Looking back at the federal election campaign in the ACT

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Independent Senator David Pocock shattered the political consensus at the last election when he won an ACT senate seat from the Liberal Party. This time around the campaign in Canberra has been dominated by the Coalition's plan for public service cuts, making the Liberals' task even more difficult.

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00:00Always the campaign's starting line, the capital is rarely an electoral battleground.

00:09The Prime Minister made one early stop to refuel.

00:12I'm trying to keep fit here for the campaign and it's just about to go out the window.

00:17The opposition leader is yet to visit, even though Canberra was always on his mind.

00:22You have a policy of reducing the public service by 41,000 places.

00:25In Canberra, we're not reducing the public service.

00:26Only in Canberra.

00:27We've been very clear about that from day one.

00:29But that message hadn't got through to his Senate candidate.

00:33Not all 41,000 in ACT and I think one third in ACT.

00:38Peter Dutton's revelation a political gift to the two incumbents.

00:43It would end this town.

00:44It would end small business.

00:45It would end the private sector.

00:47That would devastate the ACT economy.

00:49It would plunge us into recession.

00:51Earlier, thousands of Canberrans were left in medical limbo when one of the city's few

00:56bulk billing general practices went into administration.

01:00Labor has offered a multi-million dollar lifeline.

01:03We want to see more significant numbers of bulk billing and 100% bulk billing clinics across

01:10the territory.

01:11A pledge he hopes will help fend off a spirited independent challenge.

01:15Labor holds all three of the territory's lower house seats on large margins.

01:20And a loss in any would be an upset.

01:24Less certain but still looking good for Labor is the once bellwether seat of Eden Manero across

01:29the border.

01:30Meanwhile, the Liberals' hopes of reclaiming an ACT Senate seat appear slim.

01:36One real unknown is whether at his second tilt, the popular David Pocock could even out-poll

01:42his senior Labor counterpart.

01:43It's certainly very, very different this time.

01:46I had absolutely no idea what I was doing last time, what I was getting myself into.

01:50We take nothing for granted, never have, never will.

01:53Every vote here we have to argue for.

01:56An argument nearing its triennial conclusion.

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