Q & A with Senate candidates in the ACT

Everything I do, even the portfolios that I've worked in over many years, has a very strong emphasis on great things that are happening in Canberra and I think I've been really lucky in that regard, and I don't feel that passion diminishing at all. I've still got a lot to give.

ZED SESELJA: Because I've demonstrated over the last decade or so that I'm passionate about advocating for Canberrans and what they actually care about, so I will fight for Canberrans.

I will fight particularly for the suburbs that get left behind. The suburbs are where I come from. I'm raising my four kids with another to come very, very soon in the suburbs of Canberra, so I think I have a reasonable understanding of some of the needs of families in Canberra.

SIMON SHEIKH: Canberra needs a campaigner, someone who can campaign to protect the jobs of Canberra's families, the jobs of their friends, the jobs of their colleagues.

It is so important at this election that we avoid recession, and the best way we can do that is by stopping Tony Abbott getting total control of both houses of parliament because that would leave nothing standing in the way of his job-cutting agenda.

The Greens also have a positive vision for our community's future … that means helping diversify our economy here in the ACT.

LUNDY: We know he has said that is a starting point; I've used the figure of 20,000, as they have. I find it difficult to contemplate they will stop at 12,000 given the experience of '96 to '97 and the fact that they have as a headline campaign message that they will cut jobs in the public service.

I have a responsibility to forewarn Canberrans about what could occur, I remember getting feedback in 1997 saying, ''Why didn't you tell us this is what the Liberals were going to do?'' That's because they didn't say that's what they were going to do. I'm not going to make that mistake again.

SESELJA: I've said before I prefer we didn't have that policy. If I was framing the policy that would not be my policy, but that is the policy the Liberal Party has put forward and has been very clear on.

I think the positives about it are the natural attrition and it will be my job if I'm elected to the Senate to hold an incoming Coalition government to account on that.

I'm heartened by the analysis done by groups like the Australian Property Institute, who have looked at the fact that many of the people who will leave the public service will stay here in Canberra. Many of them will be retiring [on a] pension, they will continue to spend money here, they will continue to be part of our economy.

SHEIKH: If Tony Abbott wins, Canberra loses, there's just no two ways about it.

The Liberals have a recipe for recession here in the ACT. That's why what we've got to stop happening is one party and one leader, Tony Abbott, getting total control of both houses of parliament, because that would leave nothing standing in the way of these job cuts. If the car industry was losing this many jobs, there'd be a structural adjustment package.

The Liberal Party owes it to Canberra's families to reveal before the election what they will do to support us through this transition, if we can't stop the job cuts to begin with.

LUNDY: I know some of the departments are saying their growth area has been in the senior executive service and we're looking at necessary reductions in overall jobs - that that is where they will look first and that is to ensure that when departments do make those adjustments, it's not front-line services that do it.

SESELJA: It depends how it's done. If you're going to make savings you should do it through attrition rather than through sacking people. It's not clear whether Labor will sack some of those people. Through attrition I think there will be a natural rebalancing of the public service. I don't think that's a bad thing.

SHEIKH: No, the public service is having to do more and more with less and less. There has been a growth in the proportion of people who are senior public servants. That is challenging of course, and there is an issue there. The reality is our public servants are getting more experienced and the fact that we are compensating them more makes sense.

LUNDY: I do agree with that because I think that with university funding continuing to grow because of the funding system we put in place, what we're dealing with here is a reallocation of university funding to schools to make sure that our primary and secondary school system remains strong. University funding still will grow, it just won't grow as quickly as it would have without that redirection of funding.

SESELJA: I thought that was a very bad decision because you're sort of pitting one part of the education sector against another. My personal view is I'd like to see it restored. I think it's important for our higher education sector, it's important for the ACT. I think higher education is a very important part of our economy so it is a blow to Canberra and it's a legacy of poor budgetary management.

SHEIKH: This is such a silly idea, robbing Peter to pay Paul. Our universities are so crucial to our future because the 21st century economy is going to be a knowledge economy. It's also unnecessary. There are subsidies right now going to the mining industry. The big four banks aren't paying their fair share despite the fact that we're providing them with basic insurance for free. There are ways to make sure we can bring the budget back to surplus while also investing in things like school education.

LUNDY: I believe in quite genuine marriage equality. If two people love each other, why should they be the ones not able to express it through a formal marriage ceremony?

SESELJA: My position is very clear, has been for a long time - I don't support it.

SHEIKH: Not only do I support ending marriage discrimination but I'm willing to fight for it. When the law books discriminate, it sends a message the rest of society can discriminate as well.

If we're going to remove discrimination from our hearts, we've got to remove it from our law books.