To test the mood, we went to Swinger Hill for a completely unscientific sampling of the views of residents who said they were unaligned.

Fitness trainer Jamie Morabito is a classic centrist who may well not decide until polling day. He said he had voted for "Julia" and "Rudd" and he had voted for "Turnbull".

"I have voted Labor in the past and I have voted Liberal," he said. He is now what he calls "decent Labor" but has still not finally made up his mind. He said he may well make the choice on the day itself.

As a small businessman, he is concerned about his profits under whichever government it might end up being. The Liberals appeal more strongly to his business sense, though he rejects the right wing of the party - "The Sky people are crazy", as he puts it.

"I don't like the right wing of the Liberal Party but I do feel that the party is strong with money," he said. "Sometimes you feel that Labor might penalise people with their investments."

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He, like others The Canberra Times talked to, feels his vote might matter this time, not in the race for the House of Representatives where Labor seems certain to retake the three seats, but in the fight for the second Senate seat where independents may unseat the Liberal Zed Seselja.

He is jaundiced about politics, and that may push him towards the independents who seem like new brooms. "I'm tired of hearing the sneering. If you make a blunder in a press conference, that's not a big deal. They simply pick on each other," he said.

Might he go Green then? He won't: "I have voted Green in the Senate but I don't think I'll do it again."

This leaning towards the independents seems common in Swinger Hill. They are swinging independent.

Maybe the kind of place it is helps: comfortable, middle class but not rich, a degree of quaint eccentricity now and again, and on top of a hill so it feels like a quiet island up above any frantic urban rush.

"It feels like a community," said Lynne Bliss, who has lived there for 13 years.

She, too, is leaning independent in that one final place - the second senator - which seems to be up for grabs.

"I was glued Labor but this federal election I think I want change and have an independent," she said.

She cites independents who have impressed her, particularly Ted Mack (known as the father of independents) who served in the NSW and federal parliaments.

Ms Bliss said Mr Mack chose to retire early just so he didn't qualify for a pension funded by the taxpayer. She also likes Tasmanian Senator Jacqi Lambie.

So for her, David Pocock is a "voice of reason". "From the start of the campaign, I was listening to the independents and I think Kim Rubenstein is a good voice, too," she said.

Of one thing she is sure: "Power needs to change from the current government."

Sitting next to her, Jude Dodd is also sure but in the opposite direction: "I don't like Labor."

For her, the party of the left doesn't stand for much. "I wish they would have some spine and stand up for something," she said.

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She, too, is looking hard at the independents. It will not be a vote for the current government: "I cannot stand the current government. I thought Abbott was bad but this lot is worse."

Swinger Hill, then, is fertile ground for independent candidates.

And for humour.

They are all used to guffaws when they say the are from Swinger Hill. "When you renew your insurance you hear laughter at the other end of the line," Lynne Bliss said. "People go, 'OK. Swinger Hill'," Jamie Morabito said.

"You do get sick of the jokes," Jude Dodd said.

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