''I try to fly under the radar a bit,'' he said. ''We do get some radiated stress, but it's more stressful for Meredith.

''[To deal with it], I go mountain bike riding. We don't talk about the campaign much at home.''

For Tony, Meredith and Marcus, 19, Will, 15, and Isaac, 13, their O'Connor home is as free from politics as possible. But Ms Hunter says the past few months of campaigning ahead of Saturday's ACT election have been ''relentless''.

''By the time we get to this point in the campaign we've been going for a long time,'' she said.

''I try and continue to do as much as I can, but taking kids to soccer and futsal tryouts and all that sort of thing has very much been with Tony.''

While Will and Isaac are not too fussed by the election, Marcus is preparing to vote for the first time and has followed the main issues of the campaign. ''It's not really surprising because I come from a family that's quite involved,'' he said. ''I went through a stage this year where I got quite frustrated with people.

''It's fine if they've got no interest, but if they've got a very strong view point but no evidence, no justification for it, it can be frustrating.''

Marcus said all of the children had helped to a certain extent with the campaign by delivering pamphlets to Canberra households.

''And while they're doing that, I'm painting,'' Tony jokes. ''My contribution is household in kind.

''I try to pick things up at that end, keep the household and keep the kids happy. Everybody's got their role.''