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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Lucy Bladen

'Rotten to its core': Hanson likens ACT govt to last days of Joh

Acting Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

The ACT government reminds the acting Opposition Leader of the last days of one of Australia's most corrupt governments.

Jeremy Hanson has likened the Labor and Greens government to the one led by former Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, which faced serious allegations of organised crime and police corruption.

Mr Hanson will make the remarks in a budget reply speech on Thursday afternoon, when he will say the government is "rotten to its core".

Mr Hanson will take aim at the government's record on health, education, justice, police numbers and public transport and say Chief Minister Andrew Barr's budget won't fix these problems.

"This budget contains the same sorts of promises I have listened to in this place on budget day for over a decade," he will say.

"I've heard treasurers and ministers say budget after budget that things will improve - but then they just get worse."

The acting Canberra Liberals leader will also take aim at the government's compulsory acquisition of Calvary Public Hospital Bruce.

Mr Hanson criticised the government's capacity to deliver a surplus, telling The Canberra Times the Chief Minister had not delivered any in the 13 years he had been the ACT's treasurer.

He said performance indicators were dropping across a range of areas and also criticised the government's tax reform program to eliminate stamp duty and increase rates. He said stamp duty revenue had not declined in the years since the program was implemented.

"He promises surpluses and delivers deficits," he said.

"There's nothing that is going up other than the amount we're getting taxed."

Mr Hanson said the Liberals would take tax reforms to the next election. The party promised a freeze on rates in the last election.

"We'll have a different way of approaching it when we go to the next election," he said.

Mr Hanson will not announce any new policies for the Canberra Liberals in the speech but will reiterate previous promises from the party if they win power in 2024.

The key promise being that the party will stop the light rail to Woden, with Mr Hanson saying funding for the project could be redirected to health, education, police and buses.

Mr Hanson said the Liberals would also keep open the option of building a stadium in Canberra's city centre.

This has been ruled out by the ACT government in its infrastructure plan with the new stadium to be built at Bruce or, potentially, Exhibition Park.

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