In an election where the national trend went against the Labor Party, its member in Ballarat, Catherine King, strengthened her hold on the seat.

Ms King will have a margin likely exceeding 10 per cent, making the seat of Ballarat as safe as it has ever been.

For the Liberals locally, it is a bad result and means some hard work ahead if it is once again to become a competitive federal force in Ballarat.

Candidate Mark Banwell said he had no regrets about how he ran his campaign, but his party colleagues might.

The swing against Mr Banwell of more than 4 per cent will be seen internally as devastating.

It gives the party an awful lot of ground to make up between now and the next election.

If it is to make any inroads before then, it needs to start its planning now.

Ms King, meanwhile, will be pleased to be returned to office, however, she faces a wait to see if she will be a member of the government or the opposition.

For the first time since World War II, Australia is facing a hung parliament, with four independents and a Green likely to hold the balance of power.

While such a scenario might jolt the major parties into reassessing the lack of clear policy that plagued this election campaign, it will serve no other benefit for the country.

The Coalition and the Labor Party will be clambering over each other to strike a deal with the independents in order to form government.

But soon after that happens, things will start to unravel.

There will, unfortunately, be a period of instability before we are forced back to the polls again.

That will happen as soon as whoever forms government feels it has some traction with the electorate or a double dissolution is forced.

At this point, the only certainty is that we won't see this government (whoever it may be) go through to its full term.