The Guardian
Labor leader to remain as prime minister after winning backing from two independent MPs Link to this video
Julia Gillard will lead Australia's first minority government in nearly 70 years after she won the support of two independent MPs today, making her the country's first elected female prime minister.
Seventeen days after inconclusive elections failed to return a clear winner, Gillard's Labor party will have a majority of just one. The result came after two of three wavering rural independent MPs backed her, while the third threw his weight behind the opposition coalition, led by the Liberal party. In a day of high drama and tension, the final decisions of the three MPs gave Gillard the required majority of 76 seats to 74.
For the last two and a half weeks the country has been hanging on to every word of the independents, who have become known as the "three amigos". A press conference had been scheduled for 3pm for their decision to be made public but Bob Katter, the MP from north Queensland, broke off a meeting with the other two MPs an hour early to announce he was backing the opposition coalition. Confusingly Katter then said he was not in fact backing either party but was showing his support for the people of north Queensland. "I went for my tribe, my homeland," he said.
Speculation mounted as to whether Katter had broken ranks with the others because they had decided to back Labor. At 3pm, one of the remaining MPs arrived at the press conference but had to then wait for his colleague to arrive. It was not until 26 minutes into the press conference that the second MP, Rob Oakeshott, revealed he would back Labor in what he described as a "line-ball decision". "This couldn't get any closer," he said.
Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, who are both from regional New South Wales, have consistently said stability and longevity of government were paramount in their decision. They said they backed Gillard because they thought Labor had the most to lose if the government turned out to be short lived. They felt that Labor would be more likely to lose an early election if the government fell so it would do everything in its power to keep it afloat.
"The consideration was: who's likely to work harder to make the parliament work, to make the nation work?" said Oakeshott, who described the dillemma of choosing between the Labor and Liberal parties as "wicked". Windsor went further, revealing that he had not even told his wife who he would support.
An obviously relieved Gillard said Labor would deliver stable government.
"We will govern in the best interests of the Australian people and I know that if we fail in this solemn responsibility, we will be judged harshly when we next face the Australian people at the next election."
Her sweetener to the rural independents was a A$9.9bn (£5.9bn) package, which will include a regional focus on health and education.
"We will make sure regional Australia gets its fair share," she said.
Oakeshott and Windsor acknowledged this was an important part of their negotiations, and cited Labor's policy on broadband and climate change as crucial in their decision. The latter is likely to put them at odds with many in their mainly conservative electorates who are against putting a price on carbon emissions.
With this in mind Windsor took the offensive, saying he thought the climate change debate needed to be revisited.
"I see enormous opportunities where others [in rural Australia] fear the whole climate change debate," he said.
The defeated opposition leader, Tony Abbott, said the result was disappointing.
"For our country's sake I hope that the Labor party can provide a better government than it has over the last three years. For the country's sake I hope the Labor party can rediscover its soul that has been so lacking," he said.
His coalition partner, the National party, traditionally supported by rural voters, went further, saying the outcome was a lost opportunity for a regional Australia. The leader, Warren Truss, said he was worried about the upper house of parliament being controlled by Labor and the "extreme Greens".
Today's result is a narrow escape for Labor. Less than three months ago the party ditched its leader Kevin Rudd in favour of Gillard after his popularity had decreased dramatically. She received an almost immediate bounce in opinion polls, but a shaky election campaign dogged by leaks against her, party infighting and the presence of Rudd made the contest too close to call. No first-term government had been thrown out of office for 80 years.
But this won't be an easy parliament for Labor. As well as relying on Windsor and Oakeshott, Labor also counts a Greens MP and an independent from Tasmania among their 76 seats. All of the independents have reserved the right to consider legislation on its merits.
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