In the part of the ACT where the Liberals did best, voters who switched from Liberal to Labor were hard to find.

There were more voters who had made the opposite journey towards the ultimate victors. Among them, fear of Labor's tax plans was prominent.

The Canberra Times talked to voters in the Lanyon Marketplace in Conder. It wasn't a rigorous scientific sample but the 20 people did make up a good cross-section - men and women, tradies and business owners, retirees, young and old.

Handling of the economy was a prominent reasons for switching from Labor to Liberal.

And Bill Shorten failed to convince some that he was prime ministerial material.

Some had wavered between Greens and Labor. One voted Labor despite Bill Shorten as leader. Another spoilt his ballot paper in disgust at all the politicians on offer.

Forty-year-old Paul Hands who owns his own small construction company said, as he waited for food at the Conder Takeaway, that he had sometimes voted Labor in the past - but not this time.

"The taxes that Labor were bringing in with regard to the housing market" had put him off. "The last time they were in power, they put us in a huge amount of debt."

Another switcher echoed that. As she bought a sliced loaf at Bakers Delight, Rebecca Bartholmeusz, said, "I voted Liberal this time.

"I don't like Bill Shorten. He's not a statesman for me. I like the old-fashioned leaders who are charismatic, with class and a bit of style, something which makes them unique."

Serving her on the other side of the counter, Samantha Collins, 52, said she had been tempted by Labor - her son is a mechanic as was her father and her husband is a primary school teacher.

But in the end, she went Green. "You've got to look to the future for the younger generation."

Her colleague serving bread and Vegemite scrolls was of that younger generation. She, too, had voted Green. Rhianna (who didn't want to give her last name) said, "I used to vote the way mum and dad did [Liberal] but this time I looked into it more and I ended up voting Green because of climate change."

Older people tended to vote Liberal. "I like Scott Morrison," said 72-year-old Judy Bowser. "He seems like a nice family man."

Having a smoke out at the back of Woolies, Russell Broadhurst and his wife were dyed in the wool Labor. She explained the Liberal victory as, "It's better the devil you know."

"All the people who were well off were scared of losing it. At the top end of town, they want to keep at the top end of town," Mr Broadhurst said.

But even some Labor stalwarts had their doubts. Antonio (who again didn't want to disclose his last name) said, "Bill Shorten was the weak link. He doesn't inspire trust."

Others were more confident. Gillian Kimball voted Labor because of "climate change, refugees and tax cuts for rich people". She put the Greens second on the list.

One Labor voter - Charles - had voted Liberal in the past but was swayed leftwards by climate change and "because the tax system has become grossly in favour of the upper end. It needs to be changed to help young people get a home."

So where had it gone wrong for Labor? Franking credits kept coming up.

Labor promised or threatened (depending on your point of view) to end the tax rebate shareholders get when their dividend had already been taxed.

For retirees who depend on their savings invested in the stock market this might be costly.

"They needed to be more flexible on franking credits," said the uneasy Labor voter. "They should have tried to exempt people who were not wealthy."

New father, 57 year-old Peter Davis, said, "I'm about to retire and I have a little girl to look after." He voted Liberal. "Some of Labor's polices were close to communism."

Some were solid for the Liberals. Seventy-six-year-old Jill Butler voted Liberal, "Scott Morrison is a good Christian and we prayed for him," she said as she collected money for the Salvation Army.

She added that a Labor victory would have threatened her and her husband's retirement income. "We didn't want Labor to get in and take it all from us."

Fifty-nine-year-old Karen considered putting Labor as first preference but didn't for fear of its tax policy. "As a retiree, I wasn't sure what it meant for me and my super."

But she wasn't happy with the Liberal party. "They have lost touch with the common people and they are only looking after their friends."

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Peter Blunt had wavered between Labor and Green but opted for Labor because he wanted "a main stream party to win". "I agreed with franking credits. I've got shares but I don't think it's good to give people free money."

Another Labor voter - a mother of three who didn't want to be identified - said she had voted for the party because of "job security - I'm a public servant".

But she was not enthusiastic. "Both parties were just talking about how bad the others were."

Another voter couldn't remember which way she had finally gone, to the Greens or Labor.

All Mary Carroll knew as she sipped her coffee was that she wasn't going to vote Liberal. "They are sexist, misogynist and climate-change deniers. Their policy on refugees is appalling."

She picked her preferences from the bottom up, first choosing the candidate she least wanted, and ended with Greens and Labor at the top, though which of the two won her first preference vote remains a mystery.

One man, in a rush, hadn't voted for anyone. He said, "I went zilch" as he made a gesture like scrawling a pen through a list to rule out the whole lot.