In the heat of the election campaign, the spotlight is firmly fixed on the marginal seats, where just a few hundred votes could decide the next prime minister.
But as millions of Australians prepare to go to the polls tomorrow, some voters living in safe seats feel overlooked by politicians in their local electorates.
"Definitely they don't care," said Munish Bansal, with a laugh.
Mr Bansal, who is caring full-time for his elderly parents who migrated from India, lives in the seat of Scullin in Melbourne's north.
It is Labor's safest seat, held by Shadow Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles with a margin of more than 21 per cent.
Mr Bansal said he heard of politicians in more marginal areas door-knocking or ringing voters to ask about what mattered to them.
"Nobody comes to my home … I never see any activity here," he said.
Anna Duncombe lives in the rural Queensland town of Kingaroy in the seat of Maranoa — the safest seat in the country.
It is held by the Liberal National Party's David Littleproud, the Coalition's Minister for Agriculture, with a margin of more than 25 per cent.
"Really, my vote will make no [difference to the] result in the election," Ms Duncombe said.
"One good thing, I suppose, is we don't see many politicians.
Wiradjuri man Craig Taylor, who is chair of the Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service, lives in the safe Liberal seat of Farrer, which Environment Minister Sussan Ley holds with a margin of more than 19 per cent.
"We only ever see a politician when they want a photo opportunity," Mr Taylor said.
He has campaigned for Labor in the past but describes himself as a swinging voter between Labor, Greens or a quality independent.
"We just don't get enough coverage. And it's because it's not a marginal seat."
For Vivian Lai-Tran, a law student who lives in Labor-held Gorton in Melbourne's west, living in a safe seat can lead to disillusionment.
"Sometimes I don't feel like I'm really being represented," she said.
"I don't think there's much change that's happening because we are a safe seat, there's no real incentive or motivation for it.
"I've got friends who often speak of underinvestment in our safe seats, like taking for granted working-class families."
But not all safe seats stay safe forever. For example, former prime minister John Howard lost his seat of Bennelong in the 2007 election.
Two of the safest seats in the country right now do not belong to the major parties.
The Tasmanian seat of Clark is held by independent Andrew Wilkie with a margin of 22 per cent, while Melbourne is held by Greens leader Adam Bandt with a similar margin. Both won their seats from Labor in 2010.
For Rajan Venkataraman, who lives in Clark, avoiding the flurry of funding announcements and political fanfare wasn't a bad thing.
"I guess we don't get high-profile visits from the party leaders, or certainly not as much as some other electorates including here in Tasmania.
"We don't get the spending commitments here that the more marginal seats receive … but from my perspective, that's not something that I complain about.
"I actually find the sort of spectacle of those funding promises one of the more distasteful aspects of elections."
What issues matter most in the safe seats?
Ms Duncombe echoed a key concern for much of the country — the lack of general practitioners in rural and remote areas.
"I've had three different GPs in the last 15 months, or three who've come and gone — I'm now on my fourth," she said.
That made it difficult, she said, to build a rapport with a doctor and keep on top of her health, and she hoped more incentives would be offered to keep GPs in the area.
She said while she was pleased that the local hospital in Kingaroy had had a recent upgrade, some health issues had to be treated further afield, which could put strain on the patient and their family.
"If there's anything serious, we have to go to Toowoomba," she said.
Health was also a key concern for Mr Taylor in NSW, who said governments needed to prioritise sustainable funding for Indigenous health programs over the long term — up to 10 years rather than in three- or four-year cycles — if they wanted to see generational change.
A key issue for Mr Bansal was that he was unable to access the carer payment via Centrelink because, he said, his wife's salary alone put their joint income above the threshold, despite him not earning an income himself.
"I'm just looking after my parents … the trouble is both can't speak English, they can't drive, so they need more care," he said.
Mr Venkataraman, a business consultant who previously worked as a public servant, including in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said many of the concerns in his electorate were common across Australia — issues like employment, post-COVID recovery and climate change.
But a priority for him was whether the major parties had asked enough questions about Australia's involvement in Afghanistan — was it for the right reasons, and was the country better or worse off after 20 years?
"Both political parties were involved in that war during their respective terms and government, but there does not seem to have been any questioning of the parties or any accountability," he said.
"There's definitely a community of Afghan refugees here [in Clark], including from the Hazara minority group … and I know there is a lot of anxiety among that community for family members and friends who still remain in Afghanistan."
Another key issue for him was the lack of gender and cultural diversity in the major parties' leadership, especially when so many Australians had migrated here from Asia, Africa and South America.
"Yet we see almost none of those faces or cultural backgrounds represented in the leadership positions in our parties."
"Whoever wins, Australia will once again be led by a white man," he said.
Ms Lai-Tran said it was "infuriating" when parties overlooked a local candidate from the community, such as Tu Le in the Western Sydney seat of Fowler.
Ms Lai-Tran added she felt many issues important to young people and her community weren't being discussed, such as extending mental health care, social services and public housing.
How do people in safe seats make their voices heard?
Jill Sheppard, from the ANU School of Politics and International Relations, said those in safe seats were not bombarded with political posters and handshakes.
"The vast majority of resources in an election campaign go towards marginal seats. And so in a safe seat, it can be blissful — you don't always know that there's an election happening," she said.
"Now that obviously has very serious implications in an era where there are increased attempts at vote-buying."
Dr Sheppard, who lives in the safe Labor seat of Canberra, said it could be challenging for constituents to make their voices heard.
"Our parties are so disciplined — local members are so reluctant to actually go against the grain of their party leadership — it can be hard to get local issues put on the national agenda," she said, although she added some issues were better dealt with at a state or local level.
Some voters told the ABC they hoped to make a statement with their Senate vote come election day, while others said they could approach their local members to raise the issues they cared about directly.
Ms Lai-Tran said she tried to make a difference not through politics but by volunteering at community legal centres.
"My politics is very much informed by what's really happening — how does it actually impact people? How do these policies support our community or not support our community?" she said.
In Farrer, Mr Taylor said he didn't think it was impossible the seat could change hands, saying he saw a glimmer of hope just across the border.
"One day, it will change. And we saw that change when Cathy McGowan won the seat of Indi," he said.
What have politicians done for their safe seats?
Mr Littleproud told the ABC he secured more than $6.9 billion for the electorate for roads, improvements to aged care services and other projects.
"I've never taken being the Member for Maranoa for granted," he said.
He also pointed to $17 million in funding for Heart of Australia — a mobile medical program for rural and remote Queensland.
"To attract the workforce we need, we're cutting HECS debts for doctors and nurses who chose to work in the regions," he said.
There were benefits to living in a safe seat, he said, as having "a seat at the table" ensured the electorate could get its "fair share".
"Being in a Coalition and in government is the only way we see anything like the investment we do in Maranoa," he said.
Mr O'Connor, the member for Gorton, said many in his electorate were struggling with cost-of-living pressures.
He said Labor had committed $10 million to upgrade the Western Highway and also had policies to strengthen Medicare and make child care cheaper.
He added some seats that were previously thought of as "safe" were under threat from those wanting effective representation on issues such as climate change and anti-corruption.
As the Shadow Defence Minister, he said the government had "failed to show leadership in its response to the Brereton war crimes report".
He said Labor supported the creation of the Office of the Special Investigator but added that complex legal processes were underway and needed to be resolved "unhindered by political commentary".
Mr Wilkie said he had been able to secure $1.5 billion of additional funding for his electorate, and said independents can enjoy "disproportionate influence" because a major party might need their support.
"The dynamic is different because a safe seat held by a major party is often ignored by all parties, but the major parties are always interested in seats held by independents, if only because they hold out hope of reclaiming them," he said.
"It's entirely understandable that marginal seats with all their pork-barrelling receive disproportionate media attention.
"But the fact that my vote has increased every election is hard evidence that the community is not fooled by pork-barrelling and instead craves a good local member who effectively represents and helps the community."
He added he had repeatedly raised the Afghanistan issue, especially the obligation to lift Australia's humanitarian intake of Afghan refugees and increase foreign aid.
A spokesperson for Ms Ley said she had been able to commit half a billion dollars for projects in her electorate since the last election, and that Farrer benefits from ongoing support from the Coalition government.
"This will be Sussan’s eighth election. The seat wasn’t safe in 2001," they said.
"Ms Ley has always considered that you reapply for the job every three years, never taking anything for granted."
Ms Ley narrowly won the seat from the Nationals in 2001 after former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer retired.
The spokesperson added the government has allocated $4.6 billion over four years in the budget for Indigenous health programs.
"Our electorate offices in Albury or Griffith are always open to hear from anyone with a concern or idea we can assist with."
The offices of Mr Giles and Defence Minister Peter Dutton were also contacted for comment.
