Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited Government House on Sunday afternoon to dissolve both houses of Parliament, allowing for the election of a new government on July 2.

The move means the Young Shire now falls in the federal seat of Riverina instead of Hume, held by Liberal Angus Taylor since September 2013.

Riverina's would-be representatives have claimed to be “upbeat” and “energised” as they gear up for the longest election campaign since the 1960s.

Riverina MP Michael McCormack placed defence spending at the heart of his re-election pitch and warned a vote for Labor’s Tim Kurylowicz would jeopardise up to $1 billion set aside to upgrade Wagga’s two military bases over the next two decades.

“The defence spending we've promised will be in jeopardy if Labor gets in,” Mr McCormack said.

“In the six years Labor were in government, they slashed defence spending to record low levels and will do the same again and Wagga, as a military city, will suffer.

“People may not see defence spending first-hand, but rest assured it’s going to build companies around town, the security companies at the bases, tourism operators servicing the march-outs – it all keeps Wagga drought-proof and prosperous.”

The government has $1.6 billion in undisclosed spending that can be spent in the first 10 days of the election campaign, which Labor’s candidate would tip into local health if he held the purse strings.

“If I had $1.6 billion, I would spend it on putting more nurses and allied health workers right across this electorate,” Mr Kurylowicz said.

“We have the bricks and mortar but not the staff required to provide adequate health care and that’s a big concern to our way of life.”

For the first time Riverina candidates will not hit the hustings of food bowl towns Griffith, Leeton and Narrandera, nor Tumut and Tumbarumba. Instead they will need to appeal for the votes of Cowra, Cootamundra, Young, Parkes and Forbes.

As a result of the redistribution, the National two-party preferred margin has dropped from 21.2 per cent to a reported 19 per cent. 

Greens-aligned Wagga councillor Kevin Poynter expected his party to appoint an election candidate today, Tuesday, after weeks of distributing, collecting and counting ballot papers from local Greens members.

Three years ago Greens candidate Ros Prangnell claimed just 3.6 per cent of the vote, with a swing of nearly one per cent against her.