If the Canberra Liberals win the 2024 ACT election, not one of their members will have ever served in a territory government.
But Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee has talked up her team's readiness to serve, and touted the variety of professional and life experience in her party room, in contrast to what they say is a tired and complacent Labor-Greens government.
The Liberals' policies have been designed to grab attention and include a city stadium and a new district for the nation's capital.
The Liberals' signature commitments include an overhaul of the way rates are levied on residential and commercial property, construction of a city stadium at West Basin and 125,000 new homes in Canberra by 2050.
Work on extending light rail from Commonwealth Park to Woden would also be halted, while the Liberals have committed to continuing with the 1.7-kilometre extension from Alinga Street.
Instead, the Liberals have promised a busway between the city and Woden.
Suburb upgrades
Ms Lee's first major election committment was to spend $100 million on upgrades to suburbs, with each suburb allocated funding based on the number of households.
Each suburb would receive a minimum of $500,000 and allocations would be capped at $2 million.
Rate caps and tax cuts
Meanwhile, the Liberals want to introduce new caps on the increase of rates from 2025-26, a policy Treasury found would cost $172.3 million over three years.
The Liberals said the policy would also deliver "much needed cost-of-living relief and ensure Canberrans are paying on average between $1500 and $2000 less in rates than what they will under Andrew Barr".
Businesses with a payroll between $2 million and $5 million a year would receive a 20 per cent tax cut under the Liberals.
Health system
A royal commission would be established to examine the ACT's health system, which the Liberals have said has been mismanaged by the Labor-Greens government.
Infrastructure and stadium
Ms Lee confirmed during the campaign work would continue on a new theatre in the city centre and a new hospital on the northside.
But a Liberal government would commission design work for a stadium at West Basin.
The Liberals have promised to start construction before the end of the parliamentary term in 2028, leaving a very small window of opportunity to secure a significant amendment to the National Capital Plan.
Housing
An extra 2000 social and affordable homes would be added to the capital's housing stock under the Liberals' plan, which would also trial offering key workers first dibs for affordable homes.
The Liberals' promise of 125,000 new dwellings in Canberra by 2050 includes a faster supply of greenfield land for development.
All single residential blocks owned by the Suburban Land Agency would be auctioned and 10 per cent would be set aside for first-home buyers offered at 75 per cent of market value.
The party said 100,000 of those dwellings would be located at Kowen, currently a commercial pine plantation on the ACT's easternmost tip. The number of dwellings is higher than estimates of the area's capacity produced by the ACT Planning and Land Authority.
As well as...
The Liberals have also made a series of other commitments, including abandoning a forthcoming ban on wood-fired heaters, overturning drugs of dependence decriminalisation laws and dropping payroll tax levied on general practice clinics.
Ms Lee has consistently rejected suggestions a Liberal government would need to cut spending. The Liberals point to "government waste" as an area they would make significant savings.
Ms Lee indicated during the campaign there would be no change to the forthcoming voluntary assisted dying scheme, abortion access or the size of the territory's public service.
The Canberra regions most likely to vote Liberal
We've crunched the numbers from the 2004 election right through to the 2020 election.
Here's a comparison of votes cast at each polling place around Canberra during that time period, showing the percentage of votes for each party and how they've changed throughout the years.
Which way does your region usually swing?
