Bass was promised more than $220 million in commitments from the Coalition during the election campaign, and Indi received more than $85 million in promises.

Braddon - with Burnie and Devonport as its major centres - also received well over $100 million in promises.

Yet safe Labor seat Ballarat received just $10.5 million while Bendigo - which was marginal for Labor - received no funding commitments at all.

Read more: Bendigo Liberal candidate refuses to share plans for electorate

Ballarat, Bendigo and Launceston have comparable populations and demographics, but their electoral fortunes mean some would get a raft of upgrades to roads, hospitals and community facilities, while the others remained uncertain.

Psephologist Kevin Bonham said it was an "unfortunate aspect" of Australia's parliamentary democracy, but in a free country there was no way of forcing parties to allocate promises based on need.

"For some seats, the only thing that's been effective has been to get an independent uprising," he said.

"If you can get an independent member, who then gets the balance of power, that can obviously help.

"For a lot of seats that are safe either way, there's nothing you can do.

"If any voters in safe seats want to get together and form an anti-pork barrelling party, then good luck to them."

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Mr Bonham said it was clear the Liberal Party had "picked targets" and knew there was a path to victory by spending big in winnable Labor seats, such as Bass and Braddon.

When questioned about pork barrelling during one of his many visits to Launceston during the campaign, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the party was simply "working with the local community" to provide "important investment".

2016: Labor hold, 3.7% (2.5% swing)

Coalition promises: $0

Labor promises: $29 million

2019: Labor hold, 9.3% (5.4% ALP swing)

It's hard to dispute the power of Trades Hall in Bendigo, an institution that has helped the Labor Party hold the federal seat and two state seats since 1999.

The Liberal Party has struggled to find strong candidates in recent years, and in 2019 its candidate was relatively unknown in the community and received no support from the party.

The Coalition clearly knew they had no chance in the seat, and despite their candidate promising to announce promises on the day of the election, none eventuated.

Read more: Liberal candidate backflips on promise to beat Labor pledges by 10 per cent

Bendigo had the second highest swing to Labor of any seat, only behind Macnamara which had a particularly poor Liberal candidate.

Labor's promises for a health and wellbeing hub in Castlemaine, an expansion of the Bendigo Airport terminal and sports precinct in Gisborne would not go ahead.

Map showing polling places in Bendigo division. Red shows where Labor received a majority of two-candidate preferred votes, while blue shows Liberal. Story continues below

2016: Labor gain, 6.1% (10.1% ALP swing)

Coalition promises: $228 million

Labor promises: $205 million

2019: Liberal gain, 0.3% (5.8% Lib swing)

Bass has swung between Liberal and Labor regularly since the turn of the century, and even with it being close to safe for Labor following the 2016 election, it was clearly in play.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the electorate 10 times since the start of 2019, backed by candidate Bridget Archer whose position as mayor of George Town gave her a strong local profile.

The importance of the seat was demonstrated on May 14 - four days out from the election - when Mr Morrison arrived in Launceston to announce funding for Albert Hall and a community hub, projects still in their early stages of development.

His visit started a bidding war of sorts - Labor upped their promise for the facilities by $6 million, and the Liberal Party pumped a few more million into their commitment in a matter of minutes.

Promises included $64 million for a highway upgrade, $40 million for a road upgrade, a $10.5 million mental health walk-in centre and $34.7 million to reduce surgical waiting lists at the Launceston General Hospital.

2016: Labor hold, 7.3% (2.4% ALP swing)

Coalition promises: $10.6 million

Labor promises: $46.6 million

2019: Labor hold, 11% (3.6% ALP swing)

Like Bendigo, Ballarat has been a Labor heartland for years meaning the Liberal Party's low spending platform in 2019 was unlikely to swing the seat.

Labor MP Catherine King is also a popular local member.

The Liberal Party made the first promise of the campaign - $10.1 million to mark Sovereign Hill's 50th anniversary - but little afterwards.

In the end, Labor outspent the Liberals more than four-to-one but their overall election loss meant projects like a $14 million runway extension to Ballarat Airport, $10 million for a health research hub and $5 million for Her Majesty's Theatre would not go ahead.

2016: IND gain, 4.4%

Coalition promises: $85.2 million

Labor promises: $4.8 million

2019: IND gain, 1.5% (4% Lib swing)

Independent Cathy McGowan's defeat of Liberal stalwart Sophie Mirabella in 2013 came after one of the most intriguing contests of the election, and her back-up win in 2016 locked in Indi for the independent.

Her retirement ahead of the 2019 election opened the door for the Liberal Party again as they threw funds at the seat - $64 million for an overpass on the Hume Freeway near Wodonga, $10 million for a sporting hub and $4 million for a study hub in Wangaratta.

Despite independent Helen Haines winning the seat ahead of the Liberals' Steve Martin, these projects will still go ahead.

2018 by-election: Labor hold, 2.3% (0.1% ALP swing)

Coalition promises: $137 million

Labor promises: $184 million

2019: Liberal gain, 3.4% (5.1% Liberal swing)

Bill Shorten spent more time in Braddon than Bass during his trips to Tasmania, and it was clear why: the electorate was probably the most at-risk of any of Labor's seat.

Both parties spent big in the seat with regional centres Burnie and Devonport benefiting.

Liberal candidate Gavin Pearce had a strong local profile and secured the party a swing above the national average.

Projects like $41.5 million for highway upgrades, $40 million for a ship loader precinct in Burnie and $40 million for a road between Burnie and Wynyard were among the promises.

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