Product Code Database
Andrew James Barr (born 29 April 1973) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the 7th and current chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 2014. Barr was previously the Treasurer of the Australian Capital Territory from 2011 to 2024. He has been the leader of the Australian Capital Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2014 and a member (MLA) of the ACT Legislative Assembly since 2006. He is the longest serving chief minister in the ACT since the territory gained self government in 1989.
Barr was immediately promoted to Cabinet upon his election to replace former Treasurer Ted Quinlan, who resigned mid-term. Australian Capital Territory Ministerial Directory On 11 December 2014 he was elected as Chief Minister after his predecessor, Katy Gallagher, resigned and announced her intention to run for the Senate. In addition to being Chief Minister, he holds the portfolios of Economic Development and Tourism and Trade.
Barr is the first openly gay head of the ACT government (from 2014), and was the first openly gay member as well as government cabinet minister in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 2006.
During the 1990s Barr became a leading influence within the Labor Right of ACT Labor (Centre Coalition) and was involved in the successful election of the first non-left faction ACT party secretary, Michael Kerrisk. In 2006, Barr said, "When I came out in the late '90s I had already been in the party for some eight years, so people were already used to me.... But it was at this time though that I decided to step back from front-line politics. It was a big change in my life and it was at this time that I met my partner Anthony, so I just needed time to adjust."
Barr continued working for Hargreaves after the election, but received a second chance at entering the Assembly when the Treasurer, Ted Quinlan, resigned in March 2006. The resulting countback saw the redistribution of Quinlan's primary vote and Barr's election to the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Quinlan's resignation from the Assembly sparked a ministerial reshuffle, with Barr immediately entering the ministry upon taking his seat. He was assigned the Education, Training, Industrial Relations, Sport and Tourism portfolios. Barr dedicated most of his maiden speech to economic management, housing affordability and progressive social reform Barr: Swearing In and Inaugural Speech , ACT Legislative Assembly Hansard, 2006 Week 4 Hansard (2 May), accessed 7 November 2009
Barr was re-elected to the seat of Molonglo for the 2008 and 2012 ACT elections. Following a major redistribution, he was elected to the seat of Kurrajong at the 2016 election and re-elected in 2020.
Since June 2024, Barr is the longest serving Chief Minister of the ACT, overtaking Stanhope who served for about 9.5 years. , Barr is also the longest serving incumbent state or territory leader in Australia, and the last remaining state or territory leader since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in March 2020.
As Treasurer and Chief Minister, Barr has focused on the ACT's economic development, particularly encouraging private sector investment in higher education, trade, tourism, major events, arts and sport. Consequently, the ACT economy and employment has diversified away from its traditional public sector base.
In 2016, the ACT Government secured international flights for Canberra, with Singapore Airlines operating a 'Capital Express' route linking Singapore, Canberra and Wellington, and Qatar Airways operating flights via Sydney. In the same year, he established the Office of the Commissioner for International Engagement, with responsibility for building and cultivating international relationships for the economic, social and cultural benefit of the ACT.
In October 2019, Barr launched the ACT Government's Infrastructure Plan outlining key health, transport, education and environmental infrastructure priorities including a new hospital and stadium, Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) campus upgrades and stage 2 of light rail.
In 2020, Barr announced a major expansion of UNSW Canberra, with the establishment of a new campus in Canberra's centre on the existing CIT site.
In April 2019, Stage 1 of the Canberra light rail launched, connecting Canberra's northern suburbs in Gungahlin with the city's centre via the Northbourne Avenue corridor.
In September 2019, the Barr Government approved the business case for stage 2A of the light rail, which is to extend the line with three additional stops from the city centre to Commonwealth Park. This first requires London Circuit to be raised, works for which commenced in November 2022.
In October 2024, works began to install a new 'MyWay+' ticketing system for all public transport in Canberra. Expected to be completed in November 2024, this new ticketing system will allow for more accurate real-time location transport data and the ability to pay with credit cards, smartphones, and wearable devices.
In 2020, the ACT became the first major jurisdiction outside of the European Union to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions electricity supply.
In 2021, the Barr Government launched its 'Sustainable Household Scheme', offering zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 for eligible households to make electrification upgrades such as rooftop solar panels, household battery storage systems, electric vehicles and heating efficiency.
In July 2022, the Barr Government announced its intention to place a ban on the sale of new petrol cars in the ACT from 2035. As of 2023, the ACT has the highest adoption of electric vehicles of all the Australian states and territories, with an estimated 20% of all new vehicle purchases being electric.
In June 2023, the Barr Government passed legislation to ban the installation of gas connections in new buildings in the ACT. This ban came into effect in December 2023.
In June 2018, the Barr government launched a container deposit scheme. It is estimated that, in the first four years of the scheme, it resulted in the recycling of 300 million recycled containers.
In April 2019, the Barr government complete its roll-out of vegetation waste collection bins to all Canberra suburbs. In November 2021, it launched a pilot program for bin collection of Green waste (FOGO) in select suburbs, which was expanded to more suburbs in September 2024.
Since 2021, the Barr government has also pursued a staggered increase in restrictions on the supply or sale of single-use plastics by businesses. As of 2024, the restrictions apply to single-use plastic cutlery, stirrers, straws, polystyrene takeaway containers, non-compostable coffee cups, heavyweight plastic bags, and degradable plastic.
His government has continued to support anti-discrimination and inclusivity of LGBTI communities. In 2017, Barr was a prominent advocate for the 'Yes' campaign in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, in which the ACT had the highest Yes result (74%) and participation rate (82.5%) in Australia. The ACT Government gave official support to the "Yes" campaign.
In 2018, his government announced its intention to remove the ability for religious schools to discriminate against LGBTI teachers.
In 2020, the Barr government passed legislation that bans LGBTI conversion therapy.
Barr has admitted to eating a pot brownie before.
|
|
