Coalition frontbenchers Andrew Robb and Greg Hunt wrote to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation board asking it not to release any money; shadow communications minister Malcolm Turnbull called for the National Broadband Network Company to stop entering into major contracts; and Julie Bishop demanded equal access for political parties under the Broadcasting Act.

The then Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott supported the campaign and added to it with complaints about the reappointment of the Electoral Commissioner and other public servants, and suggestions that the government was improperly going to announce the next Governor-General.

The opposition calls were all nonsense. The government was not in caretaker mode, which in the event did not begin until the 5th knowledge knew it.

Why am I bringing this up now? Well, the Victorian election is set for Saturday, November 29 and last Monday, just nine weeks short of the poll, the government signed a $6.8 billion contract for the East-West toll road project in Melbourne.

Strictly speaking, the Government is within its rights. The trigger for the start of the caretaker period is the expiration of the Victorian Legislative Assembly on November 4.

But, if ever there was a case for holding up signing a contract to comply with the general principles of the convention, this is it.

The conventions are common sense. Shortly there might be a change of government and consequently the government should avoid making major policy decisions that would be likely to commit an incoming government. Specifically, the Federal conventions state that the government should avoid making significant appointments and avoid entering major contracts or undertakings.

In signing the East-West Link contract the Victorian government is in breach of the spirit of the guidelines. Much worse, its decision could well cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Labor and the Greens have made their opposition to the East-West Link clear. The polls also show Labor as favourite to win the election.

So why commit to the project? Why not wait a few weeks and let the election winner decide?

Not only has the Napthine government signed but, according to The Age, the contract gives the East-West consortium the right to claim termination payments, believed to be worth about $500 million. These payments will be due even if the contract is ultimately deemed invalid as a result of a Supreme Court challenge to the road by Yarra and Moreland councils.

Prime Minister Robert Menzies is thought to have initiated the caretaker conventions in Australia, when he wrote to his ministers before the1951 double dissolution election, telling them they should not make decisions on matters of a contentious nature, without first referring the matter to him.

The East-West Link is about as contentious as state politics gets. One recent poll found that 62 per cent of voters rated Labor's signature policy of removing Melbourne's 50 worst level crossings as more important than the East-West Link, which was favoured by only 28 per cent of the electorate.

Since the last election the Coalition has hung on with the bare minimum numbers of seats in the Assembly. In 2010 it won 45 seats to Labor's 43 but, having to appoint a speaker whose vote could only be used to resolve a tie, the Coalition government was dependent on the vote of maverick member Geoff Shaw. After causing much trouble, Shaw moved to the crossbenches, tying the major parties at 43-all.

While the polls show Labor set to win the election, the gap is likely to close as the campaign intensifies.

A Labor win would be a major boost for the party federally. Voters do distinguish between Federal and state elections and the result will not be a comment on the Abbott government's performance.

But a Labor victory would provide the party with added resources in the form of staffers to help fight the next federal election.

It would also change the balance in the Council of Australian Governments, where Labor is currently represented only by the ACT and South Australia. Labor has a faint hope of winning government in two other states, NSW and Queensland, which are due for elections in the first half of next year.

The Queensland campaign will be muddied by last week's announcement of a Senate Committee examination of the state's use of Commonwealth funds, the administration of its judicial system, and questions around development and environmental approvals.

The investigation, sponsored by the Palmer United Party (PUP) and supported by the Greens and Labor, is a breach of the convention that one parliament does not interfere in the affairs of another, a fact Coalition members were quick to point out.

But their complaints seem hollow given their record of breached conventions, going back to the 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government and their more recent enthusiasm for Royal Commissions into the actions of previous Labor governments. Sometimes it suits to invoke convention; sometimes it doesn't.

One interesting sideshow in all three elections will be the performance of the Palmer United Party. The Senate investigation gives the party a chance to maintain its high profile in Queensland, where it is likely to spend large amounts of money in the hope of at the very least, costing Premier Campbell Newman his seat.

In Victoria, if the polls are right, PUP will have little impact, while in NSW scandalous issues predominate. The corruption of previous Labor ministers is now offset to some extent by revelations about Liberal election slush funds, understandably increasing public cynicism about the whole political process.