Windsor, Oakeshott at centre of power TONY Windsor and Rob Oakeshott sowed the seeds of the Gillard government's successes and failures. The two NSW independent MPs, who helped forge the Labor minority government after the deadlocked 2010 federal election, have announced their retirements at the September 14 poll. Of all the promises made in their agreements with Labor, the most far-reaching and controversial was putting a price on carbon to address climate change. The coalition has spent three years portraying the "carbon tax" as the key failure of the first minority government in seven decades, and its abolition will be the first priority of an Abbott government. However, Labor, the Greens, Windsor and Oakeshott - who negotiated the parameters of the Clean Energy Future package - argue it is internationally significant legislation which is cutting carbon emissions, raising money for renewable energy projects and compensating families for its modest impact on prices. Indeed, at his farewell media conference in Canberra on Wednesday, Windsor pointed to carbon pricing as the greatest achievement of the parliament and the fact that only four years ago there was bipartisan and overwhelming public support for an emissions trading scheme. Parliamentary reform, more funding for regional areas and a commitment to overhauling the tax system were foremost on Oakeshott's wishlist when he entered the prime minister's office in September 2010. Bipartisan support saw new parliamentary rules to allow more private members' business, tighter question time answers from ministers and House of Representatives committees working harder than ever. While the mining tax was passed and the lowest income tax threshold raised, Oakeshott leaves parliament disappointed with the slow pace of tax reform. Regional Australia has been a clear winner from the deal, with a former minister - Simon Crean - appointed to be the prime minister's champion in the bush and masses of funding pumped into areas previously starved of government spending. Oakeshott and Windsor's seats have benefited from being initial rollout areas for the national broadband network - a project for which both MPs have been keen advocates. However, they have also got Labor into hot water over the public impression of pork-barrelling. Windsor can also claim a win for regional areas, having helped deliver bipartisan support for action on the Murray-Darling river system and putting in place a "water trigger" for coal seam gas projects to be assessed. One of the key failures of the parliament, according to Windsor, is the inability to deal with people-smuggling, saying all MPs should be "ashamed" a bipartisan position could not be reached on a regional solution. Beyond the policy area, the pair has been vital to ongoing confidence and the delivery of the Gillard government's budgets. They will no doubt miss their regular face-to-face meetings with the prime minister, having been at the centre of power in the historic - and controversial - 43rd parliament.