Two of the safest Liberal seats in Australia have become marginal for the first time in recent history, surprising people in regional Western Australia who feared their votes would not matter.
Political analysts say the fall in the Liberal Party's primary vote reflected "complacency" among incumbent MPs and sentiment among traditional voters that they were being "taken for granted".
The healthy margins held by former Morrison government cabinet minister Melissa Price and assistant minister Nola Marino in the seats of Durack and Forrest were slashed to under six per cent.
In O'Connor, Rick Wilson also battled huge swings to Labor to see his 15.4 per cent margin drop below nine per cent.
All three politicians have been in office for a combined 33 years and have been elected for another term.
Many regional residents told the ABC on polling day they felt frustrated living in safe seats. Voters in Durack, Australia's largest seat by area, complained of feeling overlooked and forgotten throughout the campaign.
Election promises in the bush were minimal and there were no high-profile visits from either major party during the campaign.
'Why vote? It doesn't matter'
Jodie Lucas and Derek Stoney have lived in Karratha for 14 years and treated voting in Durack as a formality on Saturday.
"As long as my name gets marked off I'm all good," Ms Lucas said.
"I just feel they already know who is going to win before we vote."
Ms Lucas said many of her friends felt the same.
"That's what they all think. Why vote? It doesn't matter anyway," she said.
Geraldton resident Jonelle Green said there was a sense of great apathy in a safe seat.
"A number of people have said, 'Oh, I don't vote. I have never voted' and I am, like, maybe that is part of the problem," she said.
Karratha residents Harry and Maddy said issues like healthcare mattered to them but admitted they had not paid much attention to the election campaign.
"I feel like I’m such a small piece in such a big movement that it's just not going to make much of a difference," Maddy said.
MP: Safe because we work hard
But Melissa Price rejected suggestions voters in Durack – the fourth most conservative seat in the country – felt they had been taken for granted during the campaign.
"I have never believed that, because you are considered to be a safe seat, that you don't get as much attention."
'There's no point for us'
In WA's south, the Liberal Party has held Forrest since 1972 and some voters grappled with similar issues as they cast their votes on Saturday.
Charlie Nadin said he wanted more attention paid to his electorate.
"It's irritating. It feels like a waste of a vote, sadly," he said.
Mr Nadin said the provision of healthcare and affordability of housing were issues that he felt were not being adequately addressed in his seat.
"If you're a federal member, you should be pushing for these things for Bunbury and the Forrest region and I haven't seen any evidence of that," he said.
Fellow Bunbury resident Maria Samantela's frustration almost stopped her heading to the polls on election day.
"We were like, who's going to look after the kids? We'll just stay here and not vote and just pay for the penalty," she said
"There's no point for us."
Forrest MP Nola Marino hit back at the suggestion politicians could become complacent in long-held safe seats.
Ms Marino made just two election pledges during the campaign — for improved childcare and mental health facilities — the same number as her unsuccessful Labor challenger, Bronwen English.
"You never ever take one day for granted in this role," she said.
"I respect the decisions that people make, that's what our democracy is about."
Ms Marino said she would work "very hard" to continue to represent her electorate but abruptly ended her interview with the ABC when asked what she could offer in opposition.
Country seats could now be up for grabs
Political commentator Peter Kennedy said winning a fourth consecutive term of government was always going to be difficult for the Liberal Party.
"Seats like Durack and O'Connor really seem to be Liberal Party heartland and as safe as a bank, as it were.
"In that regard, all candidates can sort of take things for granted … if voters feel like they're being taken for granted, they look elsewhere and that's what they've done."
Mr Kennedy said the seats of Durack and Forrest were now in play for both major parties at the next election.
"There could well be a huge battle between the major parties now for those seats," he said.
"Labor might think, well, they could be within reach.
"If the new government thinks they've got a chance of winning those seats, then they'll get more attention."
WA politics lecturer Martin Drum said voters in safe seats would always miss out, compared to hotly contested electorates.
"Your political leaders will spend most of their time trying to cover the marginal seats and win voters over there … and the safer seats just don't get the attention," he said.
"There's a lot less opportunity to get your pet project supported if you're a local member or candidate in the seat of Forrest."
Rick Wilson made no apology for that strategy.
"So no, I don't have any problem with more resources or more effort going into those seats because, on the flip side, the Labor Party didn't put a huge amount of resources into my seat either.
"Part and parcel of being a member of a party and you know being a team player, is that those resources if they're needed to be spent in other seats, that's where they should be spent."
Voters in control of safe seats
In Mr Wilson's seat, truck driver Caleb Truscott said he had not been impressed by election promises from any of the candidates.
"They all seem to be chucking in the same amount of money … I drive around enough to see all the roadworks that get done … it's not enough."
But Mr Truscott said it was voters in control in safe seats.
"I guess it means [the Coalition] are doing a good job if everyone keeps electing them," he said.
A spokesman for the WA Liberal Party told the ABC a review of election results would be conducted in the weeks ahead, including all regional seats.
Additional reporting by Verity Gorman, Cecile O'Connor, Kyle Pauletto, Mark Bennett, and Dominique Bayens.
