The Coalition is saying vote for it because it offers stability and Labor is saying it will put people first.

While the polls are saying it will be close in the national outcome, the result here in Wannon is likely to again return incumbent Liberal member Dan Tehan for a third term.

The question will be by how much with Labor’s Michael Barling and the Greens’ Thomas Campbell building upon their campaigning experience to push Mr Tehan at the ballot box.

Both Mr Barling and Mr Campbell have campaigned hard, and along with independents Michael McCluskey and Bernardine Atkinson, have provided Wannon with decent debate on many issues.

It’s been a refreshing change from some earlier campaigns where Labor struggled to get a decent candidate to take on a blue ribbon Liberal seat.

Many have argued that voters need to move away from Liberals to make Wannon a marginal seat so it can enjoy the largesse the adjoining seat of Corangamite has enjoyed.

But Michael Barling is having none of that and wants to win the seat.

He is urging voters to be “fearless” and vote for him.

He claims Wannon voters have “played scared for 60 years” and as a result they “have played small.” 

He dismisses claims there’s little differences between Labor and Liberal, citing Labor’s support for penalty rates, keeping the GST at current levels, higher education funding and same sex marriage as a few examples of the divide.

Mr Tehan has stuck pretty much to the party line, promising stability, economic security and growth.

The Liberals’ track record on stability is only marginally better than Labor with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull only 10 months in the job after deposing the unpopular Tony Abbott who still lurks in the wings.

On economic security and growth, Australia has not fared too badly with no alarm bells ringing on unemployment and government fiscal responsibility, while not addressed convincingly, at least kept on the periphery of the campaign.

In the end, this election is likely to prove that old political wisdom that oppositions don’t win elections, governments lose them and the Coalition hasn’t done enough to lose it.