That’s how tight the contest was nationwide. In the Hunter, however, the battle was much more decisive.

Aside from Lyne, which is based on the Mid North Coast and stretches to Bolwarra and Lorn, where Nationals MP Dr David Gillespie retained the seat, the Hunter Region has furthered its reputation as a Labor stronghold.

Incumbent Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon was returned with a margin of about 25 per cent in the two-party preferred vote against Nationals candidate Ruth Rogers.

Labor MP Sharon Claydon cleaned up in Newcastle, with a 63 per cent to 37 per cent win over Liberal David Compton in the two-party count.

The battle for Shortland was a similar story, as Labor’s Pat Conroy claimed almost 75 per cent of the votes.

In Paterson, the Liberal Party’s last remaining Hunter Region seat at a state or federal level, went convincingly to Labor candidate – and former Joel Fitzgibbon staffer – Meryl Swanson.

The contest was blown open earlier this year when long-time Liberal MP Bob Baldwin announced his retirement from politics, which meant no-one had the edge of incumbency.

With all but three polling places counted on Sunday, Ms Swanson has claimed 61 per cent of the two-party vote, while Liberal candidate Karen Howard recorded 39 per cent.

The results show a clear dissatisfaction with the Coalition government in this region.

While many people will be hoping for a majority government to be formed, a hung Parliament (where neither party has a clear majority) would be better for this region than having a troupe of MPs in opposition for the next three years.

The Hunter Region still has something to gain from the final result – the prospect of a hung Parliament, which would have been scoffed at by political experts a week ago, is now a real possibility.

But given vote counting for the Lower House will not resume until Tuesday, and there are several seats on a knife’s edge that may need recounts, we are unlikely to know the final result for days, at least.