After the morning clamour for coffee has abated and the cups have been cleared, he chats with passers-by on Queen Street, not far from Campbelltown Station.

"The thing is that everyone here is looking for a better life," Mr Khatouki, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said.

Traditional working-class territory, Campbelltown was a hugely symbolic loss for Labor at the 2011 election.

A 20.5 per cent swing saw the usually rock-solid seat change from red to blue. The only other time Campbelltown has voted Liberal was in 1968 when the electorate was founded as a "country district".

A shift south in electoral boundaries has since notionally doubled the Liberal margin from 3.4 per cent to 6.8 per cent.

The Labor Party will be hungry to regain the seat, along with others such as Granville and Prospect, to restore what was its western Sydney fortress.

While the privatisation of "poles and wires" has dominated much of the debate in the lead-up to the election, when the Herald visited Campbelltown's city centre it was unemployment that was on voters' minds.

The area, which takes in Airds, Bradbury, Menangle Park and Leumeah, has an average jobless rate higher than the state and nation.

It takes at least an hour's drive, or sometimes longer by  public transport, to reach the city and residents say there is a shortage of local jobs.

It is a worry that Mr Khatouki, who is still undecided about his vote, said his customers raise with him every day.

"This is a wonderful place to live but a lot of people are unemployed," he said.

"It's such a long way to the city and it's not possible for some people to work there, but there are no major companies around here that people can work for."

One local in that situation is fitter-machinist Paul Edwards, 63, who has struggled to find a job for a nearly a year.

"The problem is there's no work here," Mr Edwards said.

"I'm on the internet looking and I go up to the mission, I've had to get financial support."

A deep-seeded loyalty to Labor still exists at street level.

"I don't think this Liberal government has done too badly but I'll still vote for the ALP," Joan Castle, 77, said.

"When I was growing up my father said that the little people of this world vote for Labor."

The "Abbott factor" might also prove significant in the dogfight for Campbelltown, with several residents saying that Prime Minister Tony Abbott's performance would influence how they voted.

"I just don't like Abbott. Not at all," Renee Vamvas said.

"I just think he is for the rich and not for everyone. Nothing is changing, it's getting worse. The richer get richer and the poorer get poorer."

Liberal MP Bryan Doyle, who was formerly Chief Inspector at Campbelltown police, said Labor had ignored the electorate for 16 years.

"I've had old Labor voters come up and tell me 'Doyle, we've never seen this place get as much as love'," Mr Doyle said.

"My philosophy has always been very simple, I have only ever worried about what I do, what I think, what I say and what I have control over," he said of the Abbott factor.

Mr Doyle said he is most proud of securing Campbelltown's recognition as a regional city.

He said this elevation will mean there is a focus on boosting local jobs, services and transport in the electorate.

"When I first arrived no one ever spoke about Campbelltown but Campbelltown is now very high in the agenda," Mr Doyle said.

His opponent, Greg Warren, is a former soldier turned business manager who was chosen as Labor's candidate through a community pre-selection.

The Labor Party trialled the community pre-selections, where party members and the public both get to vote, in five seats.

Mr Warren said a big part of his campaign will focus on the state government's cuts to TAFE funding, which he says has caused Campbelltown TAFE to drop a dozen of its courses.

The Labor Party, he said, copped a well-deserved punishment at the last election but had learnt its lesson about taking western Sydney for granted.

"I am glad to see certain people expelled from our party so they can never come back. I know I have moved on and I am looking to the future," Mr Warren said.

"I am a proud rank-and-file Labor Party member, who was just one of those guys handing out flyers on election days and supporting local members."

Your seat-by-seat guide to the NSW election:

<a href="/interactive/2015/nsw-election/electorates/electorates.html?el=Campbelltown" _rte_href="/interactive/2015/nsw-election/electorates/electorates.html?el=Campbelltown">Key facts on NSW electorates</a>