A Greens minister who was ousted at the ACT election has revealed she would have declined to be a minister again in a Labor-led government.
Emma Davidson has hit out at Labor, saying the community expected more from the party and it needed to examine why it had experienced a nearly 4 per cent swing against it.
"Government is not working as well as it could be. I think the community really expects more from Labor in particular. You look at their results, sure the Greens lost a couple of people but when you've got marginal seats it doesn't actually take that much to lose a couple of people," she said.
"You look at what Labor lost and I think they really need to take a long, hard look at themselves because the community is asking for government to step up and do things differently."
The Greens suffered a 1.3 per cent swing against them but lost two seats as they only held these marginally. Rebecca Vassarotti, who was also a minister, lost her seat, too.
Ms Davidson was a member for Murrumbidgee. Independent Fiona Carrick replaced her in the Assembly.
She held several ministries in the last government, including mental health, corrections, population health and community services. She was also the disability minister but this was taken away from her in a ministerial reshuffle in late 2023. Ms Davidson said this was a great loss for her.
"I never asked for any of the portfolios I was given. Not a single one. The only one I ever asked to hold on to was disability and that got taken off me the week after I asked to keep it," she said.
But while she held many ministries, she would not have pursued them again if she had been re-elected.
The Greens are deciding whether to rejoin cabinet for another term or to sit on the crossbench. Over the past week, the party has been locked in discussions with Labor.
Ms Davidson said it was up to elected members to decide what roles they wanted.
"I made a decision a couple of months ago that I wasn't going to be a minister in any future Labor-led government but that's not to say that if I was elected that the Greens wouldn't have ministers. I just wouldn't have put my hand up for that again," she said.
'Nice to catch my breath'
In the weeks since losing her seat, Ms Davidson has taken some time to relax and be with her family.
"It's really nice to catch my breath after four years of really big work; it's nice to spend some time with my family again; my kids have grown up a lot in the last few years," she said.
"There is a bit of work to do in transitioning out of the Assembly as well but everyone is giving me the advice of taking a breather before I decide what to do next."
Ms Davidson is also taking the time to spend some time at the skatepark. She is a keen rollerskater and kept this up even in the busyness of ministerial life.
She even would attend ministerial meetings remotely while at the skatepark and recalled one such meeting where she was skating up a ramp when she was asked a question by ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury. She had to roll back down and take herself off mute to answer it.
"I've had people tell me they've watched video footage of me giving speeches in the chamber on the days when I stopped by the skate park before I came to work first, compared to the days where I didn't," she said.
"I'm told I speak better and I do better at my job on the days I started there."
And she was dealt with some tough ministries. The mental health portfolio was particularly challenging with allegations of violence at the Dhulwa Mental Health Unit, resulting in a board of inquiry and leaks of personal information from staff at the same facility, resulting in an Integrity Commission investigation.
A review of her office also found inexperience, a lack of quality leadership and workplace conflict had contributed to a high rate of staff quitting.
Ms Davidson said she leaned into the work even as it became harder.
"When things get difficult you don't lean back, you lean in and you work harder and you bring more of the community voices into the conversation," she said.
"I've always been someone who will do whatever work you put in front of them. It doesn't matter how hard it is, if you tell me it's impossible, I'll just make it my mission to make sure that it works."
Ms Davidson said she was passionate about the need for policies to be co-designed. She said the current model only did consultation and this did not lead to the best outcomes.
"There's a way of doing things as a Green that is different to the way that the old parties do it and it's all about working alongside community and bringing their voices to decision making," she said.
"You get better results when you actually bring lived experience to the table and say 'actually, there's real value in this and the best way for us to solve complex problems'."
Despite her realisation some months ago about not wanting to be a minister in a Labor-led government, Ms Davidson said this was the reason she did not step back then.
"There was never a moment where I thought I should step down and the reason being there were things that the community really desperately needed to see done and done well," she said.
"I was genuinely concerned that if we didn't have a Greens minister doing those things that they would end up getting done in the usual conventional ways."
