of national government (Wettenhall 1998a). It contains the national political institutions of Commonwealth parliament, government, public service and High Court. It is still a public service town, despite cuts to public service numbers. But since 1998 the private sector has been larger than the public sector (54 per cent of wage and salary earners in 1999). Nevertheless, the Commonwealth government is the major employer and Canberra is, as a consequence, a distinctively middle-class residential community. Average weekly earnings are well above the national average. In 2000 they were $808 per week compared to the national average of $734 (ABS 2000a).