Censure of Minister Cheyne

Canberra Liberals Leader Mark Parton will move a motion in the Legislative Assembly censuring ACT Labor’s City Services Minister Tara Cheyne for ignoring a clear Assembly vote on Sunday library closures and for failures in the traffic-infringement system that left almost 13 thousand seatbelt fines under a legal cloud.

On 18 June the Assembly called on the Government to pause Sunday library closures. The closures went ahead anyway. From 27 August, no ACT public library opens on Sunday.

In May 2025 Ms Cheyne introduced legislation to allow camera-detected seatbelt offences. Enforcement began in November 2025. By August 2026 the Government had issued thousands of infringements before discovering the cameras had not been properly authorised for seatbelt enforcement.

“The Assembly told this Government to pause the Sunday library closures. Tara Cheyne ignored that vote and shut the doors anyway. That is contempt of the Assembly,” Mr Parton said.

“Then her portfolio issued almost 13 thousand seatbelt fines on cameras that were not lawfully authorised. That is not a footnote. That is a failure of basic administration.

“Ministers are meant to hold the public service to account. Instead we get libraries closed against the will of the Assembly, the wider Canberra community and thousands of drivers slugged with fines that should never have been issued.

“Censure is the strongest tool this parliament has short of no confidence. If ministers can shrug off an Assembly motion and preside over unlawful infringements, responsible government is just a slogan.

“Tara Cheyne should be censured. Canberrans deserve a minister who follows the Assembly and gets the basics right.”

The censure motion will be debated in the Legislative Assembly today, Wednesday 16 September.