JULIA Gillard has just scraped back into office as Prime Minister after the independent MPs Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott said they would support Labor to form a minority government.
The two independents announced their decision at a press conference in Parliament House in Canberra shortly after 3 pm.
Their support will give Ms Gillard the narrowest of margins in the 150-member House of Representatives, bringing to 76 the number of MPs willing to support a minority Labor government.
The pair gave a joint press conference, but announced their decisions separately - and in the case of Mr Oakeshott, at great length - adding to the suspense of two and a half weeks of national political limbo.
Mr Windsor said providing stability for the country had been a key factor in his decision.
Earlier the impasse took an extraordinary turn with Queensland independent Bob Katter calling a press conference to announce his decision ahead of his fellow independents MPs.
While he announced he would support the Coalition in a minority government, the Queensland independent also indicated he could switch sides in the interests of stability.
Mr Windsor said stable government was a key deliberation in their deliberations.
"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 Windsor also cited Labor's National Broadband Network as a "critical" reason for his backing.
There's an enormous opportunity for regional Australians to engage with the infrastructure of this century and ... I thought (that) was too good an opportunity to miss, he said.
"You do it once you do it right and you do it with fibre."
Mr Oakeshott, in a lengthy justification for his support, said it was "not a mandate for any one government, nor was it an endorsement".
He said it had been "an absolute line ball, points decision, judgement call."
"Australia is engaged but Australia is also divided," Mr Oakeshott said.
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 revealed that both Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott had made him an offer of a position in return for his support.
He would not say whether the position was as Speaker of the House of Representatives or to serve as a Minister.
Mr Oakeshott would not give any more details of the offer and said he would need to talk to his family before deciding whether to accept.
It brings a welcome end to the impasse which has meant the continuation of a ''caretaker'' situation well beyond the election - and a lack of capacity for substantive decisions to be made.
This is Australia's first hung parliament since the 1940s.
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