Tony Windsor, man who will make a king, is not in a hurry

TONY Windsor doesn't enjoy the title of kingmaker. Not yet, at least.

TONY Windsor doesn't enjoy the title of kingmaker. Not yet, at least.

The 59-year-old independent, who easily retained his northern NSW seat of New England, makes it clear that talk of the consequences of a hung parliament is premature.

"We've still got to wait and see what happens," he said yesterday.

But at this stage it seems certain Mr Windsor will be one of the jokers in the political pack.

Mr Windsor has been an independent for almost two decades -- first in the NSW parliament from 1991 and then in New England from 2001 -- and as such, could be viewed as the "most independent of the independents".

Mr Windsor spoke to Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott on Saturday night -- "Look mate, we might have to talk," Abbott told him. Yesterday, he fielded inquiries from media outlets across the country, with most wanting to know how the one-time cattle farmer from Tamworth intends to spend his political currency.

"I won't behave any differently to the way I always have," the 59-year-old told The Australian.

"There's a little bit extra responsibility involved but I'm not getting carried away."

He is confident a minority government can function well, and said the independents had an obligation to provide stability.

"I think Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott ran disgraceful, cynical campaigns and the people of Australia saw through them. There are plenty of things both major parties have said they would do in recent years but never did, particularly in rural Australia. I want to keep them accountable."

A passionate advocate of a National Broadband Network, he argues it could significantly improve health and education in the bush. He will also press for improved dental and mental health services.

He had a good working relationship with Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott, but is not so complimentary about Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce, whom he says lied to the people of regional Australia about the sale of Telstra and the upgrade of phone services and broadband in the bush.

"The bloke's a goose. He's actually an embarrassment to country people."