Labor's most expensive promise was $1 billion to help build the Perth Metronet, while the Coalition's greatest pledge was to establish a $1 billion protection fund for the Great Barrier Reef, using money from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's $10 billion special account. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten shake hands at the Facebook debate. Credit:Andrew Meares The parties spent the least on the Australian Capital Territory, which is widely considered safe Labor ground. Fairfax's analysis tallied announcements contained in media releases and transcripts of interviews distributed to national media since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull officially called the election on May 8. It was restricted to new spending commitments for local state and territory projects, and did not include pledged funding for national policies, which if implemented would flow to more than one state or territory.

Chris Berg, a senior fellow at conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, said the Coalition - appealing to party members - had been unable to match Labor's promises, while framing itself as the party committed to reining in national spending and debt. "They are running a spending campaign with a hand behind their back," he said. Mr Berg said the Coalition was more likely to capitalise on the figures to continue its attack on Labor's ability to manage the budget, than to raise the stakes in the final fortnight of the campaign: "If they did it would be counterproductive to their standing." "The Coalition has found an attack and criticism of the ALP since they released their spending and cutting plans that show Shorten is a lot weaker on budget matters than he'd presented before," Mr Berg said.

Labor has focused its campaign on its traditional strengths of health and education. While Opposition leader Bill Shorten has conceded a Labor government would deliver greater deficits over the next four years to deliver them, he has also vowed to return the budget to balance by 2021, the same year the Coalition has promised to do so. He has also pledged to release the full costings for Labor's "100 positive policies" before the advertising blackout for the election. The latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll puts the opposition just ahead of the Coalition, with the two-party vote at 51-49, though most voters still believe the Coalition will win the July 2 election. Mr Turnbull on Saturday committed $10.5 million to build a new indoor regional netball centre in the Victorian seat of Deakin, saying in a statement this would "drive jobs and growth". Pressed on how money for sporting venues could contribute to economic growth, he said it was an "investment in the health of the young people" that used them, which would help them lead more productive lives. Veteran Labor Party campaigner and lobbyist Bruce Hawker said the data indicated Labor was aggressively targeting marginal seats in Western Australia that it ordinarily would not.

"Normally some of the seats targeted in Western Australia would be beyond the hopes and aspirations of even the most ambitious campaign directors," said Mr Hawker, who was previously prime minister Kevin Rudd's leadership campaign strategist. "But given what we're seeing in Western Australia at the moment, seats with margins of more than 5 per cent would be within striking range for Labor," he said. While Mr Berg said that leaders' responses to national questions on security and the economy were more likely to sway voters at the ballot box and prompt major swings in the polls, Mr Hawker said local promises had a significant influence on regional voters, and could move margins in key electorates up to 5 per cent. Labor, Mr Hawker said, had taken a calculated risk in promising to spend more than the Coalition to gain ground in marginal seats in rural Australia. While the government could renew its attack on Labor in the national media outlets, "in the electorates themselves people are reading the ... front-page story that says they're going to get a new playing field if Labor's elected, [and] then people may be more influenced by Labor's interest in the local community than concern about perceived over-spending". A Coalition spokeswoman said the Turnbull government's promises were "fully funded, with a sustainable path to surplus".