What will happen now, in the hung parliament we're going to get?
Gillard, who promised in 2010 not to introduce a carbon tax, once said she regretted not contesting the "carbon tax" description that was applied to the policy she negotiated in the hung parliament.
In the face of rumours in 2011 he could lose his Liberal preselection, Slipper was recruited by the former prime minister Julia Gillard while still a Liberal member, giving Labor one more vote in the hung parliament.
In the hung parliament and with the Liberal National opposition and two Katter party MPs opposing the clearing reforms, the government needed Gordon's support and a casting vote from the independent Speaker, Peter Wellington.
"There's a groundswell that we've never seen before," says Michael Chuter, a party member in Lewisham since the last great moment of Liberal opportunity, back in the hung parliament days of 1974.
The two parties, which have formed a "Celtic alliance" at Westminster, now have nine seats which could be crucial in helping secure majorities for a ruling coalition in the hung parliament.
