There are number of federal seats across the nation that are closely watched at every election and the New South Wales seat of Eden Monaro is one such seat.
It's seen as a "litmus test" or "bellwether"* seat and has gone to the party that has won government at every election since 1972.
Some say the seat no longer has the predictive power it once had, but with the contest between the two major parties so fierce, the focus on Eden-Monaro will be as intense as ever.
Thea Cowie reports.
Eden-Monaro is currently held by Labor's Minister for Defence Materiel Mike Kelly who Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has already anointed as the country's next Defence Minister - if he retains his seat.
The 53-year-old retired from the Army in 2007 to contest the seat of Eden-Monaro at the request of then-Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd.
The former Australian Army Colonel served as a military lawyer in Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, East Timor and Iraq.
Mr Kelly - who holds the seat by a margin of 4.2 per cent - says some voters may consider a vote for him could also be a vote for the nation's new defence minister.
"Defence is quite an important issue in this region. We've got a lot of defence families, we've got the headquarters of the joint operations command here so they do appreciate that you elect people to federal parliament to do federal things and there's nothing more federal of course than defence. So I feel that I'll also be a very strong voice for the region in cabinet if that were to pan out so certainly their voice would be amplified in that respect."
The three main issues on which he is basing his claim for re-election are renewable energy, the National Broadband Network and the promotion of tourism in the region.
For most of its history since 1901, Eden-Monaro has been a seat based on farming, fishing and timber.
But, the growth of the town of Queanbeyan, not far from Canberra, means that today the largest employment sector is the public service.
The Liberal attempting to wrest the seat from Labor is former Howard government advisor Peter Hendy.
Mr Hendy - who holds a PhD in economics - has worked as advisor to former Industrial Relations Minister Peter Reith, Chief of Staff to former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson and advisor to deputy leader Julie Bishop.
The former CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says he's confident both Eden-Monaro and the nation will go to the Coalition.
"Well I think that generally across the country and in Eden-Monaro people want a change of government because they're sick of the tired old shambles that's going on in Canberra. We're putting a lot of resources. It's one of the major target seats that the Liberal Party has across the country."
He says the big issue he'll be campaigning on is the high cost of living caused - he says - by the carbon tax and economic mismanagement.
But Australian National University professor of politics John Uhr says Eden-Monaro may no longer have the predictive power it once had.
He says Australian politics is entering a new and uncertain phase.
"The last three years has been unlike any other last three years. Those who like yesterday's news will say that 'yep it's always gone with the government so we'll watch to see how it's going and when we've got reliable pre-election information that it's going to one major party or the other we'll then have a kind of surrogate or shorthand indicator of who might win but I'd be very cautious about some of yesterday's wisdom."
Posing a challenge to the two major party candidates is Palmer United Party candidate Dean Lynch who has been Cooma-Monaro Shire Mayor for the past four years.
Mr Lynch says the Liberal Party tried to woo him to run as their candidate, but the fifth generation farmer joined the Palmer United Party instead, after party founder Clive Palmer approached him personally .
Mr Lynch says he could be Eden-Monaro's first MP in more than 40-years not to represent the government.
"I really think we're going to lose the title of a bellwether seat because people are looking for an alternative that I'm probably offering. The word they've been using with me is they've just had a gutful."
The Greens are fielding former local councillor Catherine Moore who failed to win the seat at the 2010 election with just ten per cent of the vote.
The Christian Democratic Party and the Stable Population Party also have candidates.
Their preferences will be crucial in deciding the two-party preferred vote.
