Title Details

With neither side of Parliament receiving a clear majority at the 2010 election, Tony Windsor was placed in a balance of power situation along with five other crossbench members of the House of Representatives. He had already been in this sort of situation once before, in 1991, when he became the independent holding the balance of power in the New South Wales State Parliament. After in-depth negotiations, Tony's agreement enabled the ALP to form a minority government. In Windsor's Way Tony reflects on the three years of the 'hung parliament', its achievements, its testing moments, the characters and his thinking behind the positions he took, without fear or favor. He recalls the lead-up to the 2010 election, the seventeen days of decision making and what influenced him. He also sheds light on what it took to work with others in the hung parliament for its three years, the issues dealt with, his decision to retire and his views on what's been happening since. For nearly a third of his political career, Tony held the balance of power and has showed country people what could be achieved if they used their combined vote to demand attention from the major parties.