[5][6][7] The Rally was part of the Alliance government with the Liberals and the Independents Group between December 1989 and May 1991, with Collaery serving as deputy chief minister and attorney-general.
[8] After the Rally was sacked from the government, its MLAs supported a no-confidence motion which saw Labor leader Rosemary Follett return as chief minister.
They set out full policies in many areas, as opposed to several of the other small parties in the ACT at the time, and attempted to build themselves into a political force.
While their power in the Assembly suffered a blow when Moore clashed with Collaery and quit the party to sit as an independent in October 1989, Residents Rally still saw themselves as a player in ACT politics, and decided to make this clear.
Finally, in December 1989, a dispute over legislation dealing with pornographic videos brought the issues to climax, and Residents Rally moved a motion of no-confidence in the Follett government.
These decisions once led Labor MP Paul Whalan to compare them to the Liberals' federal coalition partner, the National Party of Australia.