Andrew Barr
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Andrew Barr is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member for the seat of Molonglo in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly since 5 April 2006, after being elected on a countback to replace former Treasurer Ted Quinlan, who resigned mid-term. Barr is the territory's Education and Training Minister, having been immediately promoted to Cabinet upon his election. He is the first openly gay MP in the ACT and the first openly gay Cabinet member anywhere in Australia.
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[edit] Biography
Barr was born in Lismore, New South Wales in 1973, but was raised in Canberra, attending Holt Pre-School, the AME School, Turner Primary School, Lyneham High School and Lake Ginninderra College. He studied political science, economics and economic history at the Australian National University, where he became involved in student politics, serving as Treasurer of the Australian National University Students' Association and as a director on the board of the Australian National University Union. After graduating in 1995, he worked for federal MP Annette Ellis and (then) ACT Opposition Leader Jon Stanhope before embarking on a career change to the private sector in 1999 as a media analyst and account manager. He returned to politics in 2002 as Senior Adviser to Government Whip John Hargreaves. Following Hargreaves' election to the Ministry in November 2004, as Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Barr was appointed chief-of-staff - a position he held until his election to parliament in April 2006.
[edit] 2004 Australian Capital Territory legislative election
In early 2004, Barr successfully won pre-selection for the Labor ticket in the seven-member Molonglo electorate, which includes Barr's suburb of Braddon. He campaigned largely on financial management, housing affordability and urban infrastructure issues, such as balanced territory budgets, tax concessions for first home buyers, inner city parking permits and footpath and street lighting upgrades, while also expressing support for gay law reform, the reproductive rights of women, multiculturalism and refugees. Barr polled strongly in inner city booths and ultimately found himself in contention for the seventh and final Molonglo seat, along with Liberals Jacqui Burke and Zed Seselja and fellow Labor candidate Mike Hettinger, but narrowly missed out, coming in ninth overall.
Barr continued working for Hargreaves after the election, but received a second chance at entering the Assembly when Treasurer Ted Quinlan, a close political ally, resigned for health and personal reasons in March 2006. The resulting countback saw the redistribution of Quinlan's first preference votes, and as the two had campaigned together, Barr was the favourite to take the seat from the beginning. He ultimately finished with 5318 votes, a significant majority of 1089 over nearest rival Kim Sattler (who, in a surprise result, outpolled Hettinger).
Quinlan's resignation from the Assembly sparked a ministerial reshuffle, and Barr was heavily tipped to take Quinlan's place in the ministry. He duly nominated for the position, easily outpolling fellow MLAs Karin MacDonald and Mary Porter. As a result, he immediately entered the ministry upon taking his seat, and 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.
[edit] 2006-07 Australian Capital Territory budget
With the territory budget known to be in deficit at the time of assuming his ministerial responsibilities, Barr was immediately thrown into a difficult position, as it became clear that he would have to preside over major cuts to services in his respective portfolios. This was most clearly felt in education, where one of Barr's first public announcements in his innuagural speech was that school and preschool closures had become inevitable - an issue not raised in the territory since a plan to close twenty five schools in 1991 brought down the Kaine government[citation needed].
Towards 2020
As part of the Budget, the Government announced a proposal to close 17 schools and 22 preschools in the ACT. The Government called for interested persons to make a written submission in response to the Government's proposal. In accordance with the Education Act 2004, submissions were asked to consider the educational, financial and social issues that were facing the ACT education system.
On 13 December 2006, Barr announced that one high school, 11 primary schools and 11 preschools would close over three years and that four new schools would be built over the next four years. The new schools that will open are Harrison (2008), West Belconnen (2009), Gungahlin College (2010) and Tuggeranong (2011). The Government also announced a $90m school infrastructure upgrade package, a $20 information technology package and a $750 transition payment to students whose schools are closing to assist with the transition to a new school.[citation needed].
Campaigners against this process are considering legal action and standing candidates against the ALP at the next ACT election scheduled for 2008.
[edit] School Infrastructure and Information Technology Package
As part of the four year, $90m school infrastructure upgrade package Barr announced that in the first year of the program over 223 separate projects would undertaken to improve more than 72 schools across Canberra. These works include: improvements to specialist teaching and learning areas such science labs, home science areas, art rooms and sporting areas, as well as upgrades to play equipment, new landscaping, new paint, new carpets, new glazing, upgrades to staff rooms and canteens. Work would also be undertaken in the areas of heating, plumbing and electrical connections as well as works to increase accessibility for students with special needs.
[edit] Sustainable Schools
In November 2006, Barr announced that every ACT Government school should be a sustainable school and the Government had encompassed sustainability into the new draft curriculum framework so students are learning about it as part of their everyday life.
Barr committed the Government to embracing these issues and providing learning environments for students that are compatible with sustainability. Over the next four years, the Government will undertake an upgrade of all Government schools with a view to retro-fitting older schools to be become more environmentally sustainable. Barr also announced that new ACT Government schools will follow environmental design principles and will utilise renewable energy.
[edit] Dragway
Barr announced on 21 December 2006 that an extensive report into the environmental and financial viability of a dragway in the ACT has raised significant concerns with the proposed Majura site. The report said the development of a facility would be unlikely to meet applicable environmental noise criteria and likely to require substantial additional financial contribution by Government beyond the $8 million already set aside in the Budget. Barr said the ACT Government had exhausted all land options and would be writing to the Australian Government to request that they re-lease the former dragway site.
[edit] Other Responsibilities
Barr's other responsibilities included the government's negotiations to keep AFL premiership matches at Manuka Oval, the bid for the 2009 World Mountain Bike Championships at Mount Stromlo and the industrial relations portfolio. He has also been a vocal supporter of the territory's same-sex civil union/partnerships bill.
