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Nearly two years of industrial relations battles across the public service could be a game changer this election, says one senate hopeful. David Smith, ACT director of the Professional Australia union representing technical public servants, has taken leave from work to campaign as Labor's second ACT senate candidate. He is confident frustration within the public sector may dictate outcomes in the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro – held by assistant finance minister Peter Hendy – as well as Lindsay and Hindmarsh. "I think it's going to have a huge impact on the election because you've got to look past the raw numbers of job losses and think of the public servants themselves, then it becomes a large group of voters," he said. "Over the past three years, we have had a combination of losing thousands of jobs across the region and that's flowed on to small and medium businesses across the ACT," he said. "This approach has led much of the public service workforce to question whether they are valued." His viewed are shared by opposition employment spokesman Brendan O'Connor, who has vowed to dump the government's bargaining policy that has led to two years of industrial strife in the public service. Labor insiders say the party hopes the move will boost its chances in several marginal seats with large numbers of public service or military-employed voters, including the bellwether Eden-Monaro outside Canberra. Some of the public service's largest departments are yet to sign a new enterprise agreement, including 20,000 civilian staff at Defence and another 20,000 at the Australian Tax Office. Technically, enterprise bargaining can continue during the caretaker period although this is unlikely given agreements would become politically contentious. Public servants have also been warned to monitor their social media use during the campaign to avoid any appearance of political engagement or endorsements. Defence Force personnel have also been told they will be punished if caught campaigning in their uniforms. The measures drew criticism from the Community and Public Sector Union as "politically motivated over-reach". Mr Smith, a former public servant who ran for the senate unsuccessfully in 2004, said he decided to run for the senate after former defence minister David Johnson's description the public sector workforce as "fat and happy". "I had worked closely with professionals in the public service and found them anything but the implied lazy, fat cats," he said. "They were hard working, ethical professionals driven by an evidence based approach to work that was often frustrated by those looking for a quick, political fix. "The lack of respect and devaluing of public service in those comments said something to me about this Government's attitude to their own workforce and to working people and their families overall."

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