The opposition and ACT Greens have lauded an economist's report into the territory government's finances as they call on Labor to "fight for" Canberrans.
On Tuesday, May 19, economist Saul Eslake delivered his final findings that the ACT government's "conscious policy decisions" to spend on services and infrastructure without raising revenue had led to the territory's deteriorating financial position.
ACT Greens leader Jo Clay said the Eslake report showed Canberrans were missing out on their fair share of federal funding.
"The ACT Labor government should be fighting for fairer funding arrangements and looking at long-term structural changes to revenue - like getting our fair share of GST revenue, recovering the full cost of cross-border services, and pushing federal Labor to abolish our historical public housing debt," she said.
"We know there are challenges when it comes to revenue generation in the ACT, however there are clear measures the ACT Labor government could implement that they are simply ignoring."
The Canberra Liberals also disparaged ACT Labor's performance, with leader Mark Parton saying the worsening fiscal position was the party's "conscious choice".
"The territory's finances have deteriorated because Labor chose to keep spending more without a credible plan to pay for it," he said.
Opposition treasurer Ed Cocks said the report showed Canberra's problems were "not yet insurmountable".
"The government is not yet insolvent. But the budget isn't going to fix itself... it's going to take honest budgeting, disciplined spending and a credible path back to fiscal sustainability," said Mr Cocks.
The economist's final report on the ACT's fiscal sustainability was part of a parliamentary inquiry established after the Greens and Liberals worked together to force the government's hand in late 2025.
In a response, ACT Treasurer Chris Steel said the report had come later than anticipated in the 2026-27 budget process, and so its recommendations would be considered in future budget processes.
"The choices before the Assembly about the budget are fundamentally political choices about raising revenue, or cutting or reprioritising services," he said.
"We are a progressive government, and we don't shy away from the investments that we've made in our growing city. Investments to expand public health services, in public education, in transport, in cost-of-living relief, and in additional funding to support our community sector and new community facilities.
"The report recognises the positive features of the ACT's current fiscal settings. The ACT taxes below the national average, and lower than NSW or Victoria.
"The Canberra Liberals have already ruled out Mr Eslake's primary suggestions to raise revenue before his report (that they proposed) was even delivered... it will be important for all parties to the Assembly to engage in productive, good faith discussions about the territory's plans to maintain fiscal sustainability."
In March 2026, Mr Eslake found the fiscal position of the territory's general government sector had deteriorated over the past decade "entirely" due to policy decisions, declaring the territory "ought to be able to spend less" per capita on key sectors including education and health.
The mid-year budget released in February 2026 showed the ACT was expected to post a $499.1 million deficit this financial year after the deficit blew out to $1.1 billion in 2024-25.
