Andrew Barr is not going anywhere as he delivers ACT budget 2023-24

Andrew Barr, the Chief Minister and Treasurer, is not going anywhere.

While his former West Australian counterpart, Mark McGowan, gave up following the state budget last month due to burnout, Mr Barr will be doing no such thing.

Following the 2020 election, Mr Barr told The Canberra Times he intended to give up the treasury portfolio during this parliamentary term.

"There will be a handover and it's just a case of whether that is in 2022 or 2023 will depend on where we are with the economic recovery," he said in November 2020.

But he is not giving it up now, confirming this week he will deliver the next year's budget, and after that it is in the hands of the Canberra people at an election. That suggests there could be several more budgets from Mr Barr to come.

This one is the product of a leader who has been in power for a long time. It's not a budget with any huge new infrastructure investments or any drastic cuts, it's simply a budget to show what the government is spending.

There may be little spare cash to throw at nice new things, but nor is there any appetite from Mr Barr and his government to cut to make way for them. It's a steady, business-as-usual plan.

The biggest element of the budget is funding for a new northside hospital but people are much more focused on the surrounding circumstances to get that new hospital.

The decision to compulsorily acquire Calvary Public Hospital Bruce has created a lot of controversy but it is a decision only a government confident in their hold of power would make. Going toe-to-toe with the Catholic Church is no small task.

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Mr Barr is selling the budget as a focus on health, housing and cost-of-living. These are areas in which his government has come under scrutiny.

By positioning these as key issues, Mr Barr is probably hoping he will be able to brush off some of the criticisms being faced by the government that they are not doing enough.

Whether the investments are enough remains to be seen.

The government has been quiet about the light rail in this round of budget announcements. It's not because they are abandoning the project. The budget papers show they are spending on the project as planned.

But there is little new on the light rail to Woden and what the timeline for that will be.

This is probably because the government is looking ahead to the election. They are likely saving all the key announcements for next year, when they will need a suite of new policies to take to the election.

Because while the government can afford a plain budget in 2023, they will need some pizzazz in an election year.

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