Jon Stanhope

For the 18th century British politician, see John Stanhope.

The Hon. Jon Stanhope
5th Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 November 2001
Preceded by	Gary Humphries
Personal details
Born	(1951-04-29) 29 April 1951 Gundagai, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party

Jonathon Ronald Stanhope (born 29 April, 1951) is the current, and longest serving, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, representing the Australian Labor Party.

Stanhope was born in Gundagai, New South Wales but moved to Canberra to study at the Australian National University. After graduating in law, he became a legal officer for the public service and a staffer for a number of senior ALP figures, including former federal leader Kim Beazley.

Election to the ACT Assembly and Leader of the ACT Opposition

The 1998 ACT general election saw Stanhope elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly and he immediately became party leader. Stanhope played a major role in the downfall of Kate Carnell's Liberal government, concentrating heavily on her involvement in the Bruce Stadium affair.

2001 ACT Assembly Election and Chief Minister

Stanhope was elected ACT Chief Minister in 2001 when Labor won 8 of the 17 seats in the Assembly but failed to win a ninth, which would have secured a majority government for the first time in ACT history.

2003 Canberra bushfires

Canberra was hit by bushfires in January 2003. Four people died and 500 houses were destroyed. Stanhope had made headlines in the week before the bushfires hit Canberra when he personally jumped from a helicopter into a dam to save the pilot of another helicopter which had crashed into the water. Stanhope was lauded from some sectors of the community for his support of those involved in managing the bushfire. Some sectors of the community questioned whether Emergency Services had given reasonable and adequate warning of the fire and done all that could have been done to prepare for the fire. Stanhope faced a no-confidence motion in the Assembly from the Liberal opposition, which if passed meant he would have been forced to resign as Chief Minister. Instead, the motion was downgraded to a censure motion by the combined vote of the ALP and the Democrats and passed in the Assembly. The coronial inquest into the bushfire was released in mid-December 2006, and found significant bureaucratic failings contributed to the devastation, although it also claimed shortcomings at a political level. In February 2007 Stanhope faced another no-confidence motion from the Liberal opposition which was again defeated in the Assembly, this time with the support of the Greens. The debate provided him with the opportunity to correct some of the inaccurate assumptions in the coroner's report concerning the warning he had received and given and the coroner's misunderstanding of the Westminster system of government and of the ministerial arrangements in the ACT

ACT Human Rights Act

The ACT was the first jurisdiction in Australia to introduce a Human Rights Act, in 2004. Opponents predicted the Act would cause a flood of litigation, or transfer power away from the ACT Legislative Assembly. These predictions have not eventuated. The Act's main influence has been on policy development, ensuring legislative changes comply with the requirements of the Act.

2004 ACT Assembly Election and Majority Government

At the 2004 ACT election, the Stanhope-led ALP won sufficient seats to form a majority government, the first such government in the Territory's history.

Opposition to the Federal Anti-Terrorism Act

On 14 October, 2005, Stanhope took the controversial step of publishing the confidential draft of the Federal Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005 on his website, so that the community had a chance to consider and debate the proposed legislation. This action was both praised and vilified. Citing concerns about the removal of basic human rights, he later refused to sign a revised version of the legislation, becoming the only state or territory leader to do so.

Austerity Budget

In June 2006 Stanhope came under fire over the 2006-07 ACT Budget which was crafted to address ongoing budget deficits. The budget included massive rate rises, across the board fee hikes, a change in the ACT's emergency services management and the proposed closure of 38 schools and colleges through consolidation. He also announced that a further three new schools would open at some stage in the future, with one, a new $54 million P-10 school, to be built on the site of the current Kambah High School. On 10 March 2007 he announced that planning and development of a new Gungahlin College and a new West Belconnen P-10 school was underway, with construction about to begin.

The ratings agency Standard & Poor's reaffirmed, although with some qualification, the ACT's AAA credit rating in the wake of the Budget. However, the decision regarding distribution of the education budget prompted outcry in one Australian newspaper, with the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph labelling him "Stanhope-less" and an "economic vandal" on the front page of a special ACT edition.

Same-sex unions

Soon after the budget the ACT's Civil Unions Act, to allow formal recognition of same-sex relationships, was overturned by the Federal Liberal/National Howard government despite the objections of the ACT Government and its federal senators. The new Rudd Labor government had advised it is not Labor policy to stifle state legislation, and that it would not block attempts by the ACT government on this issue. Despite this, the Rudd Government later threatened to override any laws introduced in the ACT that legislated for same-sex ceremonies. As a result, the Stanhope Government removed provisions for ceremonies in its proposal, and ultimately allowed for civil partnerships that did not include legislated ceremonies. Later, the Stanhope Government reported that the new civil partnership laws "exceeded expectations".

In attendance at the 2008 Anzac Day National Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra are Angus Houston, Chief of the Defence Force (Australia) (left) Jon Stanhope, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (centre), Peter Cosgrove, immediate past Chief of the Defence Force (Australia) (second from right), and Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia (right).

Longest Serving ACT Chief Minister and Senior Government Leader

On November 26, 2007, following the resignation of the Northern Territory's Clare Martin, Stanhope became Australia's longest-serving current state or territory leader. When Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia on December 3, 2007, replacing John Howard, Stanhope became the country's longest-serving current head of government.

2008 Australian Capital Territory general election

Stanhope led the ACT ALP to the 2008 ACT general election on the 18 October, 2008 retaining the largest number of seats in the ACT Assembly and winning the popular vote with 37.6% over the ACT. Both major parties saw a decrease in their vote, with a surge to the Greens. Labor won 7 seats, the Liberals won 6 seats, while the Greens won 4 seats, giving them the balance of power, and are open to negotiating the formation of government with either major party.

External links

• ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, Rights at Risk: My Dissent from the Australian Anti-terror Bill, JURIST

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