Many of them, however, are in a precarious position. Out of the 150 constituencies to be competed for later this year, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) identifies 51 as marginal – meaning they are currently held with a margin of less than 6 percent.
These are the 10 closest ones, which will be crucial in deciding who forms government at the end of this election campaign.
Lingiari (Northern Territory)
Currently held by: Labor Party, Marion Scrymgour
Margin: 0.95 per cent
Encompassing all areas of the Northern Territory outside Darwin and Palmerston, Lingiari is among the largest constituencies in Australia. It is also one of the most closely contested – Marion Scrymgour secured victory for the Labor party by a mere 866 votes in 2022.
This year, she will go up against police officer Lisa Siebert, who was preselected for the Country Liberal Party late last year.
Canning (Western Australia)
Currently held by: Liberal Party, Andrew Hastie
Margin: 1.2 per cent
Western Australia is emerging as a crucial battleground in the upcoming election, with Canning being the constituency with the second narrowest margin in the state, standing at 1.2 percent.
That’s due largely to redistribution – Coalition frontbencher Andrew Hastie won it with a more comfortable 3.59 per cent margin in 2022, and it would be a surprise if one of the opposition’s more prominent frontbenchers (Hastie is the shadow defence minister) lost his seat.
Prosecutor Jarrad Goold is Labor’s candidate.
