That’s the one guarantee we should expect from whatever deals the trio of independents manage to extract from the major parties before declaring their respective hands.

There are even suggestions that regional development will be brought under the direct control of the prime minister.

But no matter who is determined to have eventually won office, one thing is for sure – the face and nature of federal politics has just been given a massive kick that will change the Australian political scene for at least the life of the next parliament.

Whoever it is that becomes prime minister could have to appease both the left-leaning Greens and a conservative independent in order to govern, and how anyone can manage to do that effectively remains to be seen.

Minority governments are not new to the Australian political landscape, but they are rare.

The flip side for some is that the predictable party politics we are all so accustomed to will be banished and there will be additional scrutiny of every piece of legislation.

We are edging ever so close to a decision, and it seems that the Labor party is favoured to win over the independents.

A Tony Abbott blemish on electoral costings and public support for Labor’s National Broadband Network could be seen as early indicators of the decision all Australia is waiting on.