Battle for Melbourne will be close: Bandt

Greens leader Christine Milne is confident her party can pick up seats in the Senate. Source: AAP

THE battle to retain the Australian Greens' only lower house seat will come down to a handful of votes, deputy leader Adam Bandt says.

Mr Bandt is confident of claiming victory against Labor's Cath Bowtell in the seat of Melbourne which he holds by a six per cent margin, but admits it will be a close call.

"We've probably got our noses in front at this point but it is going to be very close and it will come down to a handful of votes," he said outside a polling booth in Melbourne.

In 2010, Mr Bandt wrested the seat from Labor for the first time in a century but won via Liberal preferences.

This time the Liberals have preferenced the Greens last and the minor party needs a four per cent boost in primary votes to win.

"We know that we are trying to do something that hasn't been done before and that is win a lower house seat here in our own right," Mr Bandt said.

Mr Bandt says voters "certainly don't want Tony Abbott" and are fed up in a race to the bottom by the major parties.

He says voters have a choice between a Labor backbencher likely to be in a demoralised opposition or a party who will be in the balance of power in the Senate and be an insurance against Mr Abbott's "brutal" agenda.

"Unlike the Labor Party, I won't vote Tony Abbott to send refugees offshore," he said.

Ms Bowtell agrees voters are worried about getting a Liberal government, but only Labor can form government and protect voters from what she says will be the impacts of the East West tunnel, expand the rail network and invest in education.

"The only party that can form government and keep the Liberals out is the Labor Party," she said, after casting her vote in Melbourne.

She says the Greens are making lots of pledges they cannot deliver on.

"The Greens are promising lots of things but that is a dishonest promise that you make to people because the Greens will not form government and you have to form government to do the things that people want," she said.

"If I'm elected, I'll be a strong voice in the Labor caucus in government or in the alternative government and really, at election day, we choose the government."

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