The decision came after 17 days of protracted negotiation between the independents and the two leaders - and an agonising prologue from Mr Oakeshott. Thumbs up for Labor ... Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor give their support to Julia Gillard. Credit:Andrew Meares Ms Gillard was due to hold a press conference at 4.15pm. Mr Windsor nominated broadband as one of the critical issues that tipped his hand to support Labor. He said both sides had offered generous packages to support health, education and infrastructure for regional communities.

The independents' support gives Ms Gillard the narrowest of margins in the 150-member House of Representatives, bringing to 76 the number of MPs willing to support Labor.



Mr Windsor said providing stability for the country had been another key factor in his decision.



"If a government is formed, how long could it last and that is a key deliberation in our view," Mr Windsor said.



"I make this plea to country people, some of whom don't agree with the Labor Party. This isn't about philosophy, philosophy in terms of both these parties died about a decade ago," Mr Windsor said.



"This is about using the political system to advance the people we represent and those people in regional Australia."



Mr Oakeshott said it had been "an absolute line ball, points decision, judgment call".



"Australia is engaged but Australia is also divided," Mr Oakeshott said.



Mr Windsor announced his decision to back Labor at the start of the press conference.



But Mr Oakeshott maintained the suspense, making a long statement about the reasons for his decision before revealing that he too would support Labor.



He said the independents had secured a deal with Labor to promote regional development and to hold a tax reform summit. Labor's position on broadband and climate change had also been important factors in his decision. Mr Oakeshott had six separate meetings yesterday with Mr Abbott. One source said this morning that when Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor met Mr Abbott last night, the Coalition leader offered them ''everything''. The stakes were raised earlier this afternoon when Queensland independent Bob Katter called a press conference to declare his hand before his two independent colleagues, both from NSW.

Mr Katter announced he was backing the Coalition to form a minority government, and indicated his decision would have been different had Kevin Rudd still been Labor leader. The trio met Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott this morning before they announced their decision. Mr Oakeshott described the task of anointing a government as a ''wicked problem''. Mr Windsor said both leaders had been excellent in their dealings with the independents. ''They both want the job - there is no doubt about that,'' he said.

Throughout the entire process, the men never once stated a positive reason as to why they would choose the Coalition. This seeded a deep pessimism within the Liberal and National parties. Yesterday, at the 11th hour, they also raised the uncertain status of Tony Crook, the breakaway West Australian national who had refused to support the Coalition in a minority government unless his demands were met. The independents had also held out until both parties agreed to major reforms to the Parliament. The Coalition had refused to agree to three points on Sunday but rolled over yesterday as negotiations intensified. Last night, the Coalition secured the critical support of Mr Crook after the trio said that, without him, the Coalition did not have the numbers to form government. In a bombshell on the eve of today's expected decision by the three independents, they declared Mr Crook had asked for $860 million a year for Western Australia's regions, no mining tax and a rewrite of the GST funding formula so the state received more revenue.

But after the independents sounded their warning, Mr Crook crumbled in response to an appeal from the Nationals federal leader, Warren Truss, and severely weakened his bargaining position. ''I will support the Coalition to form a minority government,'' he said. ''But I would like to make it clear that there has been no commitment or agreement on our key policy, therefore I will be on the cross benches until that policy is met.'' The Crook situation was the last hurdle to be cleared before the independents announced their respective decisions. Mr Crook's spokeswoman confirmed that his guaranteed support to form minority government was a promise to support the Coalition against all reckless no-confidence motions and to guarantee supply, thus ensuring it stayed in power for three years.

The Tasmanian independent, Andrew Wilkie, gave Labor the same commitment, as did the Greens MP Adam Bandt. Unlike Mr Crook, however, both secured payoffs in return. Coalition sources regarded the last-minute demand by the three independents as a further sign that the trio was preparing reasons to support Ms Gillard. Mr Oakeshott gave further grist to the theory by saying the Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate was a strong influence to support Labor, given Labor and the Greens work well together. ''That is a pragmatic reality we all have to get used to, like it or not,'' he said.

But Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor teased that they could still back the Coalition. Asked whether their late concern about Mr Crook showed they were still contemplating voting for the Coalition, they did not give a direct answer. Loading - with Jacob Saulwick and Mark Davis Phillip Coorey is the chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald.